Rock Your Strategy

Tag: results

  • How to Run Your OGSM Quarterly Review

    How to Run Your OGSM Quarterly Review

    Most OGSM plans quietly fall apart between reviews — not because the strategy was wrong, but because no one built a reliable ritual for interrogating it.

    Running an OGSM quarterly review means gathering your leadership team for 60–90 minutes to assess four things: whether your Objective still reflects your ambition, whether your Goals are on track, whether your Strategies are working, and whether your Measures are telling the truth. You review Dashboard Measures to check the scoreboard and Action Plan Measures to understand why. Then you decide: stay the course, adjust tactics, or trigger a full re-plan.

    In this article you’ll get a step-by-step facilitation guide — what to prepare before the meeting, the exact four questions to ask the room, how to update your OGSM documents correctly, and a 60–90 minute agenda you can run this quarter.

    What should you prepare before the quarterly review?

    The quality of your quarterly review is determined before anyone walks into the room. If you arrive with stale data and no pre-read, you’ll spend the first 30 minutes catching up instead of deciding.

    Prepare at least 48 hours before the session:

    • Update your Dashboard Measures. Pull actual vs. target for every Goal. If a measure is amber or red, be ready to explain the gap — not defend it.
    • Update your Action Plan Measures. Each Strategy should have measurable milestones. Gather those actuals too.
    • Prepare a one-page summary. A single document showing the current state of every Objective, Goal, Strategy, and Measure gives the room a shared starting point. Our OGSM template is built for exactly this.
    • Flag the outliers in advance. Don’t walk through everything line by line. Pre-identify the two or three items that need a real conversation and make sure everyone knows what they are.
    • Send the pre-read 24 hours before. Your team should arrive oriented, not overwhelmed. If people are still reading the summary when the meeting starts, you’ve already lost 20 minutes.

    The facilitation job gets much easier when the facts aren’t in dispute before you begin.

    What are the four questions to ask the room?

    The quarterly review is a structured interrogation of your OGSM. These four questions give the session its spine. Ask them in order.

    1. Is our Objective still the right ambition? Quarterly reviews rarely change the Objective — but you should ask. Has the competitive environment shifted? Has something internally changed the scope of what’s possible or necessary? If the answer is yes, flag it for a full re-plan (more on that below). If not, confirm it and move on quickly.

    2. Are our Goals on track? Goals are your quantified targets — revenue, market share, retention, whatever you committed to. Go Dashboard Measure by Dashboard Measure. Green means proceed with a brief acknowledgement. Amber means diagnose. Red means decide. Don’t skip the green ones — a quick confirmation that something is working builds team confidence and keeps the energy right before you hit the difficult conversations.

    3. Are our Strategies producing results? This is where most reviews get shallow. Strategy is how you intend to win — not a list of activities. The question is not “did we do the work?” but “is this approach generating the outcomes we expected?” Look at your Action Plan Measures here. If the activities are happening but the results aren’t following, your Strategy may be wrong — and that’s a different problem than your team underperforming.

    4. What decisions do we need to make today? Every quarterly review must close with explicit decisions, not vague intentions. Resources reallocated? Strategy retired? New initiative approved? Write them down and assign owners before you leave the room. If you leave without decisions, you held a status update, not a strategy review.

    How do you update Dashboard Measures versus Action Plan Measures?

    This is one of the most common points of confusion in OGSM practice, so let’s be precise.

    Dashboard Measures live at the Goal level. They tell you whether you’re on track to achieve your Objective via your Goals. These are typically lagging or leading indicators — monthly revenue, customer NPS, pipeline coverage, retention rate. You update them with actuals and compare against target. A Dashboard Measure tells you that there’s a problem.

    Action Plan Measures live at the Strategy level. They track whether your Strategies are being executed effectively — things like number of new partnerships activated, conversion rate changes from a specific initiative, or features shipped against a roadmap commitment. These tell you why you may be on or off track at the Goal level.

    The rule is simple: when a Dashboard Measure turns red, go immediately to the corresponding Action Plan Measures. The cause of the gap is almost always there. For a deeper look at how these two measure types work together and how to set them up correctly, read our guide to the OGSM Measures Column.

    Update both sets of measures before the meeting. Update the document formally after — with the decisions and any adjusted targets recorded against the relevant measures.

    When should a quarterly review trigger a full re-plan?

    Most quarterly reviews should end with small adjustments: tweak a Strategy, reallocate budget, retire an initiative that isn’t generating results. That’s healthy OGSM practice.

    A full re-plan is warranted when:

    • The Objective is no longer valid. A market shift, acquisition, or significant internal change has made the original ambition wrong or irrelevant.
    • Multiple Goals are structurally off track. Not a bad quarter, but a pattern that suggests the targets were wrong or the underlying business model has changed.
    • Core Strategies are clearly failing. Not just slow — genuinely not working, with no credible line-of-sight to recovery in the remaining period.
    • A critical assumption has been invalidated. Every Strategy is built on assumptions. If a core assumption has been proven wrong, the Strategy resting on it is suspect.

    Be honest here. Continuing to execute a plan everyone in the room knows is broken is more expensive than re-planning. Trigger the re-plan early and you’ll have better options. Waiting until the annual review because “we committed to this” just compounds the cost.

    What does a 60–90 minute quarterly review agenda look like?

    Keep the agenda tight. Quarterly reviews fail when they sprawl into all-day workshops. Here’s a structure that works for most leadership teams:

    0:00–0:10 — Open and orient (10 min) Confirm everyone has reviewed the pre-read. Note the key items flagged for discussion. Set the decision-making expectation: you’re leaving with explicit calls, not actions to investigate.

    0:10–0:30 — Dashboard review (20 min) Walk through each Goal and its Dashboard Measure: actual vs. target, trend, owner commentary. Mark green, amber, or red as you go. Keep green items brief.

    0:30–0:50 — Strategy deep dive (20 min) Focus only on amber and red Dashboard items. For each one, interrogate the Action Plan Measures. What’s driving the gap? Is the Strategy still valid, or does it need to change?

    0:50–1:10 — Decisions and adjustments (20 min) What changes? Who owns it? Are any Strategies being retired or replaced? Is a full re-plan needed? Every decision gets an owner and a due date before you move to the next one.

    1:10–1:20 — Close and next steps (10 min) Assign follow-up actions. Confirm the date and format of the next review. If you’re unsure how often you should be running these sessions, our article on OGSM review cadence covers the full annual rhythm and when to deviate from it.

    That’s a quarterly review that sharpens your strategy rather than just reporting on it. The difference between teams that execute well and teams that drift is usually this: the ones who execute have a meeting they can’t avoid where the facts are on the table and decisions have to be made. Build that meeting, run it well, and your OGSM becomes a live tool rather than a document that ages in a shared drive.

    Rock on.

  • How to Run an OGSM Strategy Review Meeting That Actually Moves the Needle

    How to Run an OGSM Strategy Review Meeting That Actually Moves the Needle

    Most strategy review meetings end with a slide deck nobody looks at again and a vague promise to “do better next quarter.”

    An effective OGSM strategy review meeting follows a fixed agenda: review your measures first, diagnose why goals are on or off track, agree on one to three concrete actions, and assign ownership before anyone leaves the room. Done monthly or quarterly, a 60–90 minute meeting is enough to keep a team aligned and a strategy alive.

    The difference between a review that drives change and one that just takes up calendar space is structure. Here’s exactly how to run it.

    Why Most Strategy Reviews Fail

    Strategy reviews fail for predictable reasons. The meeting is too long, too unfocused, or too comfortable. Teams report on what happened without asking why it happened — and leave without agreeing on what to do differently.

    The OGSM framework actually makes this easier to fix. Because OGSM separates your Objective (direction), Goals (measurable targets), Strategies (choices), and Measures (leading indicators), you always have a clear agenda. You’re not reviewing a vague “progress update.” You’re reviewing specific numbers against specific targets and asking specific questions.

    Who Should Be in the Room

    Keep it small. A strategy review is not an all-hands or a status report. It’s a decision-making session.

    The right people are those who own a Goal or a Strategy on the OGSM — typically your leadership team or department heads. If you’re a small business owner, this might just be you and one or two key team members.

    A useful rule: if someone can’t directly act on what’s discussed, they probably don’t need to be there.

    The Agenda That Works

    Step 1: Open With the Objective (5 minutes)

    Start every meeting by reading the Objective out loud. Not as a ritual — as a reset. It refocuses the room on direction before anyone dives into numbers.

    Ask one question: “Are we still headed in the right direction?” If the answer is genuinely no, the agenda changes. Otherwise, move on.

    Step 2: Review the Measures (15–20 minutes)

    Your Measures are the leading indicators that tell you whether your Strategies are working before it’s too late to adjust. Go through them one by one.

    For each Measure, ask:

    • What is the current status versus the target?
    • Is it green, amber, or red?
    • If it’s amber or red, why?

    Keep this factual. No blame, no defensiveness. You’re diagnosing, not judging.

    Step 3: Review the Goals (15–20 minutes)

    Goals are your lagging indicators — the outcomes you’re working toward. They tell you whether your Strategies are delivering results.

    Walk through each Goal:

    • Where do we stand against the target?
    • Are we on track for the period-end figure?
    • Which Strategies are contributing, and which aren’t?

    This is where the connection between strategy and outcome becomes visible. If a Measure is green but the related Goal is red, something in your diagnosis or strategy logic is off.

    Step 4: Agree on Actions (15–20 minutes)

    This is the most important part of the meeting — and the one most often rushed.

    Based on what you’ve just reviewed, agree on one to three specific actions to take before the next meeting. Not themes. Not intentions. Actions, with a named owner and a due date.

    A useful format:

    “By [date], [name] will [specific action] in order to [expected impact on Goal or Measure].”

    Three concrete actions with owners will do more for your strategy than ten discussion points with no follow-through.

    Step 5: Update the OGSM (10 minutes)

    Before the meeting closes, update your OGSM document with:

    • Current status on each Measure and Goal (RAG rating)
    • Actions agreed, with owners and dates
    • Any changes to a Strategy if one has clearly stopped working

    This keeps your OGSM a living document rather than a snapshot from last quarter. If you’re working from a shared template — a PowerPoint or Excel version — update it during the meeting so everyone leaves with the same picture.

    Step 6: Close With One Sentence (5 minutes)

    End every review with a one-sentence summary: “Our strategy is [on track / needs attention in one area / requires a course correction] — our priority action is [X].”

    It sounds simple, but a clear verbal close does two things: it reinforces alignment, and it gives anyone who needs to communicate the outcome to their teams a ready-made message.

    How Often Should You Meet?

    For most teams, a monthly rhythm works well during the first year of an OGSM cycle. Monthly is frequent enough to catch issues early, and infrequent enough to allow time for actions to take effect.

    If your strategy is in a critical period — a turnaround, a major launch, a tight quarter — move to bi-weekly. If things are running smoothly and your Measures are consistently green, quarterly is fine.

    The worst cadence is no cadence. A strategy that’s only reviewed when something goes wrong is a strategy that exists on paper only.

    Common Pitfalls to Avoid

    Reporting instead of reviewing. There’s a difference between presenting a slide of numbers and genuinely asking why those numbers are what they are. Push for the “why” every time.

    Skipping the action step. If the meeting ends without agreed actions, it wasn’t a review — it was a briefing. Always leave with ownership.

    Changing the strategy too often. If a Strategy changes every month, you never find out whether it was working. Give strategies at least two or three review cycles before you adjust them.

    Making it too long. Ninety minutes is enough for most teams. If you regularly run over, the problem is usually unclear preparation, not insufficient time.

    Prepare Before You Meet

    A strategy review is only as good as the data going into it. Before the meeting:

    • Update Measure and Goal data against targets
    • Flag any items that need discussion (not just reporting)
    • Share the updated OGSM with participants at least 24 hours in advance

    If participants walk into the room seeing the numbers for the first time, the first half of the meeting is wasted on comprehension rather than diagnosis.

    The Right Tool Makes It Easier

    Running an effective strategy review is much easier when your OGSM is in a format that’s built for it — one where Measures, Goals, and RAG status are all visible on one page, and where the whole team is looking at the same document.

    If you’re still managing your OGSM in a general-purpose template or a text document, consider moving to a structured format designed for this purpose. The OGSM Template for PowerPoint and OGSM Template for Excel are both built to support exactly this kind of review — with clear layout, RAG indicators, and a structure your team can update in real time. When your tool matches your meeting rhythm, the review practically runs itself.

  • 13 Reasons Why Successful Companies Use OGSM

    13 Reasons Why Successful Companies Use OGSM

    Many Fortune 500 companies and many small businesses have successfully implemented the OGSM methodology to support their strategic process. Why? Because there are many benefits to using OGSM to simplify strategy and deliver results. Here are 13 ways the OGSM methodology can improve your strategy too.

    → Want the complete OGSM reference before diving in? The Complete OGSM Framework Guide covers all four components in depth, real-world examples by industry, a comparison to OKRs and the Balanced Scorecard, and step-by-step build instructions.

    1. Simplicity

    The OGSM is simple. The methodology uses a simple framework, easy language and a one-page overview to break down a sophisticated process into an approachable, simple format. This makes it easy to understand and easy to adopt.

    2. Clarity

    The OGSM makes strategy clear and transparent. As the OGSM depicts the strategy on a single page, there is no need to read a long strategy paper or a thick powerpoint deck to understand what the business or the organization is looking to achieve and how it will get there. The objectives, goals, strategies and measures can all be found at first glance. Clarity about strategic objectives is critical if you want to achieve them.

    3. Quick to learn

    The OGSM methodology is easily understood and quick to learn. You do not need to hire expensive consultants first to explain to your executive team or your project team how to develop a strategy or deploy the tool. The format and terminology are simple and basic concepts of the methodology can be learned quickly in order to be deployed effectively. (Besides, you have Rock Your Strategy to help you through the process ;-))

    4. Easy to communicate

    The OGSM can be easily communicated. Key to effective communication is connecting with your target audience to help them understand the key content of your message. Because the OGSM is simple, easy to understand and makes your strategy clear and transparent, it is a wonderful way to communicate your strategy.

    5. Versatility

    The OGSM is versatile. It can be used for long-term strategic plans with time horizons of 3-5 years or longer. It can be applied to annual operating plans or budget plans. It can be deployed for large or small-scale projects etc. etc. In essence, anytime you have an intended outcome and need to plan how to achieve it, OGSM could be your tool. 

    I have personally applied OGSM both for long-term strategic plans and for annual operating plans and I have seen it used to manage a project. All worked very well. 

    6. Engagement

    The OGSM creates engagement. By definition, engagement is when people pledge their support, when they feel a legal or moral obligation to do something. Involving the team, receiving their input and obtaining their buy-in is important. But showing in the OGSM how the team can support implementing the strategy and achieving results creates true commitment. 

    7. Focus

    The OGSM creates focus. Strategy is all about making choices and the process and the OGSM format force making choices. Choices which initiatives to prioritize and how to allocate resources to achieve your objectives and goals. I have found that choosing 3-5 strategies is optimal in order not to put all your eggs in one basket while directing your attention and capabilities towards those activities where you can have the biggest impact.

    8. Alignment

    The OGSM aligns all functions and stakeholders towards a common objective and goals and shows how each can contribute towards achieving them. This is important to ensure that all parts of an organization pull in the same direction. Nothing could be worse for an organization than to create conflicting priorities or diverging interests which lead to inefficient allocation of resources or outright internal competition. While internal competition can be good in some situations. It is poison if there are conflicting views about what the strategic priorities of the business are.

    9. Cascading

    The OGSM makes cascading strategies throughout the organization easier and more straightforward. With OGSM you can cascade the strategy vertically from e.g. company level to division level to team level. You can also easily cascade horizontally from business unit or product line to various organizational functions, such as marketing, sales, operations, HR etc.

    10. Teamwork

    The OGSM methodology encourages teamwork and works best when discussed in the team. Bringing your team together to discuss your strategy, analyze the current situation, debate strategic choices, and decide resource allocation ensures that the strategy is connected to the realities of the business and creates understanding and buy-in.

    11. Execution

    The OGSM format connects WHAT you aim to achieve, the objective and goals, with HOW you are going to achieve it, the strategies and measures. This builds the execution plan into the strategic plan. That means the organization knows how to achieve its goals and can focus on implementing the initiatives.

    12. Review

    The OGSM methodology lends itself very well for regular monthly and quarterly reviews to make sure you stay on track to achieving your targets. While the OGSM is built top down, the review is conducted bottom up beginning with the measures and the strategies. Regular check-ins keep you on target and allow timely course corrections if needed.

    13. Results

    The OGSM approach has proven time and again that it helps people deliver results. A plan without implementation is simply that – a plan. The OGSM creates transparency about what is important and encourages taking action to turn plan into reality. Regular reviews keep the team engaged and focused. Timely course-corrections keep the team on track and ultimately lead to results.

    Conclusion

    OGSM stands for objective, goals, strategies, and measures. It is a simple approach to strategic planning for longer term and shorter term plans alike. It’s a one-page format that describes what the business aims to achieve and how it is going to achieve it. 

    If you would like to learn more about the OGSM methodology, please click here. You may also browse our examples and tools & templates. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a note. We’d love to hear from you.  

    Templates

    Find tools & templates for OGSM and your strategic planning process here.

    OGSM Examples

    Find OGSM examples and inspirations for your own journey here.

    See OGSM in Action: Real-World Examples by Industry

    The 13 reasons above explain why OGSM works. The best way to see those benefits in practice is to look at how different types of organizations use the framework to build focused strategies and drive real results. We’ve developed detailed examples across four industries that represent the most common strategic planning challenges today — from high-growth SaaS companies and AI startups to DTC brands and non-profits.

    • OGSM Example: B2B SaaS — how a pipeline analytics company aligned its leadership team around a clear path from $2M to $8M ARR, including PLG onboarding, enterprise customer success, and upmarket expansion strategies
    • OGSM Example: AI Startup — how a Series A document intelligence company used OGSM to make the transition from research-led organisation to a business with a repeatable sales motion and growing retention
    • OGSM Example: E-commerce / DTC Brand — how a sustainable home goods company built a profitable growth strategy by reducing paid acquisition dependence and investing in owned audience channels
    • OGSM Example: Non-Profit — how an education foundation aligned programmes, funding diversification, and impact measurement into one coherent three-year strategy
    • OGSM Example: Tony’s Pizza — the classic OGSM case study that illustrates all four components in a simple, memorable context

    Convinced by these 13 reasons? The fastest way to start applying OGSM in your business is with a ready-made template. Download a pre-formatted, fully customizable OGSM Template for PowerPoint or OGSM Template for Excel from the Rock Your Strategy shop — and see for yourself why so many successful companies rely on OGSM to simplify strategy and deliver results.

  • What is Strategy?

    What is Strategy?

    Before jumping into the OGSM methodology, allow me first a note on strategy and delivering results since that is what OGSM helps you accomplish.

    Strategy describes the choices you make to achieve an objective. It is the approach you take to reach your destination. Strategy is about where to play and how to win. It is a roadmap to success.

    Strategy is often perceived as a difficult topic – a high-flying, powerpoint-tossing exercise, rich in important sounding words and often disconnected from substance and reality. It’s perceived to be a game for senior executives and smart consultants and often causes more frustration than clarity and purpose. I know because I’ve been there. In the following I’ll share my experience and best practices.

    Strategy is a roadmap to success

    Everyone knows strategy is important. A good strategy is critical for success. It connects an enterprise’s purpose with its activities. It is a roadmap for action and guides decision making. It creates alignment in the organization and engagement in the team.

    “Begin with the end in mind.”

    Stephen Covey

    Creating a strategy seems like a difficult, resource-intensive process that takes time. And indeed in large corporations that often is the case. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it shouldn’t be. A good strategy could be developed on the back of a napkin (Okay, bringing a napkin into the meeting with your board of directors or any stakeholder may not look convincing. But we’ll speak about communicating a strategy later). Or at an offsite retreat. Or with the team in a conference room. And it should fit on a single page. Because strategy is actually quite simple.

    Strategy is nothing else than the choices you make to achieve an objective. It’s the approach you take to win. It’s a roadmap to success.

    Most importantly though, strategy is about making choices. More specifically it is about the choices where to play and how to win.

    For example, a strategy may describe what products to sell and which markets to target to grow your business 20% this year. Or a strategy could outline which customers to approach and what promotional offer to use to close that next sale. Or, quite simply, strategy may be the way you get to work today, choosing the mode of transport and which route you take.

    Strategies are roadmaps that can be created at a corporate level, at a business unit or product/category level or at a tactical point-of-sale level. The point is that strategy is a means to an end, but never the end itself. The strategy is not the goal.

    Too often in my business life I have heard: “our strategy is to make the numbers!” Yes, making the numbers is key. Business is ultimately about delivering results. But that is the goal, not the strategy. “Making the numbers” does not say WHERE to play or HOW to win. Strategy will say HOW to make the numbers.

    Driving strategy implementation

    So a strategy is a plan to achieve something. But it is more than a plan. Strategy is a set of choices that determines if and how you are going to be successful. And success is measured by results. And if you want to deliver excellent results, a plan is still not enough. You need a system for implementation. You need an approach that ensures that action is taken and followed up on. And that’s often the crux.

    “A strategy is only as good as its execution”.

    My former mentor and friend

    Let me take you on a quick journey. How often have you seen a strong strategic plan crafted with great diligence? Many hours of careful market analysis and data crunching go into its preparation. Well-formatted powerpoint slides are created. A raving presentation is given to an excited leadership team. Words of commitment are spoken and a spirited decision is made in pursuit of the identified opportunity and its promising results.

    Only… after its presentation, the powerpoint is filed and everyone goes back to their daily work. You know, that day-to-day grind that keeps us all busy: emails, customer complaints, delayed shipments, and other small catastrophes. And nothing happens. Sounds familiar? Yes, I know. I’ve been there too. That’s why strategies fail.

    A good strategy rallies the team: gain commitment, assign accountabilities, trigger action, drive change, ensure follow through. And that only happens when people know what is expected of them. That only happens when there is absolute clarity WHAT needs to get done and HOW it is accomplished. That only happens when there is a clear action plan, clear caretakers, clear deliverables, clear timelines. Enter the OGSM.

    My aim is to make the topic of strategy approachable and winnable. I want you to be widely successful at creating strategies and executing them to perfection. Whether you are a leader at a Fortune 500, an aspiring entrepreneur, a hopeful young professional or a stay-home-mom with a side hustle, I want to help you win. 

    Because a good strategy is ultimately measured by its results: achieving 20% business growth, closing that next sale, or safely getting to work on time. Because only a good strategy that is well executed will lead to the desired results.

    Having said all that, in the following, I will focus on the OGSM methodology to simplify strategy and deliver results. There are of course many other tools and approaches. After all, many books and articles have been written on the subject. However, in my personal experience I have found that the OGSM approach is the most compelling in leading through a strategy process, making choices and coming up with a one-page deliverable that is easy to understand, easy to communicate and easy to execute.

    Focusing on only one approach may of course have disadvantages. Not everyone may find the OGSM methodology equally appealing. Not everyone may deem it the best fit for them. And that’s ok! If you gave it a try though, I am sure you may find that it is quite applicable to almost any circumstance, any business, any endeavor. It is true that it is not all encompassing. It is not a silver bullet. And it’s usage by itself will not guarantee success. After all, it’s merely a tool. In the end what you do with it still matters the most.

    So let’s get to work! 

    Where can you go from here? Consider checking out our post on 6 steps to develop strategies that delivers results or learn more about OGSM here. Finally, leave a comment below. Would love to hear from you!

    Not sure how to get started? Read this article about using an OGSM template to guide through the strategic planning process.

    References

    Covey, Stephen R. (2012). 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster

    Ready to put your strategy into action? The OGSM methodology gives you a simple, proven one-page framework to make it happen. Download a pre-formatted, fully customizable OGSM Template for PowerPoint or OGSM Template for Excel from the Rock Your Strategy shop — and turn your strategy into results.