The conventional wisdom is goals should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
At Avoma.com, we don’t do SMART goals. We do FAST goals.
The key concern is – SMART goals undervalue ambition.
And they lack importance of discussing goals throughout the year.
FAST goals are — frequently discussed, ambitious, specific, and transparent.
For startups, you need to set ambitious targets – not achievable.
You need to translate them into specific metrics and milestones.
And you need to make them transparent throughout the organization so everyone is aligned and there is near-zero wastage.
And most importantly, you need to discuss the progress of these goals frequently and adjust quickly.
This model seems more applicable to high-growth startups than the traditional SMART goals, which was popularized since Intel days.
The FAST concept was introduced by MIT’s business school a few years ago, and it stuck with me.
👉 Here’s the link of MIT’s detail documentation and research findings: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/with-goals-fast-beats-smart/
Hope this helps when you’re planning your 2022 goals. 📈
Aditya Kothadiya 