Why SMART Goals Don’t Lead to Success

But Require Doubling Efforts.

In failed plans, there’s often one commonality — the goals didn’t resonate with the team. These goals aligned with consultants, bosses, and managers. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant — yet they deprived teams of enthusiasm and belief in success.

The SMART template is outdated. It fails to consider progress made and the journey taken. It doesn’t require creativity, limiting capabilities. By tying teams’ hands, it blocks paths to goals beyond just results.

When Doran created this, he likely didn’t expect aligning employee and company goals. Inspiring goals differ from narrow, results-oriented ones. The former align with the company’s mission — and are achieved successfully.