I think it was sometime in the early 1990s that I first heard about it. It might have been during my graduate studies at Indiana University. Or, it might have been during my first job at Weber State University while I was attending a conference, or reading some professional development literature. To be honest, I can't remember exactly when it was, but I'm pretty sure it was in the early 1990s.
What I'm talking about is when I first heard the term "S.M.A.R.T. Goals". The term is essentially considered to have been invented in 1981 by George T. Doran. He was a consultant in Spokane, WA. He published a paper, "There's a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management's Goals and Objectives", when he was the Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company. (see this website for more info: https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals/brief-history-of-smart-goals.php)
Since it's been around for more than 40 years there are a lot of people who have heard of it. In it's original form, as written by Doran, S.M.A.R.T. meant:
- Specific: target a specific area for improvement.
- Measurable: quantify, or at least suggest, an indicator of progress.
- Assignable: specify who will do it.
- Realistic: state what results can realistically be achieved given available resources.
- Time-related: specify when the result can be achieved.
You may have seen some slight variations on what those letters represented. That's okay because Doran never intended for the letters to be rigidly held to be only one thing. His point was to identify several key elements to effective goal setting and be sure people stayed focused on them to meet their needs and accomplish their goals.
Some people have even taken the acronym further and turned it into S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals, with the additional "E" and "R" representing "Evaluated" and "Reviewed". There's nothing wrong with that, either.
If you're interested in seeing other methods, or styles, of goal setting, check out my guide, "Four Goal Setting Styles" by clicking here.
