As business leaders, we understand the importance of setting and tracking goals for individuals, teams and our organization as a whole — a concept that dates back to the 1950s and Peter Drucker’s watershed work on “management by objectives.” And, since the 1980s, most top-performing companies have relied on SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
Recently, MIT Sloan Management Review asked the question: “Are SMART goals really working?” and offered up a fascinating alternative. According to Donald and Charles Sull, goals should be FAST — embedded in frequent discussions; ambitious in scope; measured by specific metrics and milestones; and transparent for everyone in the organization to see.
Source: MIT Sloan Review
The FAST approach to goal setting and tracking emphasizes transparency, which helps to create alignment and trust throughout the team.
A few other key points:
It’s critical that your entire team understands and buys into the organization’s goals and that their individual goals connect to the company’s. We addressed this in my previous blog on a Company Playbook.
Goals should be discussed openly and often, helping shape decisions, company communications and planning.
Make goals ambitious, but achievable. SMART goals left room for the “good enough” syndrome. FAST goals push us to think bigger about what we can accomplish.
Defining specific metrics and milestones can enhance agility and make it easier to test hypotheses and optimize the approach. This is a key concept in scaling your company.
Take a look at the full article. As we head into 2020, it’s the perfect time to reset the way we think about our goals.