“Be Smart.” I find myself uttering those words every time my boys leave the house. The decisions we make in our personal lives and our daily activities can have a lasting impact on our family, friends and others around us. It seems like such simple and obvious advice, but even the brightest of individuals don’t always make smart decisions. As parents, it’s a reminder we cannot say often enough.
In the context of our work lives, especially this time of year, I’d like to share some thoughts on a different take on being smart. Everyone in the company recently went through the performance review process. Although it may seem difficult to take time to complete this task, it is an extremely important activity to build a culture that promotes and values performance. In addition to general feedback, I believe that setting specific goals and priorities for the year ahead is the most important part of the review process. I hope that you and your manager used this time to set smart goals for the year. S.M.A.R.T. as in specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.
Role clarity and a clear understanding of goals and priorities are the biggest driver of employee engagement. I have become a huge believer in this and hopefully I’m getting better at it each year. Regardless of your role within the company it’s important to have specific and measurable goals. I have enjoyed working through this process with our leadership team, and I expect that we will be much more successful by applying SMART decisions to our development goals.
Thank you for helping us continue to build our culture and hold each other accountable for achieving our personal and team goals. As for my boys, I just hope that the SMART advice and counsel we give them daily has an impact on them – Don’t text and drive; think before you act; and consider the impact of your decisions and actions…. Actually, I guess that advice extends beyond our children. We can all be a bit more thoughtful about the little and big decisions in our daily lives. So, I hope you’ll join me in making SMART decisions this month and always!
Have a great week -
Adam
