Skillset New Zealand Blog

Ideas to help your team develop personally and professionally.

You'll see various interpretations of SMART. Here's one.

Choose goals that are...

Measureable (Figures if you can, but sometimes it will be a tick in a box, like ‘Climb Mount Cook’)
Achievable (A stretch, but not a fantasy)
Time-based (Decide deadlines)

So what's missing?

Action - a particular way of turning good intentions into action. The researchers' name for the next stage is 'mental contrasting'. It means thinking, not only about the goal, but what might stop you making progress towards your goal - in that order. It's contrasting because you regularly compare the two - goal Vs obstacles.

Try 'When/then'


More examples of 'when/then'... The sentences might seem a bit unnatural, but having both when and then emphasises the action. (And you don't have to say them aloud.)


Keep reviewing the obstacles 

Are the obstacles still relevant?

Do the obstacles make the goals unattainable? Would it be better to abandon those goals and try something else? 

Are the obstacles so easy to overcome that your goals are not really stretching you? Google has decided that the sweet spot for success with goals is 60-70%. Any more success suggests that the goals weren't enough of a stretch. Lower than that range suggests that we're not dealing with the obstacles or the goal is just a fantasy.


Interested in a workshop on achieving goals for your team? Contact us




It can be.

If we're just sounding off or taking the opportunity to leave other people devastated, it's not. It can destroy our relationships and leave us feeling worse.

But there is a place for anger with a purpose.

Anger is the electric charge. The outcome is the professional you, expressing your dissatisfaction, focusing on the behaviour, asking for action simply and clearly.

'That phone is very distracting, please turn to silent now.'  

'I've noticed that you have been late to our meetings several times. Please make sure you are on time from now on.'

Expressing anger with a purpose is good for your health. An alternative is rumination - going over and over the causes of your anger. Nothing prolongs stress like rumination.



About Ralph Brown

ralph brown blog3





Ralph enjoys trips to France. He lives in rural Canterbury.

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