Instead of setting SMART goals, why not make a PACT?

Former Google executive Anne-Laure Le Cunff offers tools to fight toxic productivity and procrastination

- Somak Ghoshal

If you are a professional, it's likely that you have recently completed a goal-setting exercise as part of your annual performance appraisal. Irrespective of the template followed for this activity by the HR department of your organisation, the fundamental principle behind such an exercise is similar for most enterprises: to help employees become more productive, accountable, and focused on meeting their targets in the new financial year.

One of the most common tools used in the corporate world to keep professionals on track is a goal-setting framework that goes by the acronym S.M.A.R.T. Management consultant George T. Doran first mentioned it in an article for Management Review in 1981. According to this model, the most effective goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable (originally Doran used Assignable), Realistic and Time-bound. "I will run three times per week for 30 minutes each session to prepare for a 5K race in 8 weeks" is an example of a S.M.A.R.T goal.

A tried and tested tool for close to half a century, S.M.A.R.T goals not only strongly correlate with the outcomes desired of an individual, but also leave no room for ambiguity. Even to carry out daily tasks, it can prove beneficial, both for managers and their reportees. Instead of going down the slippery slope of vague promises, such as, "I'll send over the presentation by E.O.D.," an individual working within the S.M.A.R.T framework will have to make a more precise commitment, such as, "I will send over the presentation by 5pm."