Sure, setting goals is important.  But the activity itself strikes me as cheap and easy.  Anyone can write down a few goals in minutes and convince themselves they are on their way to achieving something.

Corporate America inherently understands this which is why the goal setting process for companies is much more involved.  I’m sure you’re familiar with the SMART goal acronym: specific, measurable, actionable, relevant and time-bound.  The idea is to force leaders and employees to think more deeply about the goal and how to achieve it. 

In a world of SMART goals, “increasing sales” is not sufficient.  Anyone can say that, plus the lack of specificity makes it impossible to measure or evaluate.  The goal setter is letting themselves off the hook with such a broad, ill-defined goal.

“Increase sales in the CPG category by 20% by the end of Q3 by launching a targeted lead gen campaign and expanding weekly sales prospecting activity among new targets,” is an example of a goal expressed in the SMART format.  It sets a measurable target and identifies the steps required to achieve it.

For all the wisdom and good intentions behind the SMART goal structure, it still feels like cotton candy to me.  By that I mean, something that sounds, looks and tastes good, but ultimately is unfulfilling.  Corporate America is littered with underperforming companies that did an outstanding job setting SMART goals.

Goal setting is cheap and easy.  What matters more, and is much harder to master, is process.  What we do each day.  How we spend our time and invest our energy.

All of us are creatures of habit.  If we are what we do, and what we do is a product of our habits, it’s fair to say that our habits define us.  I find this to be especially true for those of us in our peak years.  We’ve been doing what we do, often quite successfully, for a long time.  Our habits run deep.  If we have good habits that’s a great thing, but it also means that it’s much harder for us to change.

One can’t achieve a goal, at least one that truly challenges us, without identifying the habit or process that needs to change to deliver a different outcome.  Setting a goal of running a marathon is easy.  Determining how you’re going to incorporate the required training into your life is the hard part.

I realize this sounds incredibly basic.  However, the reason why so many of us struggle to achieve goals is not the result of a failure to write them down or properly visualize the outcome, but rather because we don’t invest the time to really think about how we will go about establishing the habits and processes required to be successful.

You want to run a marathon, you will need to find time to train.  How will you program yourself to get up earlier?  Or summon the will to go for a run after work when you’re tired after a shitty day at the office?

Back to our “increase CPG sales by 20%” SMART goal example, what in your day-to-day needs to change so you have the time to connect with more prospects?

Experts tell us that they key to overcoming a lack of motivation is reminding ourselves how we will feel when we achieve our goal.  That’s all well and good, but you’re much more likely to succeed if you’ve figured out a process to keep you on track.

It starts by having a clear view of two things.  First, how exactly do you spend your time each day.  When was the last time you audited your daily activities over the course of a week or month? 

I had a boss who once told me that his father made him keep a journal during one year of high school of what he did each day in 15-minute increments.  Candidly it sounded nuts and I remember feeling very grateful my parents never had the same idea.  But for all its craziness, it gave him an excellent appreciation for time and how he spent it.

My guess is if each of us tracked our activities for a week we would find windows of wasted or unproductive time.  That’s not to say that every minute of the day needs to be spent doing something.  Down time and rest are critical.  My point is that only the most organized and disciplined among us don’t have holes in our daily habits or processes.

More important than how we spend our time is how we utilize our energy.  Our energy ebbs and flows throughout the day.  We have peaks where we are at our best, and down periods where our minds and bodies are recovering.  Exercise and diet can help us sustain peaks longer and recover more quickly. 

But what matters most is understanding how your energy patterns work.  Are you a morning person?  Maybe your best energy comes after lunch or in the evening.  The key is knowing how our bodies work and planning our days accordingly.  Use your moments of peak energy to do more challenging tasks.

If you’re a salesperson trying to open new doors and your energy flows great after lunch, change your process so you use that time to do prospecting. 

In my case, I’m a morning person.  Writing is difficult for me, so I’ve developed the habit of doing it first.  Some days are more productive than others, and occasionally there are days it doesn’t happen, but over time I’ve worked hard to program myself to write as soon as I sit down at my desk in the morning.

I realize that as working professionals our time is not completely our own.  We are beholden to bosses, clients and our teams, not to mention our personal commitments.  And the older we get, the more commitments we accumulate.  This is a good thing.  At the same time, if we want to achieve new goals we owe it to ourselves to truly understand how we spend our time and process our energy.

The next time you decide to set goals, go ahead and write them down and visualize to your heart’s content.  Be sure to keep HR happy and make them SMART.  But my advice is to move quickly past the cheap exercise of goal setting and do the real, much more meaningful work of identifying the habits and processes you need to change or develop to bring those goals to life.