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Goals are very important to the digital executive. They provide the direction on where to go and it is not just anywhere. It is to somewhere specific. It is measurable. It is fixed in time. If you want something that isn’t measureable, create a mission statement or think up your vision. Goals should be concrete.

Goals come before strategy. Strategy focuses on how to reach the goal. On their own, strategy absent a goal, is useless. We love to be “strategic” but forget to think out where we are really going. It makes a difference.

The best example of great goals is the SMART goal concept. SMART is an acronym, which over the years, has stood for different words. The most common now are:

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Attainable

R = Relevant

T = Time Bound

Creating SMART goals gives the digital executive a level of credibility that those who do not use this type of process never achieve. There is nothing fun about floundering around. Creating goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound has a huge payoff for everyone. It creates a sense that we know what is expected of us.

Most of us want to know where we are going and why are we going there. SMART goals create that sense of direction that is so important for our daily work. SMART goals give us “the why” of our daily work. Without SMART goals, we will wander around aimlessly with no sense of purpose.

We all need to be involved in coming up with SMART goals. The digital executive focuses time and energy in managing the process. That is true leadership to give direction. Beyond the executive thought, there are times any of us can lead if our direction isn’t clear. In those cases, this framework becomes pivotal.

SMART goals can be created at any level of the organization. They may start at a corporate level or not. Even in the absence of clear corporate goals, we all can create them and use them as a way to gain commitment of the next level up or down. When the SMART goal is written down, it creates agreement or disagreement. Either of these is helpful. Always, visually, keeping at the top of what we do, helps create that type of commitment.

Here are the key ideas:

  1. Write the goal down and make sure it is clear.
  2. Use the goal to gain agreement and commitment.
  3. In addition to being specific, make sure they measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.