Strategy: Defining Annual Macro Goals #
The Strategy tab is where you begin building your organization’s annual strategic direction. It serves as a planning workspace for defining your long-term vision, annual objectives, and the initiatives that will help you achieve them.
Rather than requiring every decision to be finalized immediately, the Strategy tab is designed as a collaborative planning space where ideas can be developed and refined throughout your annual planning process.
The Strategy Workspace #
The Strategy tab helps you organize your planning around three key areas:
- BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) – Your long-term aspirational objective.
- Milestones – Major achievements that move your organization toward the BHAG.
- Initiatives – The strategic projects and priorities required to accomplish each milestone.
These elements form the foundation of your annual strategic plan.
Using the Strategy Tab as a Planning Sandbox #
During the early stages of planning, use the Strategy tab as a brainstorming and collaboration workspace.
This allows your leadership team to:
- Capture ideas as they are discussed.
- Define preliminary milestones.
- Establish initial targets.
- Identify potential initiatives.
- Refine priorities before finalizing the annual plan.
Nothing needs to be finalized during your first planning session. The Strategy tab is intended to evolve as your planning discussions progress.
Connecting Strategy to Execution #
As you continue through the planning process, your strategic framework becomes more detailed.
After defining your annual direction, you will:
- Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure success.
- Prioritize your annual initiatives.
- Connect milestones to measurable goals.
- Link initiatives directly to the execution tools within Propel.
Once linked, these strategic objectives become part of your ongoing operating cadence through scorecards, initiatives, meetings, and progress tracking.
Collaborate Your Way #
Every leadership team plans differently.
While the Strategy tab provides a central place to organize your plan, many teams also use additional brainstorming tools during planning sessions, including:
- Whiteboards
- Sticky notes
- Flip charts
- Paper worksheets
- Digital collaboration tools
Once consensus has been reached, capture the final outcomes in the Strategy tab so they become part of your organization’s strategic plan.
Best Practices #
- Begin with your long-term BHAG before discussing annual priorities.
- Focus on a small number of meaningful milestones that move the organization toward that vision.
- Prioritize initiatives that will have the greatest impact on achieving those milestones.
- Treat the Strategy tab as a living workspace during planning rather than expecting every decision to be finalized immediately.
- Revisit your strategy after defining KPIs and initiatives to ensure everything aligns before execution begins.
A thoughtful Strategy lays the foundation for turning long-term vision into measurable goals and actionable initiatives that can be executed throughout the year.