Take Your Goals from SMART to SMART as Hell!

• Are you frustrated by misalignment during performance reviews or evaluations?
• Do you wast time and energy trying to understand what's expected of you?
• Do you struggle to create alignment between you and your employees, clients, managers, customers, vendors, teachers, or family?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to attend our SMART as Hell: Goals session in Rochester, NY on August 2nd, 2012.

In this one-day training, conducted by Glenn Hughes, you'll learn the four types of evaluation, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. You'll use the SMARTometer - the first tool that allows you to accurately measure the quality of your goals. You'll create a SMART as Hell goal for a task or 'soft skill' that's difficult to measure. Finally, you'll apply the SMART 6-step process to align evaluation expectations with those who measure you.

This program has been approved for 6.5 recertification credit hours through the HR Certification Institute. We guarantee that you will improve the score of your goal during this session, or you'll receive free coaching until your goal is improved.

Get control of your work, your life, or your team with goals that are SMART as Hell.

This event will be held at the beautiful Inn on Broadway in Rochester. 

Click here to enroll or obtain more information.

Spreading Good Fortune...

Chinese Lion Dance, Chinatown

Angie and I are in San Francisco this week.

I'm presenting at the ISPI (International Society for Performance Improvement) Conference 2010.

I'll be speaking about SMART goals, but really - like this Lion Dancer we saw in Chinatown yesterday - I'm hoping to spread good fortune. I've learned a lot about SMART goals over the past 18 months and we've seen some very powerful results from creating 'red hot' goals.

On Thursday, I'll be doing my dance in front of a room full of this countries best business performance consultants. There, I will pass along much of what I've learned. Hopefully, I'll also pass along a little of the good fortune that's come with the application of that knowledge.

SMART as Hell at ISPI 2010

Do you believe goals are important?

Or do you find them to be overrated?

Do you believe that the SMART goal framework is useful?

Or do you find SMART goals to be frustrating and counterproductive?

Interestingly, a lot of people I meet say 'yes' to all four questions.

For the past 18 months, I've been researching SMART goals. I've created a tool for assessing SMART goals and have identified the qualities of a strong SMART goal. After reviewing more than 600 goals, I have discovered some interesting points:

1. Most business gurus and researchers agree that goals are important.
2. Most use the SMART framework.
3. Most, however, don't agree on what the SMART framework means.
4. Out of 600 goals I've assessed from business, government, and education sectors, less than 10% meet the SMART criteria.
5. Better tools are needed to successfully implement SMART goals.

In April, I'll be presenting my findings and recommendations at the International Society for Performance Improvement's (ISPI) Conference in San Francisco.

Who: Glenn Hughes

What: How smart is SMART? Writing and quantifying SMART goals.

Where: San Francisco, California

When: April 22, 10:30 am to 12:00 noon

More Info: www.ispi.org/ac2010

Many excellent presenters, including my friend Ed Muzio, will be presenting this year.

If you're interested in SMART goals or any other aspect of performance improvement, I recommend you join us in San Franciso.

I hope to see you there!

Statistics for Smartasses

Shoot Down Stupid Ideas with the Skill of a Japanese Archer

Are you tired of sitting through endless meetings where some dope tries to bury you (the audience) in data and then convince you that his pile of numbers holds meaning?

I'll tell you, I've seen people try to build the Eiffel tower out of numbers that have the strength of wet paper towels.

Unfortunately, I've never really had the skill or tools to challenge those folks, until now...

I'm just completing the first statistics class of my life, and you know what? It's kind of fun!

My eyes have been opened to the flimsiness of the conclusions that I, and others, have drawn from databases, spreadsheets, and surveys.

I now have three questions that I'm going to ask about every conclusion I see drawn from a big pile of data: 

1. Where's the histogram and correlation coefficient that supports your conclusion?
2. Did you run a t-test, chi-square, or some other test to validate your inferences?
3. Does you test pass the .05 level of significance?

With these three questions, I'm guessing that you will become a corporate martial artist - able to shoot down the worst ideas without removing an arrow from your quiver.

If it turns out they know what you're talking about and have the answers to your questions? Well then, everyone wins, don't they?

Five Steps to Better Performance Management

It's performance review time at our company - you can smell the fear and depression in the air.

How have we managed to turn something that should be good - some feedback on your performance, a discussion about next year's goals, and a little extra money - into something that almost no one appreciates?

Do you dread performance reviews? Either giving them or getting them?
Well, you don't need to. Here are five steps to making your performance reviews less painful and more productive.

1. Set Expectations in Advance
If you don't do this... don't even bother with the other four steps. It's critical that you let people know what constitutes performance at a 'meets expectations' or 'exceeds expectations' level.
Two cases in point:

• You ask your team to reduce costs by 20%. They succeed, hitting 21%. Does that performance merit a score of 'needs improvement', 'meets expectations', 'exceeds expectations', or 'far exceeds expectations'.
  The answer, of course, is 'meets expectations'.
  I can guarantee, however (because it's happened to me), that a team where expectations have not been set will score themselves as 'exceeds' or 'far exceeds'. It's human nature. Clearly articulate the target for 'exceeds' and 'far exceeds' and you won't have this problem.
• My favorite example - We have a category on our reviews for 'safety'. Every year, every direct report of mine gave themselves a 'far exceeds' for safety. I held a meeting and explained, "If you save a life, you get 'far exceeds'. If you kill someone, you get 'needs improvement'. Otherwise? You get 'meets needs'. Are we clear?"
  Everyone said yes. And then gave themselves 'exceeds' or 'far exceeds'.
  It took me two years to reprogram this behavior.

One more key point. Make clear that a 'meets expectations' is good!
Grade inflation has pushed us to a point where no one is happy unless they get an 'exceeds expectations'.
Set expectations. It'll save you a lot of trouble down the road.

2. Embrace the Bell Curve
This is probably the most difficult part of performance reviews. Everyday, a manager comes to me and says, "Everyone on my team exceeded expectations! How can you expect me to punish them just to fit a Bell Curve."
My response?

Bullshit.
Show me a team or company where everyone is performing at the same level, and I'll show you a mediocre team or company.
In 20 years, I've never been on a team where everyone exceeds.
If they did, the expectations were too low.
This isn't Lake Wobegone.

I don't have enough room to argue or convince you on this, so go do some reading.
Learn about normal distribution. Read up on Pareto.
Study some motivation theory and see how you're killing your best performers by rewarding the others equally.
Until you get over the "every one's a winner mentality" (how about, "every one's a winner, but not everyone wins"?), you won't be a great performance manager.

3. Write (real) SMART goals
SMART goals are like sex. Everyone talks about it, but no one seems to be doing it enough.

Write SMART goals.
Make them unambiguous, challenging, and measurable.

4. Review results (at least) quarterly.
I'm shocked at the number of managers who have this discussion only once a year. And then are surprised that the employees are surprised!

Hold reviews against the performance objectives at least once a quarter. Agree on the results.
By the end of the year, the score is already decided (and agreed upon).
A performance review then becomes a coronation ceremony and an opportunity to discuss the upcoming year - not the past year.

If your SMART goals are tied to a strong feedback system, there's no reason why reviews cannot happen weekly.

If you're an employee, take control of this. Review your performance with your manager more frequently, and I can guarantee that you'll have better results and get better reviews.

5. Enjoy the process
Just a gentle reminder. This whole process is supposed to be motivating and rewarding.
If it isn't, why bother?

Treat it like fantasy football! If people can sit around getting excited about the statistics of football players they don't know, why can't we all get excited about the statistics of people we know and care about?

What are your tips for Performance Management?
Share them with us...