But first, (smart) goals
Why our culture gets goals wrong
Our culture is full of sayings and wisdom around goal-setting. Here’s what I found after a quick internet search for “goal quotes”:
"The great 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." –Michelangelo
"A goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at." –Bruce Lee
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars." –Les Brown
I’m sure I’ve seen at one of these printed on a mug at a Hudson News or something.
What are all these quotes telling us? Dream big! And when you’re dreaming big, dream EVEN BIGGER, you lazy bum!
Dear Michaelangelo, Bruce Lee and Les Brown… This advice might’ve worked for your stellar careers, but it’s a bit misguided when it comes to navigating the modern workplace/world.
To use my own journey as an example… for years I told myself I wanted to be a bestselling author. That was my goal, or at least I thought it was. But when it came time to take my first step, I freaking froze. I was shooting for the moon but instead of landing among the stars, I ended up floating in space like George Clooney in Gravity (1:26 here).
For years I felt lost, confused, and frustrated. Those feelings still come back to me sometimes. Bad habits die hard. And even though I’m sure I was taking steps toward my goal, it certainly didn’t feel like it.
That’s because “becoming a best-selling author” is not a goal, it’s a vision.
Vision: an image of how you see your future.
Goals: specific targets that move you towards your vision.
Visions are aspirational in nature. They’re about hopes and dreams, where you see yourself or the product/brand you support as a marketer. Goals are concrete. They show WHAT you’ll do to achieve our vision.
Why goals can help you find joy and balance at work
Vision. Goals/objectives. These are all things that can seem frilly and self-helpy but they’re worth spending time on for both your personal and professional life. Here’s why:
Focus on what matters. When you’re out there shooting for the moon, walking toward that lofty vision, you can always anchor on your goals to make sure you don’t get sucked into a black hole. This is the end of the space metaphor, I promise.
Clearly define success. Measurable, attainable goals allow you to celebrate small wins along the way, which is super fun and really motivating. More importantly, in the workplace, goals give your manager and you a concrete way to measure when you’re doing a good job or not.
Set boundaries at work. Goals help you define success based on output, not input. On your contributions to the business and not on the time you spend sitting in front of your computer. This is critical to finding work-life balance while also remaining a strong performer.
How to write SMART goals
Say you’re working as a marketer for Rover and your boss tells you your “goal” is to make Rover the most beloved brand in the pet space. That’s a great vision. But unless you break it down into goals, you’re very likely going to flail.
This is where the SMART framework comes in. I don’t take credit for inventing this. I credit my marketing career for introducing it to me. Thank you, marketing.
SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.
Let’s turn those old visions-we-thought-were-goals into SMART ones.
In life:
Vision: Become a best-selling author.
Goals: Write 1 blog post every other week this year.
In marketing:
Vision: Make Rover the most beloved brand in the pet space.
Goals: Increase Instagram followers by 25% this year.
Let’s break down my personal goal using SMART:
Specific: Becoming a bestselling author is not even a thing I can do. Writing is a thing I can do.
Measurable: Blog posts are measurable.
Attainable and Realistic: These are tricky ones for me because I tend to overcommit. So I said 1 every 2 weeks. BTW I started with 1 blog every other day because that’s how my brain works.
Time bound: I kept it to 2021 for now. We’ll see how it goes after that.
In conclusion
If your boss comes to you with a goal such as “do awesome marketing” or “be the best at what we do,” sit them down and turn those well-intentioned statements into SMART goals. You’ll thank me later, I promise.
