Bad Goals are Indistinguishable from Numbers

When it comes to S.M.A.R.T goals, the best thing I've read was: "Bad goals are indistinguishable from numbers."

The writer goes on to explain how goals should state where you are today, your current rate/velocity, your target and when you will hit it.

Bad goals: "Get backlog below 20 items by the end of the month." / "Decrease backlog by 50% by end of month," / "Get velocity up to 6 items per week by month end"

Good goal: "Current backlog is at 52, with velocity of 7 items items per week. By month end, we will get the backlog under 20 items, by increasing velocity to 9 items per week."

Personally, I think it's even better to briefly cover how you will get there:

"Current backlog is at 52, with velocity of 7 items items per week. By month end, we will get the backlog under 20 items, by increasing velocity to 9 items per week. We'll achieve this by reducing unnecessary meetings and setting up office hours to reduce distractions."

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