Why SMART Goals Are Important for Your Small Business
As a business leader, you probably rose through the ranks in prior positions due to outstanding performance evaluations. If you’ve been on the receiving end of a performance evaluation anytime since the 90s, you’re probably familiar with SMART goals. This acronym stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
In many cases, establishing goals for a business is a standard operating procedure for success. Learn more about why SMART goals are important for your small business.
SMART Goals Align Teams
When everyone on a project team or specific department knows what they’re working toward, they’ll be able to recognize when they’ve succeeded. Likewise, they’ll be able to monitor a realistic timeline that allows them to meet the goal without feeling pressured or overwhelmed.
SMART goals can work for departments in any kind of business, from marketing craft alcohol to product development for a tech start-up. Retail businesses can benefit from SMART goals, as can professional service providers such as accountants and cleaning companies.
Factor in Each Element of SMART Goals
Understanding the factors in each element of SMART goals helps business leaders establish goals that are understandable and easy to communicate to their teams.
Specific: Spell out the who, what, where, when, why, and how of your goals.
Measurable: What metric will you use to measure success? MBAs are often taught that if something can’t be measured, it can’t be managed. Perhaps more famously, Microsoft established the data-obsessed notion “if it can’t be measured, it doesn’t exist.” Quantifying a goal sets a tangible target that lets teams know when they’re getting close to completion or how much farther they need to go.
Achievable: While there’s nothing wrong with a challenge, there’s no point in setting an impossible goal and causing discouragement. Choose goals that your team can meet by the deadline.
Relevant: How will accomplishing the goal forward your overall business objectives?
Time-bound: Choose a deliverable date, then work backward to parse out when you need to hit certain benchmarks in order to complete your goal by the target date. Break down big projects into manageable segments that will serve as cumulative steps toward completion.
Be Open to Revisions
Goals evolve, and market conditions change. Meet with project teams regularly to evaluate progress and make necessary adjustments in anticipation of changing external and internal factors. For instance, consider what happens if a key employee leaves the business, or a supplier can’t meet your needs. Goals are the destination at the end of what could be a winding road with several detours. Be ready with alternate plans to address changing conditions.
Although these types of goals may not be comfortable for all employees, it’s still important to understand why SMART goals are important for your small business. Setting goals provides a roadmap for growing your small business and scaling operations to accommodate that growth.