Heading Down the Highway in My Jalopy

A common technique for goal setting is the acronym and mnemonic device called SMART. The letters stand for the following words:

S = specific
M = measurable
A = achievable
R = relevant
T = time specific

The device or tool is particularly useful in helping supervisors and employees give legs to their goals. For example, I worked with a supervisor that wanted “Josie to know Raiser's Edge software better.” Interesting, yet useless. The goal is so broadly defined as to have the concreteness of a puff of smoke. What is Josie supposed to do differently? How will she know she’s achieved the goal? What does “better” exactly mean? Using SMART, the supervisor and I recast the vague intent into a solid goal: On or before July 1st Josie can create and run intermediate level Rasier’s Edge queries that contain at least two operators and a time period. Now, Josie clearly knows what she needs to do and her chances of succeeding have increased significantly.

As helpful as SMART is, the times are a changing. The 21st century, as we shall see, demands SMARTER goals. I am not the first to suggest the additional letters. A quick search of the Internet turned up several versions of SMARTER goals: Enthusiasm and Reward; Exciting and Recorded; and Evaluate and Redo. Although these letter combinations work in most, if not in all, situations, something more significant is required. The world population is expected to top over 9 billion people in 2050, and with our insatiable consumption of resources, particularly in the developed industrial countries, the ecosystems -- the land, oceans, lakes and rivers, and atmosphere -- that support life may be reaching their carrying capacity or breaking point. Unless we radically change our ways, we are no different than the fool who drives a Cadillac over a cliff. A vision of sustainability is needed that propels us to act in balance with nature so that humans and other life can thrive forever. Sustainability must become the compass that guides our actions.

SMARTER goals can help achieve this revolutionary vision. The letters stand for the following words:

S = specific
M = measurable
A = achievable
R = relevant
T = time specific
E = environmentally responsible
R = relationship building

The radicalness is not the idea of sustainability, which, thankfully, society is slowly beginning to embrace. Rather, it’s that every goal must pass through the filter of sustainability.

Let’s say you’re the director of administrative services for a city, and the mayor asks your department to develop a program to educate residents on town services. Your team decides to create a local government academy. Using the SMART template, the team comes up with the following: On or before September 1st, at least 12 residents attend sessions on municipal finances, services, and operations. Good start. Now, let’s make it a SMARTER goal.

The department staff begins by asking about the environment impact of the academy. How much resources are being consumed? Which are renewable? Which are nonrenewable? What waste is being generated? Once everyone understands the impact, they can move towards mitigation. How can the program encourage participants to carpool? What if the senior citizens bus picked up participants in one location and drove them to the various government buildings? Can handouts be limited to one per household? What about double siding all documents or providing Internet links instead of paper copies? Can we avoid paper cups and water bottles? Obviously, there are no simple answers. It’s a balancing act of achieving results while consuming the least amount of resources and generating the least amount of waste. And, as with most activities, practice makes better.

It should be noted that the E is a different type of letter. SMART goals are value neutral. They can build a playground or pull off a bank robbery. It’s doesn’t matter. SMARTER goals, on the other hand, make a value judgment. Dumping toxic waste into a stream could never be considered a SMARTER goal.

The last letter, R, is for relationship strengthening or improving the connections between people and communities. A community is a network of interdependent relationships. Except for cave dwelling hermits, no one is self sufficient. We need and rely on each other. SMARTER goals promote relationships, which create stronger and more resilient communities. In our example, what activities could be included to help people learn about each other? Could the group create a project to benefit the community? What if email addresses were exchanged so participants could stay in touch? How about inviting participants to meet up for coffee before a session? The possibilities are there.

Admittedly, some individual pursuits lack a relationship component and make it difficult to convert them to SMARTER goals. Improving your end game in chess or learning how to play the guitar doesn’t necessarily involve others. If desired, a relationship aspect can be included. I want to play the acoustic guitar so I can jam with my friends at the Lucky Lucy bar on Fridays. Or, I want to improve my chess game so I can spend more time with my Uncle Teddy. At a minimum, the R forces the question -- how can relationships be strengthened?

The power of SMARTER goals is in its ability to push sustainability into everyday conversations and decisions. So often sustainability tools require extensive training or expensive software. A Life Cycle Assessment provides an excellent snapshot of the true cost of product or service, but it’s useless in planning a family trip to the west coast. Or, when deciding on a washer and dryer, consulting the 14001 EMS standards won’t get you far. Two minutes of training and a few examples are all that are needed to begin the journey to thinking and acting sustainably.

Let’s to return to our government academy example. A SMARTER goal for the program could be

On or before September 1st, using minimum and mostly renewable resources and generating minimum waste, at least 12 residents participated in three on-line, interactive sessions on municipal finances, services, and operations, toured seven town facilities in the senior citizen bus, and attended a graduation banquet.

I know. The sentence flow is clunky and heavy, but a jalopy headed in the right direction is preferable to driving a Cadillac over a cliff.