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S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Are Dumb

You’ve probably heard of S.M.A.R.T. goals. These goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound, and they’re powerful tools for everyone from front-line workers to middle management. But they’re a terrible tool for business leaders.

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is an ex-Googler and entrepreneur who’s been on a bit of a crusade against S.M.A.R.T. goals. The reason? They only work for jobs with obvious, objectively-measurable goals. For example, a sales rep needs to meet their quota.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This falls apart when you’re in a leadership role. As a leader, you’re responsible for charting the company’s overall course. It’s not as simple as meeting one metric or another. For example, the stock price could be soaring even while the company has deep, unaddressed cultural issues. Leaders need a better system.

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FACTS:

  • S.M.A.R.T. goals are a good tool for most employees.

  • They’re a terrible tool for executives.

  • Leaders need a system that helps them determine what needs to be done.

When I work with clients, we use something I call S.U.P.E.R. Goals. This system is based on my neurological research, and is designed to produce rapid results that allow you to turn on a dime. S.U.P.E.R. Goals free us from the daily game of whack-a-mole and allow us to focus on what’s really important.

 

Achieving S.U.P.E.R. Goals is like climbing Mt. Everest. Each time you get to a new camp, you can recalibrate and re-plan based on the weather and other variables. Then you can set a reachable target en route to the objective.

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SOLUTIONS:

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Set S.U.P.E.R. Goals in your Attention Budget.

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Look back at the last seven days and gather an "Achievement Ratio". How many projects did you advance? How many did you not advance?

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Set new targets based on that number – always let the numbers be your guide.

“On a day to day basis, you are in charge of what you're doing. And so S.M.A.R.T. goals don't really work here, because you just sometimes don't know what needs to be done.”

 

– Anne-Laure Le Cunff,

Educator, Writer, and Researcher

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