Sunday Roast: Are SMART targets really smart?
Welcome to the first edition of Sunday Roast; this is where I challenge a common view on something Burnout or Productivity related. The objective is to break down misconceptions to better educate ourselves and smash through prejudices. So cutlery at the ready, let’s tuck into our first Sunday Roast: SMART targets.
Starter: SMART is stupid
Ever since childhood we’re told targets should be “SMART”. These goals are:
· Specific
· Measurable
· Achievable
· Realistic
· Time-bound
There’s a few variations on this but they all revolve around the same thing: setting something “achievable” in a certain time frame. But are SMART targets really that smart? I think not.
I’m going to turn up the heat on the terms “achievable” and “realistic” and argue that SMART targets limit our boundaries and stunt our potential. Instead, I believe we should strive for something just unachievable to give us the motivation and creativity to smash it. By setting slightly unachievable goals we will feel more fulfilled when we achieve them and learn to enjoy the journey, not just the end product.
Main course: carving up “achievable” and “realistic” and pouring over “unrealistic” gravy
There are things I like about SMART: I agree a target needs to be specific enough to articulate what “good” looks like. If it can’t be measured then how are we going to know it’s done? And it should be time-bound because we already met Parkinson’s Law in my last blog. This just leaves us with achievable and realistic.
Most people underestimate what they can achieve (classic insecure overachievers). Then by telling them a goal must be “achievable”, they further limit the horizon because fear of not achieving the goal causes them to strip out what I like to call the “achievement contingency”. So they end up setting a goal just below the “achievable” threshold to ensure it can be completed. Counterproductive.
Similarly, it implies success only comes in the completion of that goal. I don’t agree. Let’s use the analogy of running a marathon. If your goal is to run a marathon but you hate running, the joy of crossing the line is unlikely to outweigh how much you hated all the training. Instead, you have to learn to enjoy the training as well. Same thing in life. If you’re goal is to earn £100k by 30 and you set about finding a well-paid job but you hate it, hitting your target isn’t going to outweigh the sense you’ve wasted the last 10 years doing something you don’t find fulfilling. To truly get the most out of life, you need to enjoy the destination and the journey. After all, you spend more time on the journey than crossing the line.
“But Charlie, setting unrealistic goals is bonkers!”. Depends how unrealistic you are. If you set the goal “I want to grow a tail by tomorrow morning” then yes, clearly you’re on the path to disappointment. But let’s try this: to set an achievable goal, we tie it to things we mostly have control over and chance has minimal impact. Thinking back to the last blog, what if we do the opposite? Let’s set a goal in which serendipity would have equal or slightly more influence over completion. Now you’ve started thinking creatively about what actions you could take to increase the likelihood luck will be on your side. Having fun ideas is fun and you know it 😉
Lastly, if you fail an achievable goal that’s rubbish for your self-esteem and often it actually prevents us starting in the first place. If you’re not certain you can achieve it, but you think you could, then you’re not afraid to fail. If you’re not afraid to fail, you’re not afraid to start. It introduces the excitement of the unknown. It’s the same thing that keeps you up at night watching the next Netflix episode: you want to know what will happen. Setting slightly unrealistic goals helps you both get started and keep going when you hit a speedbump.
When something is just out of reach you’ll stretch that bit further for it and we all know how good it feels after a stretch. Forget “achievable” and “realistic”, the stars are not your limit because there is no limit.
Dessert: sweet smell of success.
Now we’re not striving for SMART but for SMUT. The acronym is a bit unfortunate (so is TUMS) but maybe that’ll help you remember it even more…
