OGSM model

Strategy and annual plan on one page

Translate objective and strategy into concrete goals and actions

Inspiring, concrete and measurable

OGSM: Objective, Goals, Strategies, Measures

Successful organizations not only have good ideas, but are also able to implement them. There are plans in every organization, but are there also concrete plans? Too often, a good strategy lingers in vague slogans and objectives. Strategic planning translates strategies into concrete activities whose success can be measured.

OGSM is a method to describe strategy or annual plans on one page. OGSM stands for Objective, Goals, Strategies and Measures. Together they provide a good picture of what drives the organization, how success can be measured, which choices the organization makes and how these choices translate into actions. You can also read business unit or department where it says 'organization'. You can use OGSM wherever strategic plans are made.

OGSM tool

The OGSM tool provides organizations and teams with insight into the progress and results of OGSMs.

View functionality

OGSM model

Objective

Objective

The objective is the big dream of the organization. What do you want to achieve together? A good objective provides direction and energy.

Goals

Goals

The goals make the objective concrete and measurable. This way you all have the same picture in mind and you can actually measure whether the objective has been realized.

Strategies

Strategy

What choices do you make to realize the objective? What do you use the people and resources for? The aim is to arrive at a clear roadmap to achieve your objective.

Measures 1/2

Dashboard

Which indicators do you use to monitor progress? The indicators make the strategies concrete and measurable. During the term of the plan you steer on these indicators.

Measures 2/2

Actions

Which actions (projects) will you carry out within each strategy? Focus on the actions that are necessary, so no 'nice-to-have' actions.

The power of OGSM

OGSM provides inspiration and energy

At the top of the OGSM is your objective: the big dream you want to achieve together. This objective should inspire and give energy to get started. He (partly) gives meaning to the daily hustle and bustle: that's what we do it for!

 OGSM is concrete and measurable

The objective inspires, but it remains a slogan, with the danger that the objective will remain too vague. However, the goals ensure that the objective becomes concrete and measurable.

  • In concrete terms: the goals describe what the objective is exactly. What exactly do 'the most innovative' and 'the most customer-friendly' mean. The goals provide the answers to these questions.
  • Measurable: the goals also indicate how you are going to measure whether the objective has been achieved.

OGSM provides sharp choices

A strategic plan is only a good plan if you make choices: where are you going to use your resources? And therefore: what are you not doing (anymore)? Of course you can also put thirty strategies in your OGSM, but the guideline is a maximum of five to seven. Only then can you remember what you are going to focus on.

OGSM also helps to make choices in daily work. You test a new idea at the OGSM: does the new idea contribute to the realization of our objective?

OGSM is action oriented

You translate the strategies into concrete actions: what are you going to do in concrete terms to realize the objective? Every action has a deadline and a person responsible. This way the plan does not remain reality on paper, but you get to work together.

OGSM ensures logical coherence

All components in the OGSM are interrelated. All strategies and actions contribute to the realization of the objective. In this way they reinforce each other. It is also clear to everyone why certain actions are important and how they contribute to the objective.

Note: a simple model, but not simple

OGSM is a powerful model, but not a panacea. It is not a matter of entering and going! You can only make good choices after a thorough analysis of your strength and vulnerability and the opportunities and threats in the environment. OGSM is a tool to summarize your plan in a powerful overview. The model offers structure, but not the content!

When do you use the OGSM model?

Concrete organizational strategy with OGSM

OGSM is very suitable for describing the strategy of the organization on one page. Employees and stakeholders can see at a glance what the objective of the organization is, what choices have been made and what needs to be done in the coming period.

Annual plan in OGSM

Annual plans describe what a business unit or department will do during a year. The annual plan in the OGSM model shows how the unit or department contributes to the organizational strategy and what the goals and actions are for the coming year. The annual plan helps teams to reflect on progress every month and evaluate the results every quarter. Then the priorities for the coming quarter are also determined.

OGSM checklist

Use this checklist to sharpen your OGSM. Bear in mind: OGSM is a living document, so there is room to constantly refine your plans. Don't get stuck in endlessly improving your plan before you get started. Good is good enough.

Objective

  • The objective is ambitious, but achievable.
  • The objective provides direction. She describes not only what you want to achieve, but also how you do that.
  • The objective is substantively correct. It fits in with the strategic challenges of your organization (arising from the strength and vulnerability of your organization and the opportunities and threats in your environment).
  • The objective contains only the essentials. Nice-to-haves do not belong in the objective.

Goals

  • The goals make all parts of the objective concrete. They do not give room for multiple interpretations of the objective. You can, however, include preconditions.
  • The goals are measurable. They contain the goal, the target value and the unit.
  • The list contains only essential goals. Nice-to-haves do not belong in the list.

Strategies

  • Every strategy contributes to the realization of the objective (business strategy) or is a necessary precondition (enabling strategy).
  • Every strategy provides direction. He describes not only what you want to achieve, but also how you do it: by .
  • They are real choices. You must therefore be able to state what you no longer do. There are a maximum of 5 business strategies and 2 enabling strategies.
  • Someone is responsible for every strategy (each choice has an owner).

Dashboard (indicators)

  • The indicators make the strategy concrete. They do not give room for multiple interpretations of the strategy.
  • The indicators are quantitative. They contain the goal, the target value and the unit.
  • The indicators can be measured periodically (at least annually), so that you gain insight into the progress of the strategy. Rather an indicator does not fit perfectly with the strategy, but is measurable than a perfect indicator that you cannot (yet) measure.
  • The dashboard contains only essential indicators. Nice-to-haves do not belong in the list.

Actions

  • All actions are aimed at the realization of the strategy.
  • All actions are clearly formulated, so that it is also clear later what is meant. Have a by formulation.
  • The action plan contains only the essential actions. Nice-to-haves do not belong in the list.
  • Every promotion has an owner.
  • Every promotion has a deadline.
  • The actions are feasible as a whole in view of work pressure and planning.
  • Actions for the coming year can be completed within a quarter. Is the duration longer? Then pick them up in smaller promotions.

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