Is S.M.A.R.T. really smart?

I had a fantastic day recently coaching a private client on the beach and then scoping new beach walks to take clients on in the future. The vast, blue skies and wonderful views allowed me to reflect on a few themes that had come up.

We often hold our goals and desired outcomes tightly almost as a lighthouse for our boat that is a constant presence in calm and stormy seas. When do specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound goals become too bright and reduce your clarity of vision?

My career in the military and also in HR & Finance Operations both supported and encouraged this type of goal setting for productivity, metrics and getting stuff done when you were at maximum capacity. Conversations with clients have made me consider our relationship to goals more closely.

Is there ever a time when only one specific outcome will be enough?

Harnessing the concept from Leonard Mlodinow and the power of ‘elastic thinking in an unstable world’, the Rubber Band model from Krogerus and Tschäppeler’s book is intuitive and enables a fresh perspective. It invites you to imagine a goal/decision/dilemma and that two rubber bands are around your body and extending at equal distance either side of you. Then ask two questions of the topic you have brought: “What is holding you?” on the one side and “What is pulling you?” on the other. The semantic differences are quite striking in this model as it sets a more positive context, whilst focusing on the energy and motivation of the topic.

This alternative perspective moving away from linear and analytical processes such as pros and cons, matrices etc could be the break through and innovative thinking you were looking for.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better” Samuel Beckett