{"id":"mgr-x-smart-goals-rewrite","audience":"managers","category":"writing-feedback","track":"writing","technique":"examples","title":"Rewrite vague goals into measurable ones","free":false,"task":"Your report Theo drafted his Q1 goals, and they're too vague to review in 3 months. Rewrite them as exactly 3 numbered goals, each with a number to hit and a deadline, under 70 words, plain text. Use only targets and baselines from the notes, using the corrected baseline, and drop the goal the two of you agreed to cut.","materialLabel":"Theo's draft and your notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Theo's draft Q1 goals (Customer Support, team lead)\n\n1. Get faster at answering customers.\n2. Make the help center better.\n3. Help the new hires get up to speed.\n4. Learn more about AI tools.\n\nMy notes from our 1:1 (Jan 8):\n- Goal 1: first reply time today is 9 hours (median). Team target: under 4 hours by March 31.\n  UPDATE (Jan 10): data team says the median was really 7 hours; a weekend backlog was double-counted. Target unchanged.\n- Goal 2: help center articles with \"Was this helpful? No\" over 40%: 18 articles. Target: rewrite at least 12 of them by March 15.\n- Goal 3: 2 new hires start Jan 20. Target: both handling tickets solo by Feb 28.\n- Goal 4: we agreed to drop this one, the company training covers it.\n\nTheo's style note: \"I hate corporate goal language. Keep it simple.\"","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":3},{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Asking to 'improve these goals'","why":"The AI keeps all 4 goals and adds SMART headings and sub-bullets.","fix":"Be exact: \"Exactly 3 numbered goals. Plain text.\"","checks":["numberedItems","plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each goal instead: \"each goal under 18 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Inventing targets","why":"Without your notes as the source, the AI makes up nice-sounding numbers.","fix":"Add: \"Use only the targets in my notes: under 4 hours by Mar 31, 12 articles by Mar 15, solo by Feb 28.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Using the old baseline","why":"9 hours appears first, so the AI may use it.","fix":"Add: \"The baseline is 7 hours (corrected), not 9.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Keeping the cut goal","why":"The AI rewrites every draft goal, including the one you agreed to drop.","fix":"Add: \"Drop the AI tools goal. Simple words, no corporate language.\"","checks":["r2"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Asks for numbers and dates","patterns":["number","deadline","date","measurable"]},{"label":"Uses the corrected baseline","patterns":["7 hours","correct","update"]},{"label":"Drops the cut goal","patterns":["drop","ai tools","cut","only (3|three)"]},{"label":"Sets the number of goals","patterns":["\\b(3|three)\\b.{0,15}goal"]},{"label":"Asks for plain text","patterns":["plain","no bold","no markdown","no formatting","no headings"]}],"hint":"A goal you can review has a number and a date. Give the AI the targets from your notes, the corrected baseline, and which goal is gone.","rubricLabels":["The 3 goals are median first reply time under 4 hours by March 31, rewriting at least 12 of the 18 low-rated help center articles by March 15, and both new hires handling tickets solo by Feb 28","If a first reply time baseline appears, it is 7 hours (not 9)","The AI tools goal is dropped, every goal has both a number and a date, and there's no corporate goal jargon (no 'leverage', 'synergy', 'drive excellence') and no intro"]}