Two things have happened recently that inspired this post.
First, Don Adams, the actor who portrayed Maxwell Smart on the 1960s sitcom "Get Smart" passed away this week. Maxwell Smart was one of the funniest TV shows I've ever seen. It was a parody of the James Bond spy movies (the ones with Sean Connery as 007) which were very popular in those days.
Second, it's almost year end. Time for performance reviews and 2006 objective setting. I've had several conversations with clients about performance management in general and objective setting in particular lately.
I always advocate the SMART method of goal setting. So as a tribute to Don Adams, his shoe phone and Agent 99, as well as to provide some help for all of you thinking about the objective setting process here goes...
Effective performance management begins with developing clear expectations and standards that can be translated into objectives.
Good objectives embody the SMART principle. They are:
- Specific – objectives should be targeted, nor broad and general. They should be unambiguous and explicit. They should be clearly understood by any number of different people.
- Measurable – you should be able to tell quickly and easily if an individual has met the standard and expectation. You should develop a set of criteria that will be indicative of success or failure in meeting the objective.
- Achievable – you’ll want to set objectives that are challenging, but not incredibly difficult to achieve. A challenging objective is motivating, an impossible one is demotivating.
- Results Oriented – don’t get caught in the activity trap. Your objectives should focus on the results you expect people to achieve, not the activities they will undertake to get there. For example, “improved presentation skills” is a result; “participating in a presentation skills training program” is an activity. It’s possible to complete activities and not achieve the desired result.
- Time Specified – people need to know the deadlines associated with objectives. In a manufacturing environment, time frames may be very short (i.e. X number of pieces per shift). In a sales environment, time frames may be longer (i.e. $X sales per month or quarter). Well developed and stated objectives come with time limits.
Good luck in your objective setting -- use your common sense and be SMART about it.
That's it for today. Thanks for reading. For more common sense leadership advice, log on to my website: www.BudBilanich.com.
I'll see you around the web, and at Alex's Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS What have YOU done for your career today?
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