Every year (and precisely once a year), adults perform a corporate theater that everyone hates: the annual goal-setting ceremony. Managers don’t want to do it, employees don’t want to do it, and yet the show must go on. Everyone is told they must pick 3-5 “SMART” goals. I have friends who will visibly shudder and reach for the nearest drink if anyone utters the acronym in their presence. Corporate trauma is real.
In past lives working as a manager inside large corporations, I used to follow up every official HR announcement kicking off the goal setting with a separate email to the teams I managed titled: “Goals are not the goal.”
Here is how I redefine this terminology, both professionally for my teams and for personal development:
- Goals: Long-term, inspirational, and aspirational targets.
- Objectives: Specific, short-term stepping stones aimed at achieving the overarching goals.
By this definition, goals cannot and should never be SMART. That defeats their purpose. Their primary job is to identify a long-term direction that has meaning and value. They are the north star.
Once that direction is identified, the next question is: what is the first thing I should do to move forward? That is an objective. Objectives should be SMART. When HR systems mandate “goals,” objectives are what they are looking for.
The Piano Example
How would this apply to personal development?
The Goal: “I want to learn to play the piano.”
It is important to me. I can close my eyes and picture myself sitting down, touching the whatever-piano-key-surface-is-called, and producing music others enjoy. It is inspirational, but not SMART.
The Objective: “I will practice piano 3 times a week, 1 hour per session, for the next 3 months.”
It is specific. I can measure whether I did it. It identifies an action I can start today. It is time-bound to the next 90 days.
Will I be a proficient pianist when I achieve this objective? Probably not. Will it move me closer to my ultimate goal? Yeah, it will.
After the 90 days, I can re-evaluate. Is the goal still meaningful to me? How much time and energy can I dedicate to it for the next quarter? Maybe my next objective becomes: find and take a formal class.