Strategy: Creating Milestones & Targets #
Milestones are the major achievements your organization must accomplish on the way to reaching its BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). They bridge the gap between your long-term vision and your annual planning by breaking a large objective into measurable, time-based targets.
Within the Strategy tab, you can define milestones for each year leading up to your BHAG and organize the targets that support them.
What Are Milestones? #
A milestone is a significant outcome that should be achieved by a specific year to keep your organization on track toward its BHAG.
Rather than focusing only on your destination, milestones help answer the question:
“What must be true each year for us to achieve our long-term vision?”
Working backward from your BHAG year helps create a realistic and achievable strategic roadmap.
Planning Backward from Your BHAG #
When building your milestones:
- Start with your selected BHAG Year.
- Work backward one year at a time.
- Identify the key outcomes that must be achieved in each year.
- Continue until you reach your current planning year.
You may create milestones for every year or only for the years where significant progress is expected.
Using the Strategy Tab as a Planning Workspace #
Many leadership teams use the Strategy tab as a collaborative planning workspace before finalizing their strategic plan.
During this stage, you may:
- Brainstorm milestone ideas.
- Capture preliminary targets.
- Refine annual objectives.
- Collaborate using whiteboards, sticky notes, or worksheets.
- Update the Strategy tab as your planning sessions progress.
The Strategy tab is designed to evolve as your strategy becomes more defined.
Adding Targets #
Each milestone year can contain one or more targets.
To add a target:
- Navigate to the desired milestone year.
- Click Add Target.
- Choose one of the following options:
- Select an existing goal.
- Create a new goal.
- Save your changes.
Repeat this process for each milestone year as your strategic plan develops.
Reordering Targets #
To change the display order of your targets:
- Click Reorder.
- Drag and drop each target into the desired position.
- Save your changes.
Reordering helps organize targets by priority, sequence, or strategic importance.
Organizing Targets by Department #
Targets can also be assigned to departments.
Using department assignments allows you to:
- Identify which department owns each target.
- Group targets by department.
- Filter milestone views by department.
- Improve accountability across the organization.
Department filtering is especially useful for larger organizations where multiple teams contribute to achieving long-term strategic objectives.
Best Practices #
- Begin with your long-term BHAG and work backward to define meaningful milestones.
- Focus each milestone on measurable outcomes rather than specific tasks.
- Add only the targets that are necessary to achieve the next stage of your strategy.
- Assign departmental ownership whenever possible to create clear accountability.
- Review milestones annually and update them as your business strategy evolves.
Well-defined milestones provide a practical roadmap from today’s priorities to your organization’s long-term vision, ensuring each year’s goals contribute to achieving your BHAG.