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Goal setting sheet
Forty years of research, in four lines
Specific beats vague. A named number outperforms an instruction to improve.
Harder beats easier, up to a limit. Past the limit of ability it collapses faster than it climbed.
Commitment is a condition, not a bonus. A hard goal nobody accepted beats an easy one they did, only in theory.
Feedback is required. A specific goal with no visible progress is the same as no goal.
SMART is a checklist for how a goal is written. It is not the research. The three conditions underneath each goal are what the evidence actually turns on, and most goals in small businesses fail on those rather than on the wording. If any condition is unticked, fix that before improving the sentence.
Enter a starting point, a current value and a target and the sheet shows how far along you are. Come back and update Current monthly; that is the feedback the research says a goal cannot work without. Saves in this browser only.
Prefer paper? Download the blank sheet as a PDF. The thinking behind it is in The Target.
General guidance from practice, not legal, HR, or financial advice. Everything you type stays in this browser and is never sent to a server; clearing site data removes it.