In an earlier post, I discussed the importance of not just working hard but adding value. The lesson of the roofing contractor mistaking hard work with value and assuming he earned the right to his fee simply because he worked hard is one with revisiting. As I mentioned in that post, work every day to ensure you are adding value to yourself, your firm, and your customers. Otherwise, you will fall short of your goals and have a hard time extending your relationships with your customers over time.
So how do you do that? In my experience, a good place to start is to set measurable goals for the initiatives on your plate. As a consultant, it is your job to ensure you know what the goals are for “this” project. It is also my experience, though, that many people struggle to set truly measurable goals that meet the need and deliver value. You need to develop your goal setting skills so that you can drive that discussion and assist your clients in defining measurable goals you can all get behind.
So what is a measurable goal? Personally, I like the S.M.A.R.T model for goal definition:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Timely
If you do a Google Search for the term “SMART Goals”, you will see that there are approximately 35 million items returned in the search results. So I suspect I am not alone in my preference to use the S.M.A.R.T. Goals model.
So what does this mean? Well, the worst example if a goal I have seen lately was a goal that a Sales Rep defined with a client. The client was working to build an application security program, and we were working with individual contributors and managers who knew the importance of application security. They needed executive support to truly build and evolve a program, though, since doing so required access to human and capital resources.
The goal that was presented to me in my first meeting with this client was “CIO Awareness.” That’s it...nothing more. In reaction to this, I somewhat apologetically asked, “How do I know when I am done?” The folks in the room, including the Sales Rep who worked with the client to define the goal, all just sat there staring blankly at me. So I cut to the chase. “Guys, with all due respect,” I said, “this isn’t a goal, its a theme. I agree that making your executives aware is important for the success of the program, but aware of what? How will we do that, and by when. Really, how do we know we have successfully informed the CIO of what we need to inform him to drive the desired results of getting more headcount and budget for the program? Also, how do we know how much headcount and budget we need so that we can make the right business case to the CIO. This goal needs work.”
Fortunately for me, everyone in the room agreed, and we set out to craft truly S.M.A.R.T. goals.
So what does a S.M.A.R.T. goal look like? In the example above, do you think that “CIO Awareness” is specific? Measurable? Achievable? Realistic? Timely? I think not. What if the goal was something like this:
“Deliver Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to our CIO starting next quarter in which we focus on educating the CIO on the outcomes of the current program in terms of risk identified through scanning our applications, risk reduction through educating the development teams, and remaining risk to be addressed. Provide estimates of headcount and budget to further reduce risk to meet with corporate Application Security Policy, and gain approval of additional headcount and budget spending by the end of the year.”
In this example, we have clearly indicated what information we need to share with the CIO to make him aware of the current program, risk inherent in the corporation, and what is needed to reduce risk to an acceptable level. We have specified the forum in which we will communicate this information, and we have also defined the specific outcome (gaining approval for more headcount and funding) that we are striving to achieve and a timeline (by the end of the year) in which we must achieve the approval.
I think we have covered S-Specific, M-Measurable, and T-Timely.
What about A-Achievable and R-Realistic? Well, that is up to the team defining the goal to determine. One approach to assessing whether the goal is achievable is to brainstorm on all the things that could go wrong that would affect your ability to achieve the goal. Then assess the likelihood of those things happening. For instance, you may realize that the CIO is known for not showing up for meetings called by his subordinates' subordinates. So, can you increase the chances of the CIO showing up by having your boss set up and attend the meetings? Is there a better forum other than a meeting to communicate what is needed and get his feedback? Can his assistant help ensure he shows up? What can you do to ensure the goal is achievable?
Likewise, look that the time component - is it realistic to gain the CIOs approval for additional headcount and budget by the end of the year, or is more time needed? How many QBRs will you hold with the CIO before the end of the year? Will you have collected enough data to present a sound business case in that timeframe? Will you have enough touch points with the CIO to make your case effectively? When are budgets approved - what are the chances you have missed your opportunity if you wait until that end of the year? It may very well be that the goal is achievable but not realistic in the time you have given yourself...so be realistic about what you can really do.
Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals and developing a plan to achieve the goal allows you to evaluate each day if you have taken steps that bring you closer to achieving the goals that deliver the value necessary. You can take this step with your customers (as described above), with your manager (setting a goal around a promotion and knowing what you need to do to get there), and with yourself (developing a new skill, finding work/life balance, losing weight, etc.)
Focus on developing goal setting skills and significantly increase your ability to deliver value.
So how do you do that? In my experience, a good place to start is to set measurable goals for the initiatives on your plate. As a consultant, it is your job to ensure you know what the goals are for “this” project. It is also my experience, though, that many people struggle to set truly measurable goals that meet the need and deliver value. You need to develop your goal setting skills so that you can drive that discussion and assist your clients in defining measurable goals you can all get behind.
So what is a measurable goal? Personally, I like the S.M.A.R.T model for goal definition:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Timely
If you do a Google Search for the term “SMART Goals”, you will see that there are approximately 35 million items returned in the search results. So I suspect I am not alone in my preference to use the S.M.A.R.T. Goals model.
So what does this mean? Well, the worst example if a goal I have seen lately was a goal that a Sales Rep defined with a client. The client was working to build an application security program, and we were working with individual contributors and managers who knew the importance of application security. They needed executive support to truly build and evolve a program, though, since doing so required access to human and capital resources.
The goal that was presented to me in my first meeting with this client was “CIO Awareness.” That’s it...nothing more. In reaction to this, I somewhat apologetically asked, “How do I know when I am done?” The folks in the room, including the Sales Rep who worked with the client to define the goal, all just sat there staring blankly at me. So I cut to the chase. “Guys, with all due respect,” I said, “this isn’t a goal, its a theme. I agree that making your executives aware is important for the success of the program, but aware of what? How will we do that, and by when. Really, how do we know we have successfully informed the CIO of what we need to inform him to drive the desired results of getting more headcount and budget for the program? Also, how do we know how much headcount and budget we need so that we can make the right business case to the CIO. This goal needs work.”
Fortunately for me, everyone in the room agreed, and we set out to craft truly S.M.A.R.T. goals.
So what does a S.M.A.R.T. goal look like? In the example above, do you think that “CIO Awareness” is specific? Measurable? Achievable? Realistic? Timely? I think not. What if the goal was something like this:
“Deliver Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to our CIO starting next quarter in which we focus on educating the CIO on the outcomes of the current program in terms of risk identified through scanning our applications, risk reduction through educating the development teams, and remaining risk to be addressed. Provide estimates of headcount and budget to further reduce risk to meet with corporate Application Security Policy, and gain approval of additional headcount and budget spending by the end of the year.”
In this example, we have clearly indicated what information we need to share with the CIO to make him aware of the current program, risk inherent in the corporation, and what is needed to reduce risk to an acceptable level. We have specified the forum in which we will communicate this information, and we have also defined the specific outcome (gaining approval for more headcount and funding) that we are striving to achieve and a timeline (by the end of the year) in which we must achieve the approval.
I think we have covered S-Specific, M-Measurable, and T-Timely.
What about A-Achievable and R-Realistic? Well, that is up to the team defining the goal to determine. One approach to assessing whether the goal is achievable is to brainstorm on all the things that could go wrong that would affect your ability to achieve the goal. Then assess the likelihood of those things happening. For instance, you may realize that the CIO is known for not showing up for meetings called by his subordinates' subordinates. So, can you increase the chances of the CIO showing up by having your boss set up and attend the meetings? Is there a better forum other than a meeting to communicate what is needed and get his feedback? Can his assistant help ensure he shows up? What can you do to ensure the goal is achievable?
Likewise, look that the time component - is it realistic to gain the CIOs approval for additional headcount and budget by the end of the year, or is more time needed? How many QBRs will you hold with the CIO before the end of the year? Will you have collected enough data to present a sound business case in that timeframe? Will you have enough touch points with the CIO to make your case effectively? When are budgets approved - what are the chances you have missed your opportunity if you wait until that end of the year? It may very well be that the goal is achievable but not realistic in the time you have given yourself...so be realistic about what you can really do.
Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals and developing a plan to achieve the goal allows you to evaluate each day if you have taken steps that bring you closer to achieving the goals that deliver the value necessary. You can take this step with your customers (as described above), with your manager (setting a goal around a promotion and knowing what you need to do to get there), and with yourself (developing a new skill, finding work/life balance, losing weight, etc.)
Focus on developing goal setting skills and significantly increase your ability to deliver value.
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