As a enterprise, focus and alignment are all the pieces.
There are such a lot of issues you are able to do to maneuver the needle, however which of them do you have to act on? With so many individuals engaged on so many initiatives, how do you retain everybody shifting in the identical route?
Unlocking these solutions is the distinction between disconnected work efforts and ahead progress to realize your mission.
As we proceed to scale, we have to encourage self-motivation and execute on extra cross-functional work to assist our clients drive progress.
However let’s face it — autonomy with out alignment results in chaos.
That is the place the OGP framework is available in. Your technique is just nearly as good as the way you execute in opposition to it. And having a framework to allow aligned execution is important.
Ours permits us to proceed offering autonomy with clear alignment on priorities from the highest.
The OGP Framework
OGP stands for Goals, Objectives, and Performs.
Earlier than you begin figuring out your OGPs, it’s a must to perceive your mission, your values, and align on the technique that guides you.
Consider it as your working system. These are the weather that can inform your Goals and assist you to perceive what success seems to be like at every milestone.
And all of that is pushed by who you serve — your clients, your purchaser persona, the individuals you’re finally fixing for.
Our government crew makes use of the next slide to drive our OGPs from the highest:
- Mission: What’s our big-picture imaginative and prescient?
- Values: What beliefs and ideas drive the way in which we work?
- Technique: How are we going to achieve our imaginative and prescient?
- Strategic Goals: What long-term, company-wide bets are we making over the subsequent ~3 years
- Objectives: How will we accomplish our goals on the purposeful degree over the subsequent 12-18 months?
- Performs: How will we obtain our targets on the crew degree by means of particular deliverables over the subsequent 3-6 months?
Your Mission and Values don’t change fairly often (if in any respect). They keep fairly constant yr to yr.
Your Technique and Strategic Goals change roughly each three years. Annually at HubSpot, we evaluation our Goals from the earlier yr and determine whether or not we’re going to maintain them constant for the upcoming yr.
Then again, your Objectives and Performs get up to date extra incessantly. We replace our Objectives yearly and revisit our Performs on a half-yearly or quarterly foundation.
Extra on OGPs
Alignment begins with an understanding of our long-term technique, and our Strategic Goals are decided on the government degree.
We select to stack rank our Goals to supply clear prioritization for the entire enterprise. For instance, we have now seven Strategic Goals for 2025, and we have now them organized by order of significance.
Why? To verify our groups have a transparent sense of priorities and steerage on how you can make obligatory trade-offs.
Every Goal has a specific amount of Objectives related to it. We wish to categorize our Objectives based mostly on precedence:
- Precedence 0 (P0): Important to attaining Strategic Goal (possible fails with out). There are fewer of those (~5 per Goal). They’re usually extremely cross-functional, and these targets are reviewed by our C-suite on a month-to-month foundation to make sure progress and take away any blockers.
- Precedence 1 (P1): Necessary to driving progress towards Strategic Goal. There are extra of those (~20 per Goal). They’re usually particular to at least one operate, and these targets are reviewed by our purposeful leaders on a month-to-month foundation to make sure progress and take away any blockers.
Then, there are Performs that roll up into every Aim. These are related to the “how” — the specifics round what you’re going to do to perform your Objectives.
Seems like quite a lot of work, proper? It’s, however belief me — it’s price it.
An necessary approach to maintain issues working easily is thru accountability. One important means we’re holding individuals accountable is thru our refreshed DRI mannequin.
The DRI Mannequin
Within the OGP framework, the DRI (or Instantly Accountable Particular person) is the one particular person liable for shifting a Strategic Goal ahead. They set the imaginative and prescient for the target, outline the success metrics and work to be completed, align cross-functional groups, and navigate any blockers that come up.
Accountability and transparency are the keys to understanding whether or not we’re really executing our technique all year long.
We use mechanisms — like Quarterly Enterprise Opinions (QBRs) and month-to-month reviews — to create area for standing updates, tackle blockers proactively, and guarantee we’re hitting our milestones.
So, there you could have it. Simply pop some concepts onto just a few slides, and you may test strategic planning off your listing!
…not so quick.
OGPs are a way to an finish. They may help create focus, however true alignment comes from doing the onerous work of pondering, planning, and speaking.
For us, the strategic route is about by the chief crew, however the execution of that technique could be very bottoms-up. Each VP is working with their administrators, managers, and particular person contributors to resolve the “how” of every aim.
That is the place the alignment from the highest meets the autonomy of purposeful specialists — and that is the place the facility of OGPs comes from.
How We Make OGPs Work For Us
On the core of strategic planning at HubSpot, we got down to determine crucial issues to resolve for our clients. This permits us to focus our power on the work that issues and align our groups on the work to be completed.
The HEART of Success
What actually works for us all through this complete course of is that this: Course and readability about our priorities comes from the chief degree, however the entire firm is concerned within the “how.”
Everybody at HubSpot is a vital a part of strategic planning.
Our Aim Drivers are collaborating with their groups to jot down memos that define why their targets are necessary, how we’re going to realize them, and what sources are wanted to achieve success.
And our government leaders are setting route on the highest view.
That’s how we create focus and alignment at each degree of group.
How We Proceed to Evolve
Our method to strategic planning evolves yearly. It’s necessary that we tweak our framework based mostly on new learnings and suggestions from our workers.
We’re always utilizing knowledge to carry ourselves accountable to the technique we laid out as an organization. For instance, we conduct eNPS surveys and interviews with individuals across the enterprise to grasp the place we’re excelling and the place we’re developing brief.
It’s comforting to slap an “accredited” framework onto what you are promoting. It offers you quite a lot of confidence, however you’ll be able to’t simply cease there. It’s essential determine what works for you because the business grows and your buyer wants evolve.
Focus doesn’t simply occur. It’s a byproduct of shared imaginative and prescient. And imaginative and prescient comes from speaking, sharing, taking a look at knowledge, and updating assumptions.
Should you’re not doing that work upfront, don’t hassle with OGPs or another goal-setting framework. None of them will work.
Give It a Attempt
In our tradition code, we discuss hiring individuals with HEART (Humble, Efficient, Adaptable, Exceptional, Clear). We outline efficient as individuals who get sh*t completed and take possession for his or her success. You may additionally name this autonomy.
And in an autonomous tradition, individuals can solely thrive once they have a transparent route on the place the corporate goes. That is the place so many firms find yourself losing prime expertise.
Focus and alignment are all the pieces — and our framework is an extremely worthwhile device to maintain workers centered on the trail ahead.
This publish was tailored from MSPOTs: the Secret to Focus and Alignment, and has been up to date for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
