What the Experts Say About Goal Setting and Attainment

Why writing it down matters, and other proven guidelines for defining and attaining professional goals

Naming clear and measurable goals is typically the first step of any business initiative, and it’s often 

the easy part. Many objectives will be quantifiable, such as hitting a revenue target or obtaining a legal ruling. Victory is clearly defined.

But defining individual professional goals is trickier, especially when attempting to project longer term in a changing environment. It can be difficult to translate individual professional ambitions into an actionable plan.

Although goal setting is an exercise that humans learn as children and practice routinely, it’s helpful to take advice from experts when it comes to charting a career. Luckily, the experts are happy to share.

The critical success factor many experts rank #1 

As Simon Sinek says, start with “why.” The idea that goals must first be purpose-driven is popular among life coaches, executive trainers, and psychologists. 

When you clarify your “why” first, making other decisions is easier. If your ultimate goal — and the milestones you plan to reach in pursuit of it — supports the meaning you hope to find in your life, you are more likely to achieve it.

If you can confidently nail down the "why," then getting to “how” and “when” will be much easier.

Believe in the power of the written word 

Experts universally embrace the practice of record-keeping and data monitoring as a vital part of goal setting and attainment. Neuroscience has repeatedly proven why it helps to put your goals in writing.

Writing objectives down on paper (or creating a spreadsheet or using a tracking app) facilitates the neurological process of “encoding,” or searing something into the memory. Drafting any sort of record makes your brain filter and prioritize your thinking in a systematic way. And having something to revisit over time helps keep you accountable.

Consider the one-two punch of combining a blue-sky, high-level strategy for attaining professional fulfillment with a tactical plan for measuring short-term milestones. Creating that document will set your neurons ablaze with positive, ambitious energy.  

But … do all goals need to be SMART?

Career success is not defined using only quantifiable metrics, and the top “why” of successful people is usually not numbers-based. While the SMART acronym has broad applicability in the business world, all of your professional goals need not be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound to be effective.

A more helpful acronym to guide individual professional goal setting is FAST: Frequently mentioned, Ambitious, Specific, and Transparent. 

The SMART standard could hold you back when defining your career goals. The FAST criteria appreciate that not all objectives are measurable. And when it comes to your life’s work, perhaps the “ART” portion of the acronym sets the bar too low.  

Being free from the need to be realistic and time-bound sets the mind free to imagine a more fulfilling path. Many famous, high-achieving people claim creative visualization as their most effective tool in goal attainment. And until you try, how do you know if something is achievable?

Human connection is an unparalleled motivator

Another key component of the FAST benchmark involves accountability. By frequently mentioning your goals to other people, you include them in your goal-setting process. Pledging transparency about your progress is powerful motivation to stay on track. No one likes to fall short publicly.

Goal setting and attainment can be strengthened by community support. Involving someone else — a mentor or colleague — in your plan will increase the commitment to reaching your goals. It is the foundation of many popular behavior-based programs.

Take it easy on yourself — but not too easy

Many self-help experts promote the idea of being reasonable with your expectations and not being too hard on yourself when things go a different way.

Best-selling author and productivity guru Tim Ferriss credits the practice of stoicism, “an operating system for thriving in high-stress environments,” for keeping him from succumbing to destructive impulses and “self-paralysis” in times of trouble. 

Ferris describes the practical application of stoicism as separating what you can control from what you can’t control — and focusing your attention on the former. 

It's essential to allow yourself some failures along the way to realizing a purpose. Most high-achievers understand this, and their stories are often about resiliency and perseverance rather than unmitigated triumph. It is frequently in the rebound from near-catastrophe that life-changing breakthroughs occur.

Bill Gates, who famously survived an early business failure, credits his extraordinarily successful friend and mentor Warren Buffet with the best business advice he ever heard: Prioritize what matters most and make the best possible use of time — a limited resource that can’t be bought. 

Perhaps that should be everyone’s goal.

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