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• • Appreciation – Extracting maximum information from facts • 5 Whys – Getting quickly to the root of a problem • Cause & Effect Diagrams – Identifying the causes of problems • Affinity Diagrams – Organizing ideas into common themes • Appreciative Inquiry – Solving problems by looking at what’s going right • Flow Charts – Understanding process flows • Risk Analysis – Managing the risks you face • SWOT – Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats • PEST Analysis – Understanding the big picture The Marketing Mix and the 4 Ps • The Ansoff Matrix – Understanding the different risks of different options • The Boston Matrix – Focusing effort to give the greatest returns • Porter’s Five Forces – Understanding power in a situation • Core Competence Analysis – Get ahead. Stay ahead. • USP/Unique Selling Proposition Analysis – Crafting your competitive edge • Critical Success Factors (CSFs) – Identifying the things that really matter • The McKinsey 7S Framework Using the Greiner Curve – Surviving the crises that come with growth • • Mind Tools Store • Problem Solving Tool/Resource Finder Decision Making • Decision Making Main Page • • Introduction to Decision Making • Pareto Analysis – Choosing which changes to make • Paired Comparison – Working out relative importances • Grid Analysis – Making a choice balancing many factors • PMI – Weighing the pros and cons of a decision • Force Field Analysis – Analyzing pressures for and against change • Six Thinking Hats – Looking at all points of view Starbursting – Understanding new ideas by brainstorming questions • Stepladder Technique – Making better group decisions • Cost/Benefit Analysis – Simple financial decision making • Cash Flow Forecasting – Testing the viability of a financial decision • Decision Trees – Choosing by projecting possible outcomes • • Mind Tools Store • Decision Making Tool/Resource Finder Project Management • Project Management Main Page • • Introduction to Project Management & Planning • Estimating Time Accurately • Risk Impact/Probability Chart – Learning to prioritize risks • Scheduling Simple Projects Gantt Charts – Planning and scheduling more complex projects • Critical Path Analysis – Planning more complex projects • Logframes and the Logical Framework Approach • Planning Large Projects & Programs • Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model • Stakeholder Analysis – Winning support for your projects • Stakeholder Management and Planning • Influence Maps – Uncovering where the power lies in your projects • • Mind Tools Store • Project Management Tool/Resource Finder Practical Creativity • Creativity Tools Main Page • • Introduction to Creativity Techniques • Reversal – Improving products or services SCAMPER – Generating new products and services • Attribute Listing – Creating new products and services • Brainstorming – Generating many radical ideas • Reverse Brainstorming – A different approach to brainstorming • Reframing Matrix – Generating different perspectives • Concept Fan – Widening the search for solutions • Random Input – Making creative leaps • Provocation – Carrying out thought experiments • DO IT – A simple process for creativity • Simplex – An integrated problem solving process • TRIZ – A powerful methodology for creative problem solving • Mind Tools Store • Creativity Tool/Resource Finder |Useful Links |[pic] | |[pic][pic] | | | |Maximum Achievement | |Not a | | |Member Yet? | |The Mind Tools Career Excellence |[pic] | |Club gives you the training, |[pic] | |coaching and support you need to | | |make a lasting success of your |Time CAN be on Your Side with “Make Time for Success! Discover the 39 essential tools needed to map | |career. Take our FREE tour, and |out your goals, maximize your effectiveness, and win control of your time and your life. | |find out what it can do for you! More >> | |[pic] | | |Recent Discussions: |Locke’s Goal Setting Theory | |[pic]THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Set the |Understanding SMART Goal Setting | |stage for change |Goal setting is a powerful way of motivating people.
The value of goal setting is so well recognized | | |that entire management systems, like Management by Objectives, have goal setting basics incorporated | | |within them. | | |In fact, goal setting theory is generally accepted as among the most valid and useful motivation | |Being Assertive |theories in industrial and organizational psychology, human resource management, and organizational | | |behavior. | |Many of us have learned – from bosses, seminars, and business articles – to set SMART goals. It seems | | |natural to assume that by setting a goal that’s Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and | |The next steps for my goal setting|Time-bound, we will be well on our way to accomplishing it. | | |But is this really the best way of setting goals? | |To answer this, we look to Dr Edwin Locke’s pioneering research on goal setting and motivation in the | | |late 1960s. In his 1968 article “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives,” he stated that | | |employees were motivated by clear goals and appropriate feedback. Locke went on to say that working | | |toward a goal provided a major source of motivation to actually reach the goal – which, in turn, | | |improved performance. | |This information does not seem revolutionary to most of us some 40 years later. This shows the impact | |Quick Start |his theory has had on professional and personal performance. | |Store: |In this article, we look at what Locke had to say about goal setting, and how we can apply his theory | |Download Site |to our own performance goals. | |Career Community |Goal Setting Theory | |Leadership Training |Locke’s research showed that here was a relationship between how difficult and specific a goal was and| |Time Management Training |people’s performance of a task. He found that specific and difficult goals led to better task | |Stress Training |performance than vague or easy goals. | |Career Direction |Telling someone to “Try hard” or “Do your best” is less effective than “Try to get more than 80% | |Coaching & Help |correct” or “Concentrate on beating your best time. Likewise, having a goal that’s too easy is not a | |Top Skills Areas: |motivating force. Hard goals are more motivating than easy goals, because it’s much more of an | |Top Articles |accomplishment to achieve something that you have to work for. | |Achieve More |A few years after Locke published his article, another researcher, Dr Gary Latham, studied the effect | |Lead Effectively |of goal setting in the workplace.
His results supported exactly what Locke had found, and the | |Manage Stress |inseparable link between goal setting and workplace performance was formed. | |Improve Memory |In 1990, Locke and Latham published their seminal work, “A Theory of Goal Setting and Task | |Find Direction |Performance. ” In this book, they reinforced the need to set specific and difficult goals, and they | |What we do: |outlined three other characteristics of successful goal setting. |Free help |Five Principles of Goal Setting | |Self-Study Courses |To motivate, goals must take into consideration the degree to which each of the following exists: | |Career Community |Clarity. | |Training Programs |Challenge. | |Coaching & Help |Commitment. | |Who we help: |Feedback. | |Managers & Owners |Task complexity. |New Managers |Let’s look at each of these in detail. | |Professionals |Clarity | |Employees |Clear goals are measurable, unambiguous, and behavioral. When a goal is clear and specific, with a | |Career Starters |definite time set for completion, there is less misunderstanding about what behaviors will be rewarded. | |Practitioners & HR |You know what’s expected, and you can use the specific result as a source of motivation.
When a goal is| |About us: |vague – or when it’s expressed as a general instruction, like “Take initiative” – it has limited | |About Mind Tools |motivational value. | |Contact Us | | |What’s New? |To improve your or your team’s performance, set clear goals that use specific and measurable standards. |Site Services |”Reduce job turnover by 15%” or “Respond to employee suggestions within 48 hours” are examples of clear| |Directory |goals. | | | | |Relevant |When you use the SMART acronym to help you set goals, you ensure the clarity of the goal by making it | |Courses & Resources |Specific, Measurable and Time-bound. | |Challenge | | |One of the most important characteristics of goals is the level of challenge. People are often | |Maximum |motivated by achievement, and they’ll judge a goal based on the significance of the anticipated | |Achievement! |accomplishment. When you know that what you do will be well received, there’s a natural motivation to | | |do a good job. | | | | |Rewards typically increase for more difficult goals. If you believe you’ll be well compensated or | |[pic] |otherwise rewarded for achieving a challenging goal, that will boost your enthusiasm and your drive to | | |get it done. | | | | |Setting SMART goals that are Relevant links closely to the rewards given for achieving challenging | |Time CAN be on Your Side with |goals. Relevant goals will further the aims of your organization, and these are the kinds of goals | |”Make Time for Success! ” Discover |that most employers will be happy to reward. |the 39 essential tools needed to | | |map out your goals, maximize your |When setting goals, make each goal a challenge. If an assignment is easy and not viewed as very | |effectiveness, and win control of |important – and if you or your employee doesn’t expect the accomplishment to be significant – then the | |your time and your life. |effort may not be impressive. |More >> |Note: | | |It’s important to strike an appropriate balance between a challenging goal and a realistic goal. | | |Setting a goal that you’ll fail to achieve is possibly more de-motivating than setting a goal that’s | | |too easy. The need for success and achievement is strong, therefore people are best motivated by | | |challenging, but realistic, goals.
Ensuring that goals are Achievable or Attainable is one of the | | |elements of SMART. | | | | | |Commitment | |Career Excellence |Goals must be understood and agreed upon if they are to be effective. Employees are more likely to “buy| |with a Mind Tools |into” a goal if they feel they were part of creating that goal.
The notion of participative management | |Coach |rests on this idea of involving employees in setting goals and making decisions. | | | | | |One version of SMART – for use when you are working with someone else to set their goals – has A and R | | |stand for Agreed and Realistic instead of Attainable and Relevant.
Agreed goals lead to commitment. | |[pic] | | | |This doesn’t mean that every goal has to be negotiated with and approved by employees. It does mean | | |that goals should be consistent and in line with previous expectations and organizational concerns.
As | | |long as the employee believes the goal is consistent with the goals of the company, and believes the | |Mind Tools Career Coaches give you|person assigning the goal is credible, then the commitment should be there. | |the focused personal help you need| | |to find direction, think through |Interestingly, goal commitment and difficulty often work together.
The harder the goal, the more | |your goals, and make the very most|commitment is required. If you have an easy goal, you don’t need a lot of motivation to get it done. | |of your life and career. |When you’re working on a difficult assignment, you will likely encounter challenges that require a | |Find Out More >> |deeper source of inspiration and incentive. | | | | |As you use goal setting in your workplace, make an appropriate effort to include people in their own | | |goal setting. Encourage employees to develop their own goals, and keep them informed about what’s | | |happening elsewhere in the organization.
This way, they can be sure that their goals are consistent | | |with the overall vision and purpose that the company seeks. | | |Feedback | | |In addition to selecting the right type of goal, an effective goal program must also include feedback. | |Maximum |Feedback provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal difficulty, and gain recognition. | |Goal Setting! It’s important to provide benchmark opportunities or targets, so individuals can determine for | | |themselves how they’re doing. | | | | | |These regular progress reports, which measure specific success along the way, are particularly | |[pic] |important where it’s going to take a long time to reach a goal. In these cases, break down the goals | | |into smaller chunks, and link feedback to these intermediate milestones. | | | | |SMART goals are Measurable, and this ensures that clear feedback is possible. | |Decide how you’ll focus your life,| | |and then set the clear, vibrant, |With all your goal setting efforts, make sure that you build in time for providing formal feedback. |compelling goals that power you to|Certainly, informal check-ins are important, and they provide a means of giving regular encouragement | |achievement. |and recognition. However, taking the time to sit down and discuss goal performance is a necessary | |Start Now ;; |factor in long-term performance improvement. See our article on Delegation for more on this. | | |Task Complexity | | |The last factor in goal setting theory introduces two more requirements for success.
For goals or | | |assignments that are highly complex, take special care to ensure that the work doesn’t become too | | |overwhelming. | | | | | |People who work in complicated and demanding roles probably have a high level of motivation already. | |However, they can often push themselves too hard if measures aren’t built into the goal expectations to| |Mind Tools Ebook |account for the complexity of the task. It’s therefore important to do the following: | | |Give the person sufficient time to meet the goal or improve performance. | | |Provide enough time for the person to practice or learn what is expected and required for success. | |The whole point of goal setting is to facilitate success. Therefore, you want to make sure that the | |[pic] |conditions surrounding the goals don’t frustrate or inhibit people from accomplishing their objectives. | | |This reinforces the “Attainable” part of SMART. | | |Key points: | | |Goal setting is something most of us recognize as necessary for our success. |The key tools on the Mind Tools | | |site, brought together into one |By understanding goal setting theory, you can effectively apply the principles to goals that you or | |easily downloadable, easily |your team members set. Locke and Latham’s research emphasizes the usefulness of SMART goal setting, and| |printable PDF. |their theory continues to influence the way we set and measure performance today. |More>> | | | |Use clear, challenging goals, and commit yourself to achieving them. Provide feedback on goal | | |performance. Take into consideration the complexity of the task. If you follow these simple rules, your| | |goal setting process will be much more successful . and your overall performance will improve. | | |MindTools. om – Join Our Community! | | |In our next article, we look at the golden rules of goal setting – five useful things that you can do | | |to maximize your achievement. To read this, click “Next article” below. Other relevant destinations are| | |shown in the “Where to go from here” list underneath. | | |[pic]Was this article helpful? | |[pic][pic] | | | | | |[pic] | | | | | |Spread the Word: | | |[pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] | | |[pic] | | | | | | | | |[pic] | | | | | | | | |Where to go from here: | |[pic] | | |Join Mind Tools | | |[pic] | | |Free Newsletter | | | | | | | | |[pic] | | |Download & Print | | |[pic] | | |Next Article | | | | | | | | | | | |New Articles (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book. | | |* Shows articles available in full only to Career Excellence Club members | | |Golden Rules of Goal Setting – Five rules to set yourself up for success | | |Backward Goal-Setting – Using backward planning to set goals | | |New Year’s Resolutions – Planning for a year of achievement | | |Prioritization – Making best use of your time and resources | | |Action Priority Matrix – Making the most of your opportunities* | | |The Art of Filing – Managing your documents… nd your time | | |The Urgent/Important Matrix – Using time effectively, not just efficiently* | | |Treasure Mapping – Visualizing your goal for greater achievement* | | |How Good is Your Time Management? – Discover tools that can help you* | | |Pickle Jar Theory – Make your schedule work. Leave time for fun! * | | |Managing Interruptions – Maintain focus. Keep control of your time. | | |In Flow – Maximizing productivity through improved focus | | |Costing Your Time – Understand the real value of your time* | | | | | |A full list of Mind Tools articles is available here. | | |return to top | | |Learn to manage the stress in your life with our sister site, stress. mindtools. com. | |Online Training | | |Mind Tools Store: Mind Tools Ebook, Make Time for Success | | | Stress Management Masterclass, How to Lead | | | Relaxation MP3s | | |© Mind Tools Ltd, 1995-2010, All Rights Reserved | | |We welcome appropriate reprinting and reuse of Mind Tools material, | | |however, you must get our permission first! | | |To do this, please visit our Permissions Center. | | |Store · Search · Newsletter · Downloads · Advertisers · Affiliates |