in-depth explanations
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REDUCED COMPLEXITY
FIXED TIME LINE
FIXED LOW FEE
FIXED OUTCOME FORMAT
when to start
Our approach aligns with your growth and funding stages. This table gives an idea of what needs to be ready at each stage to minimise unnecessary costs early on, while maximising your funding potential and growth.
OGSM
At start: Not yet recommended.
Towards end: Objective, Goals and Strategies with some initial actions.
At start: Horizontal and vertical cascading versions are ready.
STAGE
PRE-SEED
SEED
SERIES A
SERIES B
BRAND
Show confidence and excite with initial versions of: A vision and story, value proposition, ICP iterations, brand name, look and feel/moodboard
Before pitching: ICP, value proposition, brand values, messaging, look and feel.
At start: The full brand has to be ready, incl. story, personality, guiding principles, visual identity, messaging. Brand strategy aimed at market dominance.
At start: Brand adaptation for new markets and/or international expansion.
Before pitching: Full OSGM including the go-to-market strategy.
more about "brand"
​As a startup, probably some of your most important questions are:
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Who is my target group?
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What problem does my product solve for them?
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How does it solve that?
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How do I communicate the relevance of my product?
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How will I acquire them as customers?
These questions are central to your brand. The rest of your business is built around this foundation, and this is where OGSM strategy comes in. To make it really happen.
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Beyond the logo: Building emotional connections with your brand
A strong brand goes beyond the rational functionality of your product; it creates a deep emotional connection with potential users.
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A logo and colours are just a small part of a brand.
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A brand tells the story of how your product came to life and what it aims to achieve for people.
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It is reflected in everything your business does and doesn't do, says and doesn't say, and how these actions and messages are delivered.
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A strong brand should be deeply linked to the business that owns and markets it, ensuring consistency and authenticity.​​​​​​​
​​​​Even in business, decisions are rarely based purely on logic.
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It's the emotional connection that makes people desire your product.
It justifies the value they are willing to pay for it.
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The brand can be developed before creating the OGSM or in parallel, refining messaging and customer focus during an iterative process.​​​
understanding OGSM
The vision of where you want to be at the end of a specific period (usually 1-3 years).
Or the point at which your plan is completed.
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​Seemingly impossible to achieve, made possible by OGSM.
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​It gives direction, ambition and motivation.
​Easy to understand and remember, touching both mind and heart.
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​The objective provides direction for the entire OGSM: Everything else follows from this, which means agreement within the team is required.
OBJECTIVE
Quantification of the elements of the Objective.
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Monitoring progress towards the Objective ensures you are heading in the right direction and staying on schedule.
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It also ensures all stakeholders have the same understanding of the specific words in the Objective.
GOALS
Objective and Goals
define what you want to achieve. In principle these do not change.
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Strategies and Measures
explain how you will get there.
The main steps needed to reach the Objective.
They can be inspired by the SWOT.
These are the decisions about how people, budget, and time are used.
Each strategy is assigned to a person or team and becomes their main goal.
They know that by achieving this goal, they’re making a key contribution to the overall organisational objective.
Up to five strategies; because doing fewer strategies well is far more effective than juggling many and leaving them unfinished.
STRATEGIES
EXAMPLE OF A VAGUE OBJECTIVE
Our goal is growth, with innovation playing a crucial role across areas like production, marketing, communication, and packaging.
In each of these fields, adapting to consumers and their evolving needs is central to our approach.
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Explanation
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Seems clever, but is vague and not involving
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Open to multiple interpretations (evolving needs, adapting)
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Could be applied to any business
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No "What" by "How"
EXAMPLE OF A GOOD OBJECTIVE
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(WHAT) At the end of 2027, Redbury Chocolate is Spain’s chocolate brand of choice for connoisseurs with a conscience
(HOW) BY developing a sustainable co-ownership model for every stage of sourcing, production and marketing.
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Explanation
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Inspiring and motivating
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Specified target group
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Very specific for Redbury Chocolate
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"What" by "How" format
In English this term refers to both a measurement and an action.​​
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We divided Measures into
two parts:
– a Dashboard
– an Action Plan
MEASURES
Quantification of the elements per Strategy.
Ensuring all stakeholders have the same understanding of the specific words in the Strategy.
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Monitoring progress of the strategy:
Are we heading in the right direction? Are we on schedule?
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Although the Objective and Goals stay unchanged, you can change the road towards them: the Strategies and Actions.
The Dashboard gives criteria for go/no-go decisions and corrective actions.
MEASURES – DASHBOARD
The smaller, more concrete steps to realise each Strategy.
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Thoughtful decisions:
– how each team invests their time and uses their budget
​– what a team will do, and what they will STOP doing
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Each action has:
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the name of the person responsible to drive (not necessarily implement) the action
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A due date
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A budget
MEASURES –
ACTION PLAN
REAL STORIES – REAL IMPACT
While strategy work is often confidential, we want to share some of the real-world challenges clients face—and how they made changes for the better.
These case studies are anonymised, with industries adjusted for confidentiality.
show me the money: an investor magnet
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An early-stage start-up struggled to raise capital despite initial investor interest. The feedback was consistent: while the idea was appealing, there was no concrete execution plan or system to track progress and demonstrate long-term returns on investment.
We expanded their Objective beyond just the idea, connecting benefits with the target audience's latent needs . This provided clear direction and a compelling narrative for potential investors.
The one existing strategy relied solely on social media marketing (likes and shares) but lacked specific content plans and a link to the Objective.
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We made it possible for investors to get direct feedback about the impact of their capital by introducing clear measures. They could easily track progress—or withdraw if targets were not met.
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The result was overwhelming investor interest, as they saw a start-up with the energy of a new venture combined with the strategic mindset of a seasoned company. And that is the kind of low-risk, high-reward opportunity that investors want.
Stage 1 - organise, focus & fund
when two heads butt, no cars get saved
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A client in the emergency roadside assistance sector consisted of two distinct parts:
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The medical teams (doctors and associated staff)
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The operations teams, including ambulance services, call centres, and dispatch coordination. In charge of strategy.
The medical staff prioritised the highest level of service, while the operations teams were focused on cost efficiency.
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We emphasised involving representatives from both divisions in defining the Objective, which we elevated to a shared and more inspiring vision that both teams could agree on.
​The ensuing strategies allowed each division to leverage their expertise.
As a result, the two divisions no longer impeded each other’s progress. They both could achieve their individual objectives as well as the overarching goals of the company.
Stage 2 - Grow & mAture
letting go, without letting down
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To step down, lean back and enjoy the rewards of years of hard work: this was an unfulfilled wish for a Dutch vegetable grower.
The challenge? He was involved in everything, from daily operations to client relationships and new business generation. Without his input, the business would stall. It was crucial to document his ideas and processes.
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Defining the Objective was straightforward: the owner had always been a successful visionary.
But as a micromanager, creating a business plan based on expertise of his team was a challenge. The OGSM project gave the management team a chance to demonstrate their skills. Involving the wider team in action planning also gave them a new sense of ownership.
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The goals and dashboard allowed the owner to monitor progress as needed, giving him the confidence to hand over control to the OGSM-empowered team.
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The result was a major shift in company dynamics. The team thrived with their newfound structure and autonomy, while the owner enjoyed watching the continued success from a distance and the growth of his grandchildren, soon ready to step into the business.
Stage 3 - reduce & sell
REDBURY chocolate
EXAMPLE
Redbury Chocolate is a brand we wish really existed, with a mission to make top-quality, ethically produced chocolate accessible to everyone.
By the end of 2027, Redbury aims to be recognised as the go-to sustainable chocolate brand for connoisseurs who care about the impact of their choices.
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Their unique approach involves engaging communities, ensuring transparency in their supply chain, and offering co-ownership opportunities to those passionate about chocolate, sustainability and excellence.
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This example illustrates the comprehensive structure and scope of an OGSM but does not include all the goals, strategies, and measures required for a complete OGSM. The numbers are solely for demonstration purposes and may not reflect entirely accurate or realistic values.
download the pdf version here
the visual structure of an OGSM
