Not Just S.M.A.R.T. But S.M.A.R.T.E.R!

REFLECTION: FOR STUDENTS: What is the best way to set your individual goals for maximum impact (for yourself, and for those around you) in an environment where you are juggling multiple classes, work, and maybe even a family?

FOR ACADEMICS: Are you setting goals for students using S.M.A.R.T. or S.M.A.R.T.E.R techniques in order to help your students better understand what is required of them for assignments?

FOR PROFESSIONALS/PRACTITIONERS: Consider the E.(Evaluate for Effectiveness) and R.(Reviewed) that are so often essential to proper and effective closure of a project or corrective action. Are they actually being practiced or are the last two aspects sometimes just absorbed into the project without positive determination and follow through action?

S.M.A.R.T. Goals!

I have seen the S.M.A.R.T. goal format used in goal setting for Annual Personnel Review goals, project goals, lean / six sigma project goals, and even in day to day goals for “to do” items. The S.M.A.R.T. acronym was first used by George Doran in 1981 to outline project management and personal development (Doran, 1981). The Original Five were oriented toward corporate and departmental goals (Management by Objectives).

• Specific: the specific targeted area for improvement
• Measurable: quantify an indication of improvement progress
• Assignable: indicate the responsible individual or team
• Realistic: state realistic results using available resources
• Time-related: specify when the results can be achieved

(CSSBB Primer, 2014)

The Specific and Measurable has not been altered much other than when used in different contexts, but over time the A.R.T. has developed some other possible meanings.  I will provide a list of the original terms, along with a list of other common terms used.  The remaining discussion afterward will focus on the S.M.A.R.T. goals that have been most relevant in my experience, though as you will see, there is room for discussion, based upon industry, role, urgency and many other factors.

Letter	ORIGINAL TERM	OTHER TERMS
S	Specific	Significant, sustainable, simple
M	Measurable	Meaningful, manageable, motivational
A	Assignable	Achievable, attainable, ambitious, acceptable, aggressive, actionable
R	Realistic	Relevant, resourced, results-based, reasonable, results-oriented
T	Time-related	Time-bound, time-framed, time-based, time-specific, time-sensitive, time-limited, time-boxed

As you can see, S.M.A.R.T. seems a bit flexible, but then, smart people should have flexible thinking. I have found Paul Meyer’s description of S.M.A.R.T. characteristics (Meyer, 2003) (CSSBB Primer, 2014) to be the most functional for goal setting relative to projects and corrective actions. The terms in the table above in bold and underlined are the ones we will address:

Specific: A specific goal should answer these five questions (usually)-

• Who is involved?
• What will be accomplished
• Why does this need to be done?
• Where is the location?
• Which requirements and constraints are apparent?

Measurable: Concrete criteria for measuring progress toward accomplishment of the goal-

• How Much?
• How Many?
• How will the team know when the goal has been achieved?
• How will the indicators be quantified?

Achievable: A goal that is both realistic and attainable. A goal is considered achievable if you can answer the question:

• How can my team accomplish this goal

Relevant: Only goals that truly matter should be set. These goals need to be supported by resources and management. Any relevant goal should answer these questions:

• Is the goal worthwhile?
• Is this the right time?
• Are we (or I) the right team/person?
• Does the goal align with our other needs (align with strategic objectives)?
• Is it applicable in the current environment?

Time-Bound: Goals should be grounded with a time element such as a target date in order to establish a sense of urgency and answer questions like:

• What can be done immediately?
• What can be done in a designated time?
• When can it be totally accomplished?

Why Do We Need S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals?

What is a SMART goal? It is a tool used to implement Management By Objectives, also known as MBO (Drucker, 1954). Management by Objectives presents many positives toward the achievement of specific goals (tactical goals) while attempting to achieve the larger strategic goals, but MBO does present some opportunities for misuse. What should be a system of two-way communication encouraging growth between manager and team with a shared vision toward achieving final results often devolves into a situation where management is placing consistent demands on the employee(s) to achieve said results but disregards the concept of using MBO for commitment, round table contribution, and management development. Even well-meaning managers may misuse MBO because they lack the interpersonal skills required to avoid their appraisal sessions from turning into pure criticism sessions. Many managers have an unfortunate tendency to see MBO as a catch-all system that, once installed, can handle all management problems. This has led to forcing issues onto the MBO system that it is not fully equipped to handle and that partially or completely mute whatever good effects might be seen in the actual issues with which pure MBO is actually more suited to deal (Drucker, 1954).

S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goes about the same way as S.M.A.R.T., but the added E. and R. are the critical elements that help mitigate traditional MBO. S.M.A.R.T.E.R. adds:

E for Evaluate for effectiveness: measure and determination that the goal has (or has not) been meet (or the corrective action has/has not been determined effective based upon sample data and criteria)

               -Without a true understanding of the effectiveness, the evaluation of an end goal or corrective action should never be considered complete

R is a little wishy-washy. I have seen R for (Recognized/Rewarded or Revisited), which works very well, though the celebration of achievement has been built into a general project structure, and revisiting a project/CA would occur based upon the evaluation of effectiveness if it is determined ineffective. The other concept of R., which I prefer more, is Reviewed, which is more a final risk analysis/assessment of the project or corrective action confirming nothing added or changed has had an adverse impact on your overall system. This Review should always be cross-functional (Susan Napier-Sewell, 2019).

S.pecific	Objectives should specify what they need to achieve
M.easurable	You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objectives or not
A.chievable	A goal that is both realistic and attainable
R.elevant	Only goals that truly matter should be set.  These goals need to be supported by resources and management and aligned with Strategic Goals
T.ime Bound	When do you want to achieve the set objectives?
E.ffective	Measure and determine if the goal has (or has not) been meet (or if CA has/has not been effective)
R.eviewed	The documentation that a cross functional team has reviewed the output and effectiveness of the project/CA and confirmed that the benefits to the system and customer outweigh any negative impact the  process

Conclusion

Having the Effectiveness in mind as part of the goal can very much impact how you and your team go about achieving your goal. When your team takes on the responsibility for mitigating and avoiding potentially negative effects that can come about from changes to systems, then some of the communication barriers fall, and teams seek out those they must talk to in order to avoid future problems with what they are implementing. Silo mentality causes a lot of project rework, but good communication and solid forethought solve many problems before they have a chance to manifest. When Management hands over the Effectiveness and Review power to teams, Management becomes more part of the team trying to get everything right rather than a potential evil overlord (though that can still happen when things are not managed correctly).

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Bibliography

CSSBB Primer. (2014). West Terre Haute , Indiana: Quality Council of Indiana.

Doran, G. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management Goals and Objectives. Management Review, 35-36.

Drucker, P. (1954). The Practice of Management. New York City: Harper & Row.

Meyer, P. J. (2003). Attitude is Everything. Meyer Resource Group.

Susan Napier-Sewell. (2019, November 15). What Is SMARTER & What Does It Have To Do With My Investigation? Retrieved from TapRoot Root Cause Analysis: https://www.taproot.com/what-is-smarter-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-my-investigation/