Goals state what must be accomplished to meet a vision or mission. Objectives state what actions must be completed to accomplish the goals.
Definition Example: Smart Goals & Objectives Write Tasks to Achieve Goals & Objectives Summary
Definition
Use goals and objectives to achieve something that requires a change in behavior, mindset, or practice. Goals and objectives are born out of a mission or vision, and require completing tasks in order to achieve them.
You’ll find differences of opinion on how specific goals and objectives should be written. Some say goals are broad statements while objectives are action-oriented and measurable statements.
What I’ve written in the example below is the opposite: a specific goal and four objectives stating how I will achieve my goal. I’ve set this goal to help me on my mission of connecting with new and existing clients and like-minded professionals.
Example: SMART Goals & Objectives
Writing SMART goals and objectives help you get specific about what you want to accomplish and how you’ll go about doing that. The reason writing SMART goals is effective is because it forces you to use concrete language–words that require your sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell to understand. What you end up creating is a vision of yourself doing the things you want to do.
SMART stands for:
Specific
"I will blog about writing and editing as an independent contractor serving the B2B industry.”
Measurable
"I will post a blog entry at least once per week for the next 52 weeks.”
Achievable
* This goal is achievable; for me, posting ten times per week is not.
Realistic and Relevant
* This goal is relevant to developing my business.
Time-bound
* I’ll post a blog entry each week during the next 52 weeks.
My objectives in posting a blog entry at least once per week are to:
- Share knowledge gained working as an independent contractor; I think it will be useful to new contractors just getting started.
- Demonstrate, rather than talk about, my writing and independent contracting skills to potential clients.
- Connect with other writers and editors and independent contractors offering complimentary services as a way to market ourselves amongst each other.
- Improve my search rankings; use my blog as a marketing tool so people–potential clients, other writers and editors and independent contractors–can find me.
Write Tasks to Achieve Goals & Objectives
Completing tasks that support your goals and objectives is the engine that makes your vision a reality–the transformation of a thought or an idea into action. Without action, your goals and objectives live as words only.
The tasks I need to complete on a regular basis to achieve the objectives I stated above are:
- Keep a list of potential blog posts.
- Conduct keyword searches to find out what writing and editing information people are looking for.
- Learn how to get the most out of WordPress and my Thesis theme.
- Solicit colleagues to write guest posts.
- Write more than one post at a time to create a backlog so I can publish during the weeks I am too busy to blog.
Summary
- Complete tasks to meet objectives.
- Complete objectives to meet goals.
- Complete goals to accomplish a mission or vision.
- Accomplish a mission or vision as a means to provide a sense of purpose, or to "arrive" at your desired professional or personal destination.
Further Reading
Time-Management-Guide.com: Setting goals and objectives
Rita Braun writes and edits B2B publications for people who research, teach, market, and sell. Take a look at her portfolio here, and contact her here.
