Set SMART Goals

Bringing an idea to life takes a lot of hard work.  As we all know with New Year’s resolutions, setting goals is the easy part.  Setting SMART goals which ARE going to be accomplished is the difference between success and failure.

There is a way to create goals that increase in momentum as we work through them.  Here is a simple method to accomplish this. Set SMART goals.  S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that represents:

Specific– set goals that are focused on an identifiable area that you want to address. Avoid creating goals that are too broad. For example, “I want to make pigs fly is too vague”, but I want to create a wearable device (tag) which will reduce logistics costs in the pork industry is very specific.  Get specific and maybe someday pigs will fly!

Measurable– Goals need to be easy to measure. If your goal is to focus more on developing your product, how can you measure that? Perhaps, join an inventor’s group and meet once a month, visit your local maker space and learn about Arduino boards on Mondays from 7 to 9pm, or work on prototypes for 2 hours each week on Tuesdays and Sundays, . These kind of resolutions lend themselves to easy evaluation.

Assignable– It’s obvious these goals will be your own goals, but assign them to identifiable aspects of your business. Do they affect research, engineering or branding? Where do they fit?

Realistic– If your goals are out of your reach you will be unable to maintain momentum. This can be discouraging so consider breaking goals up into smaller goals. For example, if you want to start a new project, break the project up into smaller steps so you can check off a list of smaller goals. This can have a positive effect on how you judge your progress.

Time-related– Schedules can be good! They can motivate us and they give us an opportunity to assess our progress. Plug in some of these goals on a calendar and review your progress throughout your day, week, month or year.

As you go through each of these steps to setting SMART goals, you will find that one step may cause you to adjust and or redefine another. Just as in Product Development, one step affects the next simultaneously. Also,

 Mastering any skill is often difficult but not impossible.  Taking an idea to a real physical product that people want and will pay for is never easy or fast but it is realistic and can force us to set some pretty high standards and goals.

Here are some links to books related to goal setting you may be interested in checking out:

Practical Goal Setting: A guide for real people who want to live unreal lives.  Shares author Mark Milotay’s experience of how he dumped his previous goal-setting skills and changed his life.

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Mark Tracy.  In this International Best Seller with over 1.5 million copies sold, we learn how successful people don’t try to do everything but focus on the most important tasks and make sure they get done.

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) in which he described using a morning routine improve your ability feel successful and maximize your potential.

Keep up the great work!  I can’t wait to hear and see all of the innovative projects you are setting goals for.