There are lots of components to success. Sometimes, luck can be your biggest contributor. But luck rarely delivers you consistent wins. If you want to give yourself the best chance of succeeding, luck or no luck, a disciplined approach matters. There are three things everyone needs to succeed: skill, will and direction. In other words, you need to know what it is that success looks like, and have the skill and motivation to do what you need to get there. Goals are your compass through this process. A clear, well-written goal provides direction, focus, and motivation. They can help you define what success is, but also help you back down the components of skill and will you need to build to get there.

Yet, not all goals are created equal. Poorly defined goals often take us off track. They can create frustration, and missed opportunities—both for individuals and their organisations. In contrast, high-quality goals increase clarity, accountability, and, crucially, the likelihood of success.

So, what makes a great goal, and how can leaders help their teams set better ones? We’ve taken a deep dive into what this looks like with YakTrak’s new AI Goal Feedback Bot, and set down some insights on how organisations can take a big step toward making high-quality goals the norm—not the exception.

What makes a great goal?

Think of a goal as a roadmap. A vague or poorly written goal is like handing someone a blurry map with no clear destination—they might get somewhere, but it’s unlikely to be where you intended. High-quality goals, on the other hand, act as precise GPS coordinates, guiding individuals toward specific, measurable outcomes.

The SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) has long been the gold standard for goal-setting, and for good reason. Research shows that clear, specific, and measurable goals boost performance by up to 25%*:

• Specific: goals should clearly define what needs to be achieved. For example, ‘Increase customer satisfaction’ is vague, while ‘Increase customer satisfaction scores by 10% over the next quarter’ is precise.
• Measurable: a goal should include criteria to track progress. Numbers, percentages, or deadlines help make goals tangible.
• Achievable: goals should stretch your capabilities without being unrealistic.
• Relevant: goals must align with broader business objectives. A great goal ties personal development to organisational success.
• Time-bound: deadlines provide urgency and focus, preventing procrastination.

If goals aren’t written with care, they cease to be useful. For instance, overly complex language, lack of context, or a mismatch with an employee’s role can still make goals ineffective.

Real-world examples: mediocre vs. great goals

Let’s look at two examples:

• Poorly written goal: ‘Improve teamwork.’
• Great goal: ‘Facilitate one team-building activity per month to improve collaboration scores by 15% in the next six months.’

The second goal is actionable, measurable, and tied to a specific outcome, making it far more likely to be achieved.

Another example:

• Poorly written goal: ‘Reduce call handling time.’
• Great goal: ‘Reduce average call handling time from 6 minutes to 5 minutes by the end of Q3 through training and process improvements.’

By adding clarity and context, the second goal gives the individual a clear path to success.

How YakTrak’s new AI Goal Feedback Bot helps users set better goals

Writing high-quality goals can be a challenge, especially for those new to goalsetting or balancing competing priorities. YakTrak’s AI Goal Feedback Bot assesses the goal  a user inputs, providing constructive suggestions to refine and improve goals.

Here’s how it works:

• When users create a goal in YakTrak, they can click the ‘goal feedback’ button. The AI then evaluates the goal against best practices and offers suggestions for improvement. For instance, it might recommend making a goal more specific or adjusting its timeline.
• The bot provides immediate feedback, helping users fine-tune goals on the spot. This fosters better habits and builds confidence in goalsetting.
• The user edits the goal and has an opportunity to get more feedback if they wish. Importantly, it’s the user that makes amends and saves the goal – not the AI.
• There are tons of research papers out there that detail why writing down goals improves the likelihood of them being achieved; improving the quality would be moot if it negated the chances the goal could be reached

In user testing for YakTrak’s new AI Goal Feedback Bot, we discovered something surprising: before using the feature, only 31% of goals included a measurable component. After interacting with the bot, this doubled to 62%. We also saw that of the users that interacted with the bot, 67% of them modified their goals when feedback indicated changes were needed. In this pool of users who changed their goal, they improved their goal quality by 16%, when compared to their original input.

Now you can set SMART goals and be on your way to achieving them faster than you can say YakTrak Goal Feedback Bot! Check out our demo below…

Why better goals lead to better outcomes

The impact of well-written goals extends beyond individual performance. High-quality goals:

1. Drive accountability. Clear goals make it easier to track progress and hold individuals accountable. This creates a culture of ownership and transparency.
2. Boost engagement. Employees are more motivated when they see how their goals contribute to broader team or organisational success. This aligns with Gallup’s findings that highly engaged teams are 21% more productive.
3. Enable continuous improvement. Quality goals create a feedback loop, providing a clear basis for reviewing and refining performance over time.

A pathway to success

At GRIST, we’ve long championed the importance of clarity, focus, and quality in leadership and coaching. YakTrak’s new feature aligns perfectly with these principles, offering a practical tool to help organisations embed better goalsetting practices into their culture.

By enabling teams to write better goals, you’re not just improving the likelihood of achieving those goals—you’re fostering a mindset of continuous improvement and high performance.

Ready to improve goal quality?

The YakTrak AI Goal Feedback Bot isn’t about taking over—it’s about helping your people do their best work. Whether you’re setting goals for sales performance, customer satisfaction, or professional development, this feature ensures every goal is a step closer to success. And with all data securely stored onshore in Australia, it’s a smart, safe, and effective way to support your teams.

Let’s make great goals the standard, not the exception. Contact us now to find out how.

*Research according to Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, pioneers in goal-setting theory, specific and challenging goals can boost performance by up to 25% compared to vague, easy ones. This is because great goals provide clarity, a sense of purpose, and a metric for success—elements essential for sustained engagement and achievement.