Episode 400: SMART Goals

I'm going to say something a little unpopular.

Most SMART goals don't work. Not because the framework is bad. Not because I don't believe in it. I make SMART goals every quarter for myself. But what I actually see with the voice actors I coach is that they use them to create the appearance of a plan, not an actual plan. They check all the boxes, put it in a document, and never look at it again. And then at the end of the year they feel like they failed.

And that is awful.

What Goes Wrong Here is a real example, completely anonymized. A student submitted this goal to me. By the end of September I will post once a week on LinkedIn, send five follow-up emails daily, and reach out to one voiceover buyer weekly. My goal is to book at least two new clients and generate $5,000 in new revenue within 12 months.

On paper that looks great. There is a date, there are numbers, there is a revenue target. But here is what is actually happening.

The timeline is a mess. The activity goal says by the end of September. The revenue goal says within 12 months. Those are two totally different timelines bolted onto the same goal. So which one runs the show? What happens in October?

Five follow-up emails a day is 150 emails a month. To who? If you do not have a large existing prospect list you will run out of people to follow up with within three weeks. The goal becomes impossible on its own terms before you hit month two.

And the goal contradicts itself. One section says one LinkedIn post per month. The main goal says once a week. If your goal contradicts itself it is not written yet. It is just a draft.

These are fixable problems. But they are the kind of thing that quietly kills your momentum before you have even started.

How to Know If Your Goal Is Actually Written Read it out loud to someone who will ask questions. Not someone who will be supportive. Someone who will push back. See if they can tell you from that goal alone what exactly you are going to do on a Tuesday in month seven.

If they cannot, you do not have a goal. You have an intention. Intentions are fine starting points. They are terrible execution plans.

How to Do This Correctly Start with the real outcome. What do you actually want? Be honest. Five thousand dollars in new revenue from direct marketing is a real outcome. Get more clients is not. Name the number.