How big are your goals?

Why I ditched SMART goals and how my life has been all the better for it!

Many training courses encourage you to set SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timebound). However, I struggle with this concept.

I am in favour of S (specific), M (measurable), and T (timebound).

Being specific means having clarity. Clarity matters because it gives us a sense of where we want to go. It allows us to develop a laser like focus to ensure we stretch for our goals. Measurable simply means implementing a method to measure progress towards the goal and ultimately whether it has been achieved. It allows you to identify where you are making progress, which provides the opportunity to celebrate appropriate milestones and make changes to your actions as necessary. Finally, timebound helps mobilize goals. I once read that “a goal without a deadline is a wish”, which perfectly captures the need to add a date to a goal.

Over time, I found myself questioning the A (achievable) and the R (realistic).

• Why set achievable and realistic goals?

• Does a SMART goal mentality significantly move our lives forward?

• Does it encourage us to be creative and to unlock innovation?

• Does a SMART goal demand focus and attention because of its size and the effort needed to achieve it?

• If everyone sets SMART goals, will it lead to mediocrity?

Often, SMART goals are based on past achievements with a little bit added. Rather than basing a goal on what has happened in the past, why not think about the opportunity that lies ahead?

Michael Angelo once said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

Even if the SMART goal is achieved, it does not take us that far out of the cave (our personal comfort zone).

I decided to set my aim high accepting I might fall short, as opposed to setting and achieving SMART but limiting goals.

For a number of years, I spoke about UNSMART goals—big goals that are unrealistic and seem unachievable. UNSMART goals help us access a more innovative and resourceful part of ourselves. We must think big, seek creative solutions, and commit more focused effort. 

The purpose is less about whether we achieve the goal, and more about how we re-program our thinking. It is about a growth mindset. Those who commit to big goals get further than those who set small goals, as long as consistent and focused action is taken.

Let’s operationalize this concept using numbers to illustrate the point.  

Person A sets a goal of 40 and achieves 75% of it = 30.

Person B sets a SMART goal of 10 and achieves 120% of it = 12.

Who would you rather be? Has person A failed because they ‘only’ achieved 75% of a big goal? They have certainly gone a lot further than person B.

This #giftbite brings it to life for you (PS Have you subscribed to my YouTube channel yet? Have you told your friends and colleagues to do the same 😎):

Two things have happened for me since I formed GiFT631.

1) While working with the leadership team at Exeter Insurance in the Southwest of England, I talked about UNSMART goals. The team liked the approach but not the name I had for it. And so, they renamed it SMUUT goals, which stood for specific, measurable, unachievable, unrealistic, and timebound. From that moment forward, I use the term SMUUT goals to describe big, stretching goals that seem well out of my current reach.

To live in the world of SMUUT goals, think about the WHY and not the HOW:

2) Busy people may find the SMUUT approach to goals overwhelming. And so, a process was needed to help people keep going, particularly when they reached what Professor Damian Hughes describes as the messy middle. This is the stage when the initial energy and motivation has dimmed, but a distance to reach the finish line still remains. I needed to find a way of breaking down SMUUT goals to ensure people avoided overwhelm. I knew I needed to evidence how you can make a big goal appear possible by breaking it down into more manageable pieces. One day I was thinking about 631 and for some reason reversed the numbers in my journal. When I looked at the numbers 1+3+6 it gave me the answer. The way to make big goals appear small.

I use this process to break down every SMUUT goal I set and also for projects I need to complete. I will talk more about this process with some examples in my next article.