Are you Working Hard
or Working S.M.A.R.T?
S.M.A.R.T is an acronym widely used throughout business circles. It represents the process of setting structure and accountability towards successfully achieving goals. SMART goal setting takes ambiguous ideas out of your head and helps you to create thoughtful, definable and actionable strategies for accomplishing your objectives. An idea without a plan is not a goal but rather just a dream. SMART puts your dreams into actionable goals to make them a reality. More specifically (no pun intended but you will see why in a minute), the five steps for setting goals under the SMART guidelines are: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely, or time-based. The SMART process is a simple system to create an actionable plan for reaching your goals. Most importantly, make sure your SMART goal setting focuses on positivity. SMART goals define your performance expectations.
The More Specific Your Description, The Greater Chance of Success Specific: Your goals need to be detailed, including a timeline and the cost required to meet each step in your process. Saying simply “I want to make more money” is very generic. Everyone wants to make more money – exactly how are you going to get there? Getting specific allows you to dive deep into the who, what, where, when and how of your plan. It also provides an opportunity to explore exactly what you
DubLi Network | 2016.07.19
want to achieve, alternative means for getting there and how much it will cost you. What are the circumstances and limitations of your goal? The more specific your description, the greater your chance of success. Specificity helps you to define the difference between wanting to make “a lot of money” and wanting to make $10,000 a month. Goals can only be achievable when they are well defined.
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Measurability Requires Quantification Measurable: A goal without a scorecard is doomed for failure – measurability requires quantification. How will you know if you are on the right track for achieving your goal? Measurement is an essential ingredient of becoming successful in any endeavor. Measurability requires you to break down your goal into elements that can be quantified and qualified “specifically.” You will need to define what measurement means to you. Examples include an extra $1,000 a week at first and five new team members each month. Keep your eye on the ball, know what you intend to achieve and keep track of how close you are towards reaching it. Can you imagine a football game without a scoreboard? How would
we know who is winning, and over what period of time? Assign concrete numbers to each step of your process to stay under budget and assess how far you are from the goal line. What will you experience when you actually reach your goal? Define exactly what you want to achieve.
Keep it Real Attainable: Dream big and reach for the stars, but keep it real. If your goal is to be the next SVP, you won’t reach it if you haven’t even signed up your first VIP Member. It is also important to consider how working towards this goal will affect other areas of your life. Assess whether your goal is really worth the investment of time and money. Establish clarity in these segments before you set out on your mission, because working with a single-minded focus towards your goal will likely require you to put other areas of your life on the backburner. If you are not clear from the beginning, small setbacks could lead to discouragement and a sense of failure. How many times have you heard a fledgling business talk about being the next Amway before their product has even been manufactured? The internet is full of valuable resources for you to find realistic growth rates where you can get a handle on reality. No successful business or individual company reached the top of the ladder overnight. Success requires time, patience and a rigorous “never give up” attitude. If you practice these principles, you will reach your goals in the appropriate timeframe.
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DubLi Network | 2016.07.19
DubLi Network | 2016.07.19
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Stay Grounded in Reality and Relevance Relevant (also stands for Realistic in some circles): Your goals and expectations for reaching your goals need to be grounded in reality. You can’t approach someone about a new investment opportunity when they have just lost their job. Create achievable goals for yourself based on the current socioeconomic conditions in your specific marketplace. DubLi Network makes creating and achieving these goals easy. Regardless of local economic conditions kids still need school supplies and pets still need to get fed. DubLi.com
is always relevant, offering a valuable saving mechanism regardless of the economy anywhere in the world. In certain economic conditions, DubLi.com becomes even more relevant. If your goal is to grow your team on an international scale, then consider training others with experience in international markets instead of traveling the world, doing all the heavy lifting yourself. But before you decide to expand your team internationally, consider whether you and your team should first maximize the leads in your country.
Open-Ended Goals Are Rarely Accomplished Time-Based: Open-ended goals rarely get accomplished, let alone on time. A suitable and realistic timeline needs to be tied to every aspect of the goal-setting process. Plans, timelines, and deadlines are what create action. It is a rule of thumb that people are much more motivated to work towards meeting a deadline than when they have an open-ended task. Set realistic deadlines for you and your team but allow for some flexibility to keep people engaged and motivated. Always keep in mind that you can’t ask your team to accomplish something you are not doing yourself, so allow them to “follow the leader.” Whether your goal is to make $10,000 a month or add five new sales directors by the end of the quarter, choose a time-frame for the accomplishment of each goal. Once you have defined your business goals under the SMART guidelines, break them down into individual tasks and get to work. SMART goal setting is helpful towards prioritizing the growth of your business. It is essential that you periodically review your goals and make adjustments where necessary.
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