top » strategy » goals » goals list

Database of Goals (150 Entries)

Goals are plans for future outcomes. Setting and working towards goals is a basic process that can include personal, professional and academic goals as follows.

All (151)

Personal Goals (48)

Professional Goals (50)

Academic Goals (24)

Development Goals (21)

Long-Term Goals (12)

Short-Term Goals (13)

Artistic Projects	Attending Conferences
Breaking Bad Habits	Building Confidence
Building Professional Relationships	Building a Stronger Brand
Business Experiments	Career Changes
Career Progression	Caring For a Pet
Choosing a Major	Community Involvement
Completing School Projects	Completing a Task
Completing a Thesis	Conducting Market Research
Cooking Mastery	Create Transparency
Creative Projects	Cultivating Character Strengths
Cultivating Grit & Resilience	Cultivating Social Relationships
Cultivating a Talent	Cultured Living
Cutting Costs	DIY Projects
Delivering Action Items	Delivering Presentations
Delivering a Project	Delivering to Commitments
Demonstrating Professionalism	Developing Character Strengths
Developing Competitive Advantages	Developing Industry Connections
Developing Knowledge	Developing Organizational Capabilities
Developing Partnerships	Developing Processes and Structuring Work
Developing Prototypes	Doing Good
Engaging In School Culture	Entrepreneurial Ventures
Establishing Credibility	Establishing Productive Habits
Establishing Rapport With Others	Establishing Your Legacy
Establishing a Family	Expressive and Creative School Projects
Family Bonding	Financial Goals
Financial Stability	Finishing Homework
Fitness Goals	Gaining Experience
Getting Into College	Getting a Degree or Diploma
Getting a Job	Growing Revenue
Healthy Eating	Helping Others
Hobby Pursuits	Home Improvement
Home Ownership	Improve Customer Satisfaction
Improve Decisions With Data	Improve Quality
Improve Safety	Improve Time Management
Improving Customer Relationships	Improving Grades
Improving Performance In a Sport	Improving Relationships
Improving Response Time	Improving Study Habits
Improving Team Performance	Innovating
Introspection	Joining Activity Clubs
Joining School Clubs	Joining Sports Teams
Leading Group Projects	Leading Teams
Learning Goals	Learning Languages
Learning a Musical Instrument	Life Experiences
Lifestyle Changes	Living Abroad
Making Friends	Making Life Decisions
Managing Commitments	Managing Projects
Managing Risks	Managing Teams
Managing Workplace Conflict	Mastering a Skill
Meaningful Experiences	Media Projects
Meeting Targets at Work	Networking Opportunities
Organizing Social Events	Originating Projects
Parenting Goals	Participating In Class
Paying Off Debt	Paying Your Bills On Time
Political Participation	Positive Thinking
Practicing Skills	Presentations
Prioritizing Study Time	Professional Certifications
Professional Mastery	Promotions
Public Speaking	Pursuing Adventure
Pursuing Education	Quality Time
Reading Books	Recreational Pursuits
Reducing Costs	Reducing Errors
Retirement Goals	Salary & Bonus Goals
Saving Money	Seeking Feedback
Self-Discipline	Self-Reflection
Skill Acquisition	Sleep Improvement
Solving Business Problems	Solving Life Problems
Sports Pursuits	Standardize Things
Sticking to a Budget	Sticking to a Schedule
Streamlining Processes	Stress Reduction
Student Government	Studying Abroad
Studying More	Taking Classes
Taking Time to Think	Taking on Tasks
Time Outdoors	Traveling
Visibility at Work	Volunteering
Winning Market Share	Working Less Overtime
Workshop Participation

What are Goals?

Goals are desired or target future outcomes. The future is created with goals whereby humans are intentional beings driven by a vision of how things could be different or better.

Definition of Goal

The outcome toward which effort and resources are directed.

SMART Goals

SMART goals are goals that are designed to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

This originated with a November 1981 paper by George T. Doran entitled "There's a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management's Goals and Objectives." By the 1990s, this had grown into a common management principle associated with Management by Objectives (MBO) whereby employees would set goals each quarter with their manager and their performance would be evaluated against these objectives.

In an organizational setting, where you are measuring performance against goals, SMART makes a lot of sense. For example, you wouldn't want your performance to be evaluated against goals that aren't measurable such that there is no way to prove that you've completed them.

With the commercialization of the internet in the 1990s, SMART goals began to spread into the public consciousness as practically every article written about goals states that goals must be SMART. This makes no sense whatsoever as personal goals or your career goals need not be measurable or time-bound. For example, you decide you want to improve your relationship with your family -- this might be a worthy goal that probably shouldn't be measured but rather gauged qualitatively using human intelligence and perception.

Within business, SMART goals can also have a downside whereby they can encourage mediocrity due to the criteria that goals are achievable. It is possible and arguably common to structure performance goals at work so that they are remarkably easy to achieve.

Ambitious goals in life or business aren't always specific, nor are they always measurable, achievable or time-bound. Open-ended goals such as "always do what's best for the customer" can be really valuable targets as compared to a SMART goal such as "improve customer satisfaction by 3% by November, 1st 2031 by re-architecting the customer portal."

In practice, open-ended goals and other types of goals that aren't SMART play an important role in business strategy. SMART goals play an administrative role in assessing the performance of employees and teams.

Intentions

Life goals don't have to be traditional goals at all but rather intentions. Traditional goals focus on outcomes -- what you will get. Intentions are goals for your behavior. For example, the goal to work hard. This makes no mention of outcomes but is perhaps more healthy because it fully focuses on what you can control with the expectation that good outcomes may flow if you perform well.

More about goals: