A One Letter Change to Improve your Goals
Recently I was encouraged to set some SMART goals for my business, and as someone who actually has a spreadsheet with my goals that I review each month, I took on this assignment with joy.
As a quick recap SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound.
As I began typing up my SMART goals, deviating from my already written vision, I felt there was something missing from this framework. My goals were specific. They were measurable. They were seemingly achievable and relevant, and they were certainly time bound with very clear deadlines. What wasn’t clear from this 5 step criteria was whether I, personally, the goal-setter, was at all interested in doing what I would need to do to achieve the goal.
So I added a “Y” to these SMART goals, to make them SMARTY. Because SMARTY is a word and it encompasses this important, I think, missing criteria when setting goals… the “Y”.
The “Y” stands for “You”, prompting you to ask — You actually want to do the things you would need to do to achieve this goal?
There’s no need to fret if your answer to the “Y” of your SMARTY goal is “no”. Sure, you could take that to mean that you want to scrap the goal entirely. Or, it could mean that maybe there’s some hiring or outsourcing that needs to happen. (Keep in mind though, hiring someone or outsourcing tasks to achieve the goal, if that’s something you actually want to do, would still make this a “yes”) Or, that you will consciously choose to pursue that goal even though you know that you don’t want to do the things it will take to get there. Heck, people do things they don’t want to do all the time. This way, you’ll just be aware of it and know that your goal is just SMART, not SMARTY :)
For example, here’s a SMART goal:
My goal is to run the Chicago Marathon in 2024.
Is it a SMARTY goal? Not for me because I have absolutely no desire to run more than 14 miles consecutively, unless I am being chased by a bear with a lot of stamina.
Or here’s a more business-related SMART goal:
My goal is to improve with at least 12 new clients in 2023.
Is it a SMARTY goal? For me, yes! Because I do want to improve with at least 12 new clients in 2023, and I want to do what I think it will take to achieve that goal like learn about companies, their teams, their challenges and their goals, and find ways we can help them improve. (If you’re a company or team with challenges and goals, please slide into my DMs :)
Regardless of your response to the “Y” question, simply by asking yourself the question “You really want to do the things you would need to achieve this goal?” you set yourself up for success. Your response is a gift of information. Saying “no” tells you to either scrap it, outsource the parts of the process you don’t want to do, or do it anyway. Saying “yes” is empowering and can improve excitement for pursuing the goal.
When we improvise we learn that it’s all about the process. The process is the goal. So if you’re not excited about the process involved in achieving your goal, well, then maybe you need a different process or a different goal.
I’ve decided that I want SMARTY goals, because I know, for me, that my interest in doing what needs to be done to achieve a goal is key to actually achieving the goal.
Happy goal setting you SMARTY pants :)
☺️
