What is OGSM? A Complete Guide to the Strategic Method

What does OGSM stand for?

OGSM is an acronym that stands for Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Measures. This strategic business plan helps organizations to concretize their long-term visions and translate them into clear and measurable goals. The OGSM model is often summarized as a “business plan on 1 A4” because it shows the core of a company's strategy in a concise and well-organized document.

What is an OGSM?

An OGSM is a strategic framework that helps companies translate their vision and strategy into a concise, well-organized document. This framework makes it possible to visualize an organization's long-term vision through shorter, measurable goals and clear strategies. The OGSM template ensures that all core values and objectives of the organization fit on one page, which facilitates the focus and implementation of the strategy.

What does OGSM mean?

The OGSM meaning lies in creating a structured and clear approach to strategic planning. By integrating the four elements - Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Measures - companies can develop, implement and monitor their strategies efficiently and effectively.

Objectives

The Objective in the OGSM model, the overarching ambition or dream of the organization is. It indicates what the organization wants to achieve in the long term and serves as a guide for all further planning and actions. An example of an objective could be: “Become the market leader in the Dutch market for travel to Japan by improving our online customer journey.”

Goals (Goals)

The Goals are the specific, measurable results that the organization wants to achieve in order to achieve the overarching objective. These goals must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. For example, “Achieve 12% organic market share in Google within 12 months.”

Strategies

The Strategies describe the paths and methods that the organization will follow to achieve the set goals. This includes the important choices and actions that are necessary to achieve the ambitions. An example of a strategy could be: “Increasing Google's organic share by improving technical SEO and link building.”

Measures

The Measures consist of two parts: a dashboard for measuring progress and specific actions that need to be taken to achieve the set goals. The dashboard is the indicators and KPIs (Critical Performance Indicators) that are used to measure the progress and success of the strategies. This can range from quantitative metrics such as sales to qualitative evaluations such as customer satisfaction. An example of a measure could be: “The average time spent on the website will increase by 10% over the next five months.” An example of an action could be: “Research factors that contribute to bounce rate on the website.”

OGSM Template

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