Turn your strategy into quarterly action — set goals, assign owners, and build the rhythm to execute.
This form covers the execution side of the One-Page Strategy Overview — the elements that change quarterly and annually. You should have completed the Strategy form (S1–S9) first.
Don't get stuck trying to find the perfect wording. A 'bad' answer triggers a reaction — and that reaction will help you find the right one. You can always come back and refine later.
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Your measurable financial targets for the coming year. These translate your 3–5 year strategic targets into concrete annual milestones.
Without clear numbers, goals remain wishes. These targets create the accountability framework for the year ahead.
Set a target for each metric. Be specific — use actual numbers, not ranges. If a metric doesn't apply to your business, leave it blank. Use the custom KPI fields for metrics specific to your industry.
"The main thing that will be the main thing" — the single metric that, if moved, would have the greatest impact on your business this year.
Yes, all your metrics are critical. But this designation forces you to pick ONE — the bottleneck or the biggest lever. Everyone in the company should know this number. It typically comes from either the People/Balance Sheet side or the Process/P&L side.
Choose one metric and set traffic light targets — think of them as giving your team a chance to earn gold, silver, or bronze:
Your Focus Metric should ideally be a leading indicator — something you can act on, not just measure after the fact.
The balancing metric from the opposite side. If your Focus Metric is People/Balance Sheet, your Counter comes from Process/P&L — and vice versa.
The Counter prevents you from overoptimizing one side at the expense of the other. E.g. you want to improve relationships but don't want to give away the store, or you want to improve processes but not damage relationships along the way.
Ask: "If we go all-in on our Focus Metric, what could suffer?" That's your Counter. Set a floor — the number it should not drop below.
The 3–5 most important moves for this year — chosen to achieve your Focus Metric. These are NOT a random set of priorities. Think of them as your corporate New Year's resolutions. Less is more.
Initiatives bridge the gap between your Focus Metric and the quarterly actions needed to get there. Without them, teams default to business-as-usual.
Ask: "What are the 3–5 big moves we must make this year to hit our Focus Metric?" Each should be directional and ambitious — an objective, not a KPI. Assign one owner per initiative.
These three serve different purposes:
Your quarterly financial targets — the stepping stones to your annual goals.
Annual targets only become real when broken down into 90-day chunks. These should add up to (or exceed) your annual numbers.
Set targets for the current quarter. Review and update these every 90 days.
The single most important number for this quarter. While the annual Focus Metric tends to come from the People/Balance Sheet side, the quarterly one often comes from the Process/P&L side — though either can be either.
This is the number your quarterly theme, scoreboard, and celebration will rally around. It should be measurable weekly.
Pick one metric that will receive focused attention this quarter. Set traffic light targets. This should ideally be a leading indicator you can act on weekly.
The quarterly balancing metric — from the opposite side of your quarterly Focus Metric.
Keeps you honest. Prevents short-term wins that create long-term damage.
Ask: "If we push hard on the quarterly Focus Metric, what could break?" Set a floor it should not drop below.
The 3–5 most important priorities for this quarter — chosen to move the quarterly Focus Metric. Priorities are concrete, achievable within 90 days.
Priorities turn annual initiatives into quarterly action. Without them, initiatives stay aspirational.
Each priority should be achievable within 90 days and have a clear owner. If it takes longer, break it down. Ask: "What must we get done this quarter to move the Focus Metric?"
Initiatives are the yearly ambition ("Half our sales cycle"). Priorities are the quarterly steps to get there ("Implement CRM automation for follow-ups by end of Q2"). A priority should be specific enough that at the end of the quarter you can say "done" or "not done."
A memorable name and short description for this quarter's focus. The theme makes the Focus Metric come alive for the whole team.
Numbers alone don't motivate. A theme gives the quarter an identity — something people can rally around and talk about.
Give it a catchy name that everyone remembers. Then describe what winning looks like this quarter.
How you will visually track progress on your theme and Focus Metric. The scoreboard should be visible to everyone, updated frequently.
What gets measured and displayed gets done. A visible scoreboard creates peer accountability without management pressure.
Describe what it shows, where it lives, and how often it's updated. It can be as simple as a number on a whiteboard (target vs. progress), or something more tangible — marbles in a jar, a thermometer filling up, or a shared spreadsheet updated every Monday.
How you will celebrate when you hit your quarterly target. Define both the big celebration and the small wins along the way.
Celebration reinforces the right behaviors and builds momentum. It makes the work feel worth it — and signals to the team that achievement matters.
Define what happens when you reach the goal, and how you celebrate small wins along the way. Make it specific and fun.
The 3–5 metrics you personally own and are accountable for. Every employee or team should have an ongoing KPI or two that enables them to answer: "Did we have a productive day or week?"
Personal KPIs make the connection between day-to-day efforts and the goals of the company. A mix of leading indicators (activities you control) and lagging indicators (results).
For each KPI, set a clear target. These should be trackable weekly or monthly.
Your personal quarterly priorities — the 3–5 things you commit to delivering this quarter, in addition to your ongoing work. These should align with the company's Focus Metric and your team's #1 Priority.
If everyone can accomplish one thing in addition to their daily job, that's a dozen improvements every quarter — or hundreds, depending on the number of employees.
Each priority should have a clear due date within the quarter. These are your personal commitments to the team.
Your personal focus metric — the single most important quantifiable quarterly achievement for you or your team that will help the company achieve its vision.
It ties your personal contribution directly to the company's quarterly Focus Metric.
This should connect to the company's quarterly Focus Metric or to one of your KPIs. Set a clear target and a counter to keep balance.
People and Process are the six spinning plates of your business. On the People side: Employees, Customers, and Shareholders. The goal is to continually improve the company's Reputation with all three — while balancing the competing demands between each group.
Each of the six areas has a different set of priorities. Often these priorities will compete for the scarce resources within your company — time, attention, money. By listing all the priorities here, you keep a comprehensive overview of the competing areas that drive the success of your company.
For each category, identify the 1–3 factors that set you apart or hold you back. For employees in a consulting firm, that might be attracting top talent. For a call center, it's retention. For a manufacturer, it's skilled operators who stay.
Choose KPIs you can track weekly to monitor the health of each area.
The three core processes that drive productivity: Deliver (generates expenses), Sell (generates revenue), and Record (tracks all transactions). The goal is to continually improve all three while balancing their competing demands.
The big challenge is balancing the competing demands among all six areas — like juggling spinning plates. You want to keep all the People happy (Reputation), but you can't give away the store (Productivity). Improving processes shouldn't upset people, and keeping people happy shouldn't kill margins.
For each process area, identify the 1–3 KPIs or focus areas. Track how the business generates profit through these factors:
The People & Process sections connect directly to two dedicated tools: the Function & Process Ownership Map (who owns what) and the Cash Acceleration Tools (tracking how money flows through Deliver → Sell → Record). Coming soon.