How to Set Annual Goals - HOF 2025

This podcast explores effective annual goal-setting strategies, advocating for MT goals—measurable and time-bound objectives—while critiquing the widespread use of SMART goals. The hosts argue that focusing on measurability and deadlines is key, dismissing the additional SMART criteria as often ineffective and distracting. They emphasize setting numerical targets, considering proxies when direct measurements are elusive, and prioritizing cost reduction as a valuable goal. The discussion highlights the importance of staying narrow by focusing on a few critical goals, planning for completion by Q4 to allow for unforeseen challenges, and using backward planning to map out necessary tasks. An illustrative story details how a security manager successfully implemented these principles by measuring complaints and smiles.