As a enterprise, focus and alignment are all the things.
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 course?
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 development.
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 simply pretty much as good as the way you execute towards 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, you must 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 staff 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 rules 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 stage over the subsequent 12-18 months?
- Performs: How will we obtain our targets on the staff stage via 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 evaluate our Goals from the earlier yr and resolve whether or not we’re going to maintain them constant for the upcoming yr.
Alternatively, 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 stage.
We select to stack rank our Goals to offer clear prioritization for the entire enterprise. For instance, we’ve seven Strategic Goals for 2025, and we’ve them organized by order of significance.
Why? To verify our groups have a transparent sense of priorities and steerage on methods to make obligatory trade-offs.
Every Goal has a specific amount of Objectives related to it. We prefer to categorize our Objectives based mostly on precedence:
- Precedence 0 (P0): Important to attaining Strategic Goal (probably 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 Purpose. These are related to the “how” — the specifics round what you’re going to do to perform your Objectives.
Appears like lots of work, proper? It’s, however belief me — it’s value it.
An vital approach to hold issues operating easily is thru accountability. One important method 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 individual chargeable for shifting a Strategic Goal ahead. They set the imaginative and prescient for the target, outline the success metrics and work to be carried out, align cross-functional groups, and navigate any blockers that come up.
Accountability and transparency are the keys to understanding whether or not we’re truly executing our technique all year long.
We use mechanisms — like Quarterly Enterprise Critiques (QBRs) and month-to-month studies — to create area for standing updates, deal with blockers proactively, and guarantee we’re hitting our milestones.
So, there you’ve gotten it. Simply pop some concepts onto just a few slides, and you’ll test strategic planning off your record!
…not so quick.
OGPs are a method to an finish. They will help create focus, however true alignment comes from doing the onerous work of considering, planning, and speaking.
For us, the strategic course is ready by the manager staff, 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 purpose.
That is the place the alignment from the highest meets the autonomy of purposeful consultants — 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 an important issues to resolve for our clients. This permits us to focus our vitality on the work that issues and align our groups on the work to be carried out.
The HEART of Success
What actually works for us all through this entire course of is that this: Route and readability about our priorities comes from the manager stage, however the entire firm is concerned within the “how.”
Everybody at HubSpot is a crucial a part of strategic planning.
Our Purpose Drivers are collaborating with their groups to write down memos that define why their targets are vital, how we’re going to realize them, and what sources are wanted to achieve success.
And our government leaders are setting course on the highest view.
That’s how we create focus and alignment at each stage of group.
How We Proceed to Evolve
Our strategy to strategic planning evolves yearly. It’s vital that we tweak our framework based mostly on new learnings and suggestions from our workers.
We’re consistently utilizing information 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 know the place we’re excelling and the place we’re arising quick.
It’s comforting to slap an “authorized” framework onto your online business. It provides you lots of confidence, however you possibly can’t simply cease there. You must work out what works for you because the trade 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 information, 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 Strive
In our tradition code, we speak about hiring individuals with HEART (Humble, Efficient, Adaptable, Outstanding, Clear). We outline efficient as individuals who get sh*t carried out and take possession for his or her success. You may also name this autonomy.
And in an autonomous tradition, individuals can solely thrive after they have a transparent course on the place the corporate goes. That is the place so many firms find yourself losing high expertise.
Focus and alignment are all the things — and our framework is an extremely precious device to maintain workers targeted on the trail ahead.
This put up was tailored from MSPOTs: the Secret to Focus and Alignment, and has been up to date for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
