Setting clear, effective goals is essential for both individual success and organizational performance. The SMART framework—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bounded—has become a widely adopted method for goal setting, providing structure and clarity in both planning and evaluation. However, applying SMART objectives effectively involves understanding how goals interact with strategy, how they are measured, and how they influence decision-making and performance at all levels of an organization. This post explores the SMART criteria in depth and examines how objectives are set, measured, and evaluated within a management context. ## Definition of SMART Objectives Smart Objectives are: - Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Realistic - Time-bounded SMART objectives is a popular framework for setting effective goals. The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. **Specific**: The goal should be clear and specific, leaving no room for ambiguity or misunderstanding. The goal should answer the questions: What do you want to achieve? Why is it important? Who is involved? Where is it located? **Measurable**: The goal should be measurable so that you can track your progress and know when you have achieved it. It should answer the questions: How will you measure success? How much or how many do you want to achieve? **Achievable**: The goal should be achievable, but challenging enough to motivate you to take action. It should be realistic, given the resources and time available to you. **Relevant**: The goal should be relevant to your overall objectives and aligned with your values and mission. It should answer the question: Why is this goal important to you and your organization? **Time-bounded**: The goal should have a clear deadline or timeline. It should answer the question: When do you want to achieve this goal? When you set SMART objectives, you increase your chances of success because you have a clear roadmap of what you want to achieve and how you plan to achieve it. By ensuring that your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, you create a framework that helps you stay focused, motivated, and accountable. ## Setting Objectives The challenge is to set objectives representative of your plan and to determine to what extent you commit to them. What criteria will allow you to drop your objectives, change them and move on to others? Or, on the other hand, to what extent will you move heaven and earth to bring about the objectives? This may be a question of the resources that you’re willing to put in, it may be about how realistic your objectives are. If your objectives are too unrealistic then they will require considerable resources to force them through. If your objectives are easily achievable, you may question whether they’re sufficiently challenging because you may not have moved forward very much. This could simply be just a series of next actions. Ideally, you set objectives far in the future and achieve them successfully, but the further into the future you set your objectives the less likely they are to be achievable because of unpredictability. Things change so much, but if you don’t set objectives or commit to anything then you are a boat without a rudder. ## Measurable Measures must make sense and be measurable. But how are they used? Do they motivate or reprimand? An example from purchasing. The objective was to reduce the number of vendors. Fewer vendors = larger portfolio with each, thus increasing the buyer’s negotiation power but requires engineering to ensure that supplier changes do not impact product quality. So a cost saving, on the one hand, may increase structural costs on the other. Another example from purchasing. As a buyer, increasing supplier payment terms or effectively pay suppliers later. But if you do this, you also need to track component pricing. Otherwise suppliers pass on the cost of lost cashflow to component pricing. Apparent surface benefits may lead to price slippage. The point is that sometimes apparently simple objectives affect other areas, and measurement of achievements cannot be taken in isolation. ## Time Bounded This is exactly what is missing when objectives are unclear, not time bounded. Problem here if not time bounded a manipulator can shorten them ‘without warning’. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria) ## Management objectives In a management setting, each business area has objectives, sometimes in conflict with each other.  - Sales must sell a quantity at a certain price  - Purchasing must buy a certain amount at a reasonable cost  - Production produces at a ‘fixed’ cost  - Maintenance must look after the facility within budget. ![[objectives-in-vertical-management.png]] The goal is to make a profit, pay invoices and invest in development. The company may also have nobler social goals. All areas of activity require goals and performance measurement. The overriding goal is to improve the system. ![[the-objectives-of-business.png]] ## Record objectives  - Calculate performance and compared with goals  - Remove this measurement responsibility from middle managers  - Anyone can compare their actual performance against objectives.  - Management understands its objectives, employees do their job.  - Use the information system to manage targets to compare with performance calculations. ![[management-input-their-objective.png]] ## Management sets a goal The main thing is the evaluation, the determination of actions based on measures. Management sets the objectives and the measured performance results are presented in relation to these objectives. The information system can manage goals and performance measurement. ![[measurement-results.png]] ## Evaluation of objectives See [[Plan Do Check Assess management method]] which might be applied to objectives set. ![[setting-objectives.png]] ## Managing performance results - What is management’s attitude towards staff management issues? Is it paternalistic or directive? - How is the continuous improvement cycle going? - How is underperformance managed? Is it through understanding and seeking solutions or by demoralizing people and using an authoritarian manner? ## Underperformance - Were objectives set SMART? - Why have the objectives not been achieved? - Are the reasons for underperformance valid, and are we measuring performance against a realistic and achievable goal? - What are the effects of being under-objective for the company? How can the situation be rectified? - Can targets be reduced if the initial target is unachievable? - Determine the financial consequences for the company. - Do better next time! The consequences of underperformance in sales may require lowering costs. ## Over-performance Over-performance may allow the company to make financial provisions for potential future underperformance. Comparing the objectives stored in the information system with actual performance is about continuous improvement and measuring the relevance of a strategy. Staff will fear the negative consequences of underperformance if targets are not clearly stated and recorded. ## References For a very interesting breakdown of what SMART objectives are, and an approach to establishing yours, see a great presentation and program by [MaxLeone Clarity Planning](https://www.maxleone.com/eu-clarity-planning). ## Conclusion SMART objectives offer a robust framework for goal setting, but their real power lies in thoughtful application. Objectives must be aligned with overall strategy, evaluated within the realities of available resources, and reviewed in light of actual performance. When goals are not time-bound, clearly recorded, or realistically achievable, they can create confusion, manipulation, or even demoralization. On the other hand, when managed well, SMART objectives foster continuous improvement, accountability, and alignment across business functions. Ultimately, successful goal-setting is not just about defining targets—it’s about creating a culture of clarity, evaluation, and strategic focus that drives sustainable performance.