OGSM and KPIs: How to Measure Your Strategy

Making Your Strategy Measurable: How to Link Measurable Goals to Your OGSM

A strong strategy is nothing without clear and measurable goals. The OGSM model helps businesses turn their strategic vision into action, but without Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), it becomes difficult to track whether you are on the right path.

In this article, you will learn how to effectively link measurements to your OGSM, ensuring that your strategy not only sounds good in theory but also drives real results.

What Are CSFs and KPIs, and Why Are They Essential in OGSM?

Both CSFs and KPIs are measurable indicators that provide insight into the progress of your strategy and the extent to which your strategic goals are being achieved. While closely related, they serve distinct purposes:

• Critical Success Factors (CSFs) define what is essential for achieving strategic goals. They indicate which measurable outcomes are necessary to guarantee success. CSFs are directly linked to the Goals and Strategies within OGSM.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure whether you are on track with implementing your strategies. KPIs provide insight into the effectiveness of actions and show whether execution is truly contributing to the achievement of CSFs. In other words, your performance (KPI) should drive a desired result (CSF).

Three Reasons Why Measuring Success and Progress Is Essential in OGSM:

1. Clarity: CSFs translate abstract goals into measurable results, while KPIs indicate what is needed to achieve them.
2. Guidance: They help teams stay focused on the right priorities.
3. Evaluation: They enable you to monitor progress and make adjustments when necessary.

Our OGSM template provides a structured way to integrate both CSFs and KPIs, ensuring seamless alignment between strategy and execution.

How to Link Measurements to the OGSM Model

A well-structured OGSM model consists of four key elements:

1. Objective (Ambition): What do you want to achieve?
2. Goals (Measurable Objectives): What specific results are you aiming for?
3. Strategies: What actions will you take to achieve these goals?
4. Dashboard Measures (CSFs and KPIs): How will you track progress and success?
5. Action Measures (Action Plan): Which projects take priority to ensure success?

Let’s put this into practice with an example.

Example: Measurements in an OGSM Model

Imagine a company aims to strengthen its online presence to attract more customers. Its OGSM model might look like this:

Objective: Grow online market share by building a strong digital presence and generating leads.

Goals (Measurable Objectives):

• Increase website traffic by 20% within 12 months
• Achieve a 15% rise in lead-to-customer conversion rate
• Gain 10,000 new LinkedIn followers within one year

Strategies:

• Invest in SEO optimisation to generate more organic traffic
• Use content marketing through blogs and whitepapers
• Launch targeted advertising campaigns on LinkedIn

Measures (CSFs and KPIs to track progress):

• CSF: X% increase in website visitor-to-lead conversion rate
• KPI: Growth in organic traffic and higher ranking for strategic keywords

Common Mistakes in OGSM Measurements

When linking CSFs and KPIs to OGSM, organisations often make these mistakes. Here are three common pitfalls and how to avoid them:

1. Vague Measurements
   A CSF or KPI must be specific and measurable. "Increase revenue" is not a good measurement. A better metric would be: "Increase revenue by 15% within 12 months."
2. Too Many Measurements
   Organisations often try to measure everything, but too many CSFs and KPIs dilute focus. Limit yourself to three to five key measurements per strategy.
3. KPIs Without an Action Plan
   A KPI without clear actions often remains just a wish. Ensure that concrete actions and responsibilities are linked to it so that real progress can be made.

Strengthen Your OGSM by Making Your Strategies Truly Measurable

By smartly linking measurements to your OGSM, you ensure that strategies can be successfully implemented and monitored. This enables organisations to manage performance better, measure success, and continuously improve.

Ready to get started? Download our OGSM template today and create a measurable strategy that delivers results.

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