You probably already have several different types of goals in a spreadsheet or Notion doc. Company goals, OKRs, personal goals, projects, initiatives, etc. When it's time to wrangle all of these into one system, start here.
Each goal must have a name, due date, owner, and status. Here’s an example:
Focus on the #1 highest impact goal each person can deliver in the next 30-60 days.
It’s usually best to reset with one goal per person. Have them prioritize this above all other work. This goal should be so important that they can dedicate 80% of their effort to it.
You’ll know you have prioritization problems when people say “I didn’t have time to work on it,” or “got distracted with other priorities.”
It’s often helpful to start with an outcome. What is the business outcome you want to achieve? What new customer behavior will be enabled?
How will the world be different once this goal is achieved?
When you understand the desired outcome, you can work backwards to uncover the outputs. Outputs are under your control—it’s obvious when they’ve been delivered.
The name of the goal should incorporate the definition of done. It must declare the output that will be delivered or achieved.
30–60 days out is a good rule of thumb. No longer than a quarter, especially for early-stage companies. Anything less than a month is probably just a task.
Often, your reports will say, “I don’t know when we will achieve this,” especially when it comes to hiring. Help them get comfortable with setting an aggressive yet achievable goal, even if they’re not sure. This is the beginning of a process. The process will uncover obstacles and help determine the team’s velocity. In the future, these estimates will be more accurate based on actual experience.
When you set the initial status, it should be yellow or red. If it’s green, your date is not ambitious enough. Push to complete it faster.
Each goal has exactly one owner. That owner is the person actually responsible for achieving the goal. It’s tempting to make your executives the owners of their team’s goals. Instead of doing this, go straight to the person who is on the ground doing the work. You will be asking them to review this goal weekly. They will know what’s really blocking them better than anyone else.