Monday, February 23, 2009

S.M.A.R.T Goals

If you have ever at any time had to engage in goal setting in a business environment, you've probably heard of S.M.A.R.T goals, but perhaps, like me, you can't always remember what the acronym S.M.A.R.T stands for. Well, trouble yourself no more - I have the solution to your problem. That's right, I've documented below what each one of those capital letters stands for.

S is for Smelly - You know the old saying, "so close I can taste it"? Well, your taste buds are part of your olfactory system - if you're going to get close enough to that goal to taste it, it's gonna have to be smelly.

M is for Marketable - What's the point of having a goal if you can't convince others of its value? You've got to think like your goal is a street whore and you're it's pimp - get out there and hustle that goal!

A is for Aardvark - If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand. Every goal needs an aardvark.

R is for Retractable - How can you be a winner if you sometimes lose? You can't - that's why your goals always have to be retractable.

T is for Table - You're going to need somewhere to put your goal. I like to put mine on a table.

There you have it. If you'll just remember this simple mnemonic, "Smelly Marketable Aardvarks with Retractable Tables", you'll always have S.M.A.R.T goals.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your insight :) I knew something was off with my goal setting technique. It's time to "get out there and hustle my goal!" and if that goal doesn't pay me my share then I will cut it. "I will cut you!" Sweet analogy ;)

Mike said...

Daniel, thanks - I'm just trying to do my part to make the corporate world a better place. If that requires me to compare it to the street trade - well, so be it.