MIT Sloan Management Review Article on When SMART Goals Are Not So Smart

Companies that rigidly adhere to traditional approaches to goal setting may be driving their business in the wrong direction. More than ever, goals must be set in relation to the competitive environment.

We rarely question the need for goals, and the familiar acronym SMART instructs us that good goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. But none of these attributes say anything about the context in which we are setting goals.

Are SMART goals effective in every context? If not, what kinds of goals are most useful in what kinds of contexts? These are important questions at a time when competitive environments are constantly morphing and new ones are unexpectedly emerging.

About the Author

Martin Reeves (@martinkreeves) is a senior partner in the New York office of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and director of the BCG Henderson Institute. Jack Fuller (@jackmfuller) is a BCG consultant based in New York and an ambassador to the BCG Henderson Institute.

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