1. SMART: say the goal in one clear sentence
- S specific: not "do better work" but "complete the missing data on my 20 pending items."
- M measurable: what counts as done, in one number (count, amount, days, percent). Ban phrases like "clearly improved."
- A achievable: reachable with a stretch. Impossible goals die on the first attempt and teach you to lie to yourself.
- R relevant: tied to this stage's priorities, not to what everyone else is doing.
- T time-bound: name the date. "As soon as possible" is not a time; it is a mood.
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Improve myself this year | By Dec 20, run the recommended actions for my two weakest skills for four weeks each, leaving one record per session |
2. PDCA: every step should leave an artifact
- P plan: goal + broken into actions + owner + deadline. Artifact: a clearly written statement.
- D do: actually do it, not just "delegate it." Artifact: process traces - written, revised, sent.
- C check: compare results against the original goal and find the gap. Artifact: comparison numbers, not "fine, I guess."
- A act: codify what worked, adjust what did not, loop again. Artifact: one sentence on what changes next time.
The classic failure: only P and D, never a real C. A loop without checking is spinning in place while feeling progressive.
3. How they fit together
SMART sets the finish line; PDCA runs each lap. Without SMART, PDCA does not know where to run. Without PDCA, SMART is just a nice sentence written in January.
1
Step 1
Write this quarter's goal as one SMART sentence.
2
Step 2
Slice it into weekly actions and load them into this week's PDCA.
3
Step 3
Spend 10 minutes each Friday on C: completion rate, blockers, next week's change.
4
Step 4
In the last week of the quarter, review the whole quarter. This is the smallest unit of annual growth tracking.
4. A weekly review template you can copy
- Last week's promises (as written): copy verbatim, no rewriting.
- Completion: done / partly / not done - honestly. Not finishing is not a sin; claiming "done" is.
- Blockers: one line, facts only, no emotions.
- Next week's three promises: SMART, each with a number and a date.
- One reflection: what mattered most this week (not what kept you busiest).
Starting your first PDCA: keep the goal small (one thing on your plate), the cycle short (one week first), and make sure someone reads it (a mentor or partner leaves a comment - the core of PDCA is the second look; without a reader it never happened).