SMART Goals for Better Decision Making

New year means new resolutions (provided you have crossed off last year’s resolutions). For some, we might have been recycling the same resolutions for years. This situation is similar to business goals, including in the agriculture industry. 

By the end of 2021, most of us would have discussed our team’s overall performance while also setting new goals for 2022.  

Regardless of our organisation goals, consistency is key in initiating a SMARTer approach for 2022. This is not only to achieve the goals set, but also to make sure there are no loose ends come the end of the year.  

The SMART Approach 

For plantation managers, the ultimate goal for 2022 could revolve around potential areas of generating more money from your plantation business. While you might have set your strategies and drawn the blueprints for action, you might want to try enhancing your goals with the SMART method. 

First, you should make sure your goals are:  

Specific – A clear goal makes for a clear path to success!
Measurable – Make sure you have the means to track your progress
Achievable – Assess your resources and do not be afraid to play the long game
Relevant – Make sure your goals can have a positive outcome to your business
Targeted – Set a realistic target and timeframe for you to achieve the goal  

The SMART approach is vital for better progress tracking, identifying the relevant influencing variables, setting specific targets, and helping you plan ahead in case of roadblocks. As a result, plantation managers would have better insights and control over their plantations, while maintaining smarter decision making throughout the process. 

SMARTer Plantations 

Here is an example of how the SMART approach can be applied to your goals: 

Original goal: To generate more money for the plantation   

SMART goal: To produce a 10% increase in profits from last year for one field, let’s call it field A, amounting to RM100,000 within 2022. 

Why is the second goal better? 

Specific: The goal focuses on one field rather than a whole plantation. Setting different specific targets for individual fields will help in making informed decisions according to their respective situations.  

Measurable: Profit margins could easily be tracked throughout the year with data automation. 

Achievable: An achievable target based on your resources and capabilities would be better for long-term progression.  

Relevant: A 10% increase in profits for one field alone would surely benefit the business. Managers could then plan ahead on what the future strategies are when the target is met. 

Targeted: A one-year timeframe is set as the target, providing a clear objective and urgency to the goal. 

It is better to be specific when using the SMART approach. Having separate goals for different fields in the estate would assist in identifying the problems for each of them. This divide-and-conquer approach enables swift responses to unwarranted issues concerning the fields individually. 

In the unlikely event of failure, the SMART approach would also enable you to keep track of where you fall short. As such, you could plan ahead to improve for the future, avoiding the same mistakes from happening.  

This would also help to better manage your resources and maximise efficiency for your plantation as a whole.  

Data Automations and Analytics 

One of the important cores in using the SMART approach is the speed of data transmission. Without swift data automations and dependable analytics, insights on your plantation would be delayed. In turn, you would be unable to react instantaneously to the recurring issues, which subsequently would affect your goals. 

Carefully integrating data automation and analytics with the SMART approach would mean a higher  possibility of you achieving your goals. Better yet, you could also throw in the application of relevant technologies to better track your plantation’s progress! 

We can help to turn your plantation goals into reality! Quarto enables you to seamlessly automate your plantation data, provides immediate insights, and helps you in producing informed decisions. 

Click here to learn more.