SMART goals have been around for decades. And every now and then, the question comes up: Are they outdated?

How often should you change your goals? It’s a simple question, but one that many teams and organizations struggle to answer. And more often than not, the confusion comes from leaning too far into one of two extremes.

Setting goals is something every organization does, but surprisingly few do it effectively. At first glance, it seems simple: decide what you want to achieve, write it down, and track progress. But in practice, most organizations struggle to translate goals into meaningful action.

Setting goals is one of the most common strategies leaders use to align their teams and drive growth. And yet, so many organizations fall into the same trap: focusing solely on high-level numeric targets, like revenue, without connecting them to the behaviors that actually make those targets achievable.

Writing down your ambitions is not the same as achieving them. Setting goals is not even half the battle.

Many organizations proudly say: “We already do OKRs.” But when we start working with them, we often discover something interesting: The framework is in place, the terminology is there, yet very little has actually changed.

One of the biggest reasons organizations struggle with OKRs has nothing to do with strategy. It’s hesitation.

In most organizations, goals are built around deliverables.

Every leadership team I speak with seems to have the same “classic” goal: increase revenue. On the surface, it makes sense, revenue drives growth, investor confidence, and the resources your team needs. But in practice, it’s one of the hardest goals to act on effectively.

Many organizations fail at goal-setting. Not because their ambitions are too small, but because their goals remain abstract. A statement like “grow revenue” or “become more innovative” sounds inspiring—but it doesn’t tell teams what to do next, nor how to measure progress. Without clarity, ambition stays just that: aspiration, not reality.