February has arrived. How are the goals you set for yourself or your organization in January progressing? If you have a hard time answering that question, one possibility is that you have set inadequate goals. Well thought-out goals should be measurable and have a deadline.

The site Manager Tools has a podcast illustrating how to change your goals into ones that are measurable and time-bound(MT goals). For example, the goal “achieve on-time shipments” should be changed to “achieve an on-time shipment rate of 90% by the end of Q3.”

By making a goal measurable (90% shipment rate) and time-based (end of Q3) you can keep track of your progress and there is a clear indication as to whether the goal has been met.

The MT system works for personal goals as well. For example, instead of “get in shape,” state your goal as “do 100 push ups without stopping by April” or “run 2 miles in under 12 minutes by May.” See the difference?

Here are a few more nuggets of wisdom from the podcast:

1. “Things that get measured are the things that get done.”
2. Goals that start with “improve” or “reduce” have to be measurable and have a deadline to be successful.
3. Set goals not aspirations.

You can listen to the whole podcast here. The podcast includes eight other examples of goal transformation and a few examples of excellent MT goals. Start around the 10 minute mark to skip some unneccessary introductory comments.