Tips for Smarter Planning Using SMART Plans

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I didn’t always feel this way about SMART plans. I once worked for a company that every time something went wrong, our President wanted a SMART plan explaining how we were going to fix it. Sad to say, we developed a lot of SMART plans. I thought it was some sort of punishment. It wasn’t until I started studying for my PHR certification that I realized SMART plans have been around for many years and weren’t some dreamt up form of torture from senior leadership.

Anyhoo, back to SMART plans.  SMART is an acronym:

• Specific – This is a statement of exactly what you would like to accomplish.  Think of it as the who, what, where, when, which and why of the goal.
  
• Measurable – The answer to this section should tell you how success is measured.



• Achievable (or Attainable) – Outline the steps it will take to complete the goal.

• Relevant or Realistic (some versions use Responsible) – There are two different ways to look at this:  first, the goal must be important to you (i.e. relevant and/or realistic).  Alternately –  are there other people you need to help you reach this goal?

• Time-bound (some versions use Trackable) – Identify the time frame to achieve the goal.
  

Over the years, I’ve found the SMART acronym easy to remember so I mold it for setting my personal goals and even use it for creating meeting minutes. I can’t think of a better way to outline what happens at a meeting:

• Specifically, what are we going to do? ( Specific )

• How will we measure our success?  ( Measurable )

• What are the steps that will help us attain our goal? ( Attainable )

• Who will be responsible for each step?  ( Responsible )

• When will the task be completed?  ( Timely )
  

Using the SMART plan for meeting minutes also helps me steer the conversation toward key discussions like “We have a great idea here…now who’s going to take ownership for getting it done?”  And “Thanks Joe for leading this task, when can we expect it to be completed?”

So I hope the next time someone challenges you to develop an action plan, you give SMART plans a try.  Anyone using another method to create personal action plans?  Share what works for you in the comments.