S.M.A.R.T. Goals- Its Impact on our Lives

 

The SMART goals framework helps define and plan for achievable outcomes. The idea is to define meaningful and impactful goals that are clear and can be realized within the available means. The common interpretation of the acronym is:

You can certainly apply the concept of SMART goals to any aspect of your life. Companies, however, frequently use the SMART framework to identify organizational objectives and manage employees. The approach helps eliminate ambiguities and guesswork in setting goals, making progress toward goals a process that can be measured.

Whether for personal or workplace use, the SMART approach can help! In this article, we’ll look at SMART goals, real examples, and how to apply SMART principles to make sure your targets are achievable.

The SMART Goals approach

Here are the five factors to consider when creating SMART goals:

S = Specific

Target a specific objective. Define exactly what it means to have reached a milestone. Create a holistic view of the goal in front of you. In practice, this can be achieved by answering the following aspects of defining a specific goal:

·    What needs to be accomplished? This could be a detailed description of the objective.

·    Who is responsible for the necessary tasks?

·    Where is it located? This could be an event or location that must be identified as a detailed specification of the goal.

·    When should the target be reached? Setting a timeframe is a critical component of SMART goals, covered further in the Time-Bound section, below.

·    Which requirements should be fulfilled? Account for all obstacles that must be addressed in achieving the goals.

·    Why is this goal important? Identifying and understanding the motivation behind a goal makes it more achievable.

M = Measurable

The progress toward a goal must be quantifiable and correlate with the objectives. It should be tracked on a measurable scale using appropriate KPIs and metrics. You may not celebrate until you meet your final objectives—but each milestone brings you closer toward success. By establishing goals that are measurable, you can identify missed targets and take corrective measures as circumstances change. Importantly, you can find potential performance lapses before it’s too late.

Once the finish line is reached, you can evaluate the historical performance and plan for future improvements. This means that right metrics should be defined to track the progress toward SMART goals. In the domain of enterprise IT, where all business operations are data-driven, getting the metrics strategy right is challenging; choosing wrong metrics can be costly.

Of course, as with any measurement, it’s important to measure goals using metrics that provide accurate and realistic views of progress without generating an overwhelming deluge of misleading information.

A = Achievable

Goals are likely to be achieved if they are realistic, practically possible, and viable based on available resources. An empowering goal can be broken down into attainable milestones. At every progressive step, the end-target appears to be closer to reality—more and more achievable. In contrast, the journey toward an impossible goal causes demotivation at every hurdle. That’s why it’s so important to identify limitations that may impede your goal.

Following a strategic and systematic approach can make goals achievable:

·    Identify the resources available to you

·    Define the problems and expectations

·    Plan the path that will lead you toward success most effectively

It’s also important to understand that circumstances change. A target that’s not achievable today, can be practically within your grasp if the necessary skills and tools are acquired. When defining goals that are practically achievable, it is also useful to understand how you can push your boundaries and make the impossible possible.

R = Relevant

When resources are limited, you must focus on goals that are most impactful and require immediate attention—both in the short- and long term. It is always possible to achieve many targets, but all targets consume resources and deliver a different outcome. Progressive organizations identify the targets that are most relevant to their vision, strategy, and long-term business growth.

In order to determine whether a goal is relevant, consider the following decision criteria for a goal:

·    Is it required? What’s the priority?

·    Is it the right time?

·    What’s the short and long-term impact of pursuing this goal?

·    What are the risks involved and how are circumstances expected to evolve over time?

T = Time-Bound

Many goals are achievable if allocated enough time. However, the results may not be impactful if not reached in appropriate time. Adding the constraint of a time duration allows you to prioritize tasks in your periodic routine. Daily tasks should not affect long-term goals. Similarly, ignoring routine tasks can add to the backlog that can impact your schedule plan in the future.

Time-oriented goals also make the progress trackable over the duration of assignment. Progress relative to time spent or time remaining delivers insightful information on past progress and how future plans should be changed in response to the current pace.

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

PGDIN

NITIE Mumbai

Shanti Mantra || Series Model of Connecting People || MECE

 

 ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

 

Literal Translation:

 Aum! 

May we (both) be protected; may we (both) be nourished;
May we work together with great energy, May our knowledge be radiant;
May there be no differences or disputes between us
Om, peace (inside), peace (around), peace (between)

 

This verse is special because it is mentioned in four Upanishads (sacred scriptures), which were recollections of sacred (and whispered) teachings from the seers to their students. The secrets whispered are subtle and spoken to listeners that have grasped the foundational thoughts beforehand. 

To minimize these effects and increase the positive effects of Rahu, Shanti mantras have been developed. There are four different types of Shanti mantra:

 1.    Om Dhum Ram Rahave Namah

2.    Om Bhraam Bhreem Bhraum Sah Rahave Namah

3.    Om Raam Rahve Namah

4.     Aum Rang Rahave Namah

Series Model of connecting the components

The Connecting People Intervention is a way of working that helps users of health and social care services to make new social connections beyond these services. Many of its elements can already be found in routine health and social care practice. But its originality lies in utilizing individuals’ strengths to co-produce activities and co-define outcomes. New social connections arise as a bi-product of engaging in this process.

 MECE

Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive

MECE is one principle you must be aware of when preparing for the case interview and joining the consulting industry. The term stands for “Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive” and it is a seminal concept in consulting. Consultants work, eat, drink, and sleep this concept – it’s a must-know for anyone thinking of joining the industry.

So What is MECE..???

 If you have spent any time at all preparing for the case interview, you have become well aware of the frameworks utilized when structuring your approach to the case. Simply put, MECE is a problem-structuring principle that organizes data efficiently and comprehensively by adhering to the following two rules:

 

1.Mutually Exclusive: Identifying blocks of data related to each other that do not overlap.

    For example: imagine you are a consultant and your client is All Foods Corporation. All Foods produces various types of food and is looking for its next hit market category and has hired your consulting firm to figure out which food to produce next.

You huddle with your team and each person is assigned a different type of food – you are assigned to meats, one teammate is assigned to proteins, and another is assigned to steaks. Think of all the confusion, redundant work, and inefficient use of time that would cause!

A better approach would be dividing up into Mutually Exclusive subsets of data, such as meats, grains, and vegetables

2. Collectively Exhaustive: All blocks of data when summed together address the entirety of the problem at hand

For example: Let’s think back to All Foods and the project your team was hired to work on. While meat, grains, and vegetables may be categories that are Mutually Exclusive, they don’t cover all types of food. For instance, which of the three buckets would an apple fall under? Or eggs? The answer is none of them.

If your client expects a thorough investigation of all possibilities, there are certainly other buckets of food that need to be added. You huddle up with your team and decide to divide into six groups: fruit, vegetables, meat/poultry/fish, dairy, grains, and other. Later on as your team presents its deliverable, All Foods is impressed that all the different types of food under the sun have been considered. Your project is on its way to becoming a success!

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

NITIE Mumbai

Importance of Personal Branding and Communication

 It was a surprising Tuesday morning when in our Business Communication class instead of our esteemed professor T. Prasad- Mandi Sir, we were greeted by one of our alumni, Mr. Nikhil Kulkarni.

Mr. Kulkarni is the co-founder of Darwin Travel Tech(techdarwin) which is a travel technology B2B startup.

It was very interesting and insightful 90 minutes, where he taught us the importance of effective communication and building your own personal brand.

In his lecture, he covered various topics:

The importance of Personal Brand

 Can you guess the person ???

I am sure if you are from India and even if you don't follow Cricket, still you will recognize the person in the above picture.

Yes you are correct! its Mahendra Singh Dhoni a.k.a Captain Cool.

The reason you were able to recognize him even from behind is that he himself is a Brand and it took him years of hard work to build it.

By building your own personal brand, you give people a chance to reach out to you for your work.

Structuring your Content- Pyramid Principle:

In a world where there is a scarcity of time in people's lives, communicating the most in the least possible words is a very lethal weapon you can carry along with you.

Pyramid Principle:

Always ask these questions before you communicate:

• What is the objective of my communication?
• Who is the audience?
• What is the context in which this content will be consumed?
• Have I listed all aspects of the problem?
• Is each and every aspect of the problem presented?
• Are all the aspects independent of each other?
• Am I repeating any aspect?

Once you successfully answer all the questions, you will have a perfect and well-structured speech right in front of you.

I want to heartily thank Prof. T.Prasad for organizing such a wonderful session and giving the students a food for thought.

Thanks!

Vedant Saraf

2002260

PGDIM

NITIE Mumbai

Swadeshi Mandi

74th स्वतंत्रता दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाये

As Winston Churchill quoted- “Never Let a Good Crisis go to Waste”

 Our Honourable Prime Minister- Shri Narendra Modi has shown his immense support to the Local people of India and their Local Products by starting a revolution of #AtmaNirbharBharat – a self-reliant India. By promoting the local products of India, our Prime Minister is really making the best out of this deadly pandemic and throwing spotlight on the dark spots of India and bringing the local products at an International platform.

 To jump on the bandwagon the Marketing Interest Group (MiG) of National Institute of Industrial Engineering(NITIE) has launched an event named:

where local products from all walks of life will be promoted. The influence of this event is so charismatic that IIM-B emulated it.

 So, bringing to you, right from the heart of India- Jabalpur- the marble art.

 Dhuandhar- 

The Dhuandhar Falls are located on Narmada River in Bhedaghat and are 30 meters high. The Narmada River, making its way through the world-famous Marble Rocks, narrows down and then plunges in a waterfall known as Dhuandhaar. The plunge, which creates a bouncing mass of mist, is so powerful that its roar is heard from a far distance.

 Marble Mountains:

The area has many tourists activities. There is a cable car to take visitors across the gorge, rowboats for guided tours of the river downstream of the falls, and many small shops filled with crafts made from the local materials.

 

 

Marble Sculpture:

On your way to Dhuadhar waterfalls you can see the hustle in the busy streets of Bhedaghath where the local artisans display their finest work of art. You can find god and goddess idol, seven wonders of the worlds carved on a piece of marble, even you can emboss your name on the rock in the most beautiful pattern you will ever witness or you can engrave your name on a piece of rice and see it through a magnifying glass.

 I along with my friend, Trisha Dhawe got a wonderful opportunity to be a part of this grandiose event and to do our bit we created the launching poster for the event.

 

Let us take a pledge this Independence Day to truly set ourselves free from the clutch of foreign products and instead, bring a ray of hope to our local people and promote their products.  Let us be VOCAL for LOCAL.

 #AtmaNirbharBharat 

#VocalForLocal  

#TrulyIndependent

Links for MiG:

https://www.youtube.com/user/nitieprasad1/playlists

https://www.instagram.com/migofficial_nitie/

https://twitter.com/mig_nitie

 

Thank you for your valuable time!

 

Vedant Saraf

PGDIM ’22 Batch

NITIE Mumbai