Work SMART, Not Hard

Picture this: it’s

| The XIII Olympic Winter Games

| The Olympic Arena

| U.S. vs. U.S.S.R.

| Lake Placid, NY

| Friday, February 22, 1980

| 5 p.m. EST

~8,500 fans are chanting “USA! USA! USA!” but all you can hear is U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks shouting, “The legs feed the wolf.”

Today, it’s remembered as an iconic moment. But in 1980, it was more than that. It was a legendary lesson in SMART goals.

At Namely, I was introduced to the Miracle on Ice and to legendary hockey coach Herb Brooks. His relentless commitment to hard work resonated with me long before I understood the SMART model. That’s why I resisted the saying, “work smarter, not harder.” Back then, I saw it as an excuse for laziness. Today, I see SMART goals as proof that you can work smarter and harder.

By the time I reached Bitwarden, I realized a SMART goal without a plan is just a wish. Short-term goals are the building blocks of long-term success. Reaching them takes persistence, discipline, and courage. The power of SMART goals lies in the clarity, focus, motivation, and accountability they provide. But the obstacles are just as real: fear of failure, procrastination, and self-doubt can stand in the way of success.

So, I led with SMART goals:

| SPECIFIC

| MEASURABLE

| ACHIEVABLE

| RELEVANT

| TIME-BOUND

For example, my top SDR wanted to prospect like-minded open-source companies through PURE outbound. By setting SMART goals, we showed that PURE outbound works.

As a 3× SDR Manager, I look back at the 1980 Olympic Games as the moment Coach Herb Brooks proved you can work smarter and harder. ~8,500 fans were chanting “USA! USA! USA!” when the legendary coach was shouting, “The legs feed the wolf.”