V2MOM: Overview, Uses, and Examples

TL;DR

V2MOM is one of the most straightforward strategic planning frameworks to execute and create organisational alignment.

It contains five main elements: Vision, values, methods, obstacles, and measurements.

Best for firms that are serious about synchronising their efforts and prioritising openness.

Pros: Easy to use and comprehend, cascades from top-level V2MOM to individual V2MOM.

Cons: A well-written one-pager is insufficient; regular communication and communication of the company’s plan across all levels are critical to its success.

Marc Benioff, Salesforce co-founder and co-CEO, created the V2MOM architecture as a management process tool in its early stages.

Salesforce maintained operational alignment as the business grew, which was and continues to be fuelled by the V2MOM architecture. Since then, it has been a popular tool for companies of all sizes, from startups to corporations.

However, like with any framework, few people manage to get value out of its implementation.

In this post, we will explain why V2MOM is such a popular paradigm and provide a step-by-step method for incorporating V2MOM into your current management process.

What is V2MOM?

V2MOM (Vision, Value, Methods, Obstacles, and Measures) is a strategic planning and goal-setting framework. Its simplicity allows it to be easily cascaded across the organisation, directing all employees’ efforts toward the same goal.

V2MOM claims to integrate daily efforts with long-term goals and increase company transparency. Although it appears straightforward to construct, getting the disproportionate benefit for the work involved is more difficult than it appears.

One of its primary advantages is that it scales readily across several levels of your organisation. It can be used at the corporate, business unit, department, team, or individual levels. Regardless of where you use the framework, you’re answering the same five questions:

The context is the one thing that always changes. The inquiries (and responses) grow increasingly detailed as the situation narrows. For example, the C-suite’s response to the Vision question will be less explicit than the regional marketing team’s.

Why did you choose the V2MOM framework?

In addition to its simplicity and clarity of explanation, executives like V2MOM for its scalability.

If your organisation fails to convey its strategic goals owing to silos, this approach can assist. You’ll be able to compel your teams to align their goals, initiatives, and everyday actions with the company’s priorities while enhancing internal transparency.

However, it cannot address underlying concerns such as poisonous cultures, unskilled leadership, or restrictive organisational structures. In other words, V2MOM is neither a transformation nor a change management framework. However, when the correct conditions are met, it may act as an excellent catalyst for specific processes.

V2MOM, like any other goal-setting framework, is not a panacea for improving your company’s culture. Manage your expectations, and understand how the framework can help you solve certain problems.

Why did you choose the V2MOM framework?

In addition to its simplicity and clarity of explanation, executives like V2MOM for its scalability.

If your organisation fails to convey its strategic goals owing to silos, this approach can assist. You’ll be able to compel your teams to align their goals, initiatives, and everyday actions with the company’s priorities while enhancing internal transparency.

However, it cannot address underlying concerns such as poisonous cultures, unskilled leadership, or restrictive organisational structures. In other words, V2MOM is neither a transformation nor a change management framework. However, when the correct conditions are met, it may act as an excellent catalyst for specific processes.

V2MOM, like any other goal-setting framework, is not a panacea for improving your company’s culture. Manage your expectations, and understand how the framework can help you solve certain problems.

How can V2MOM be implemented?

As with any strategy framework, there is no correct or incorrect method to apply the V2MOM process.

A successful strategy consists of three key components: goal formulation, action planning, and progress measurement.

V2MOM adds a little twist to this.

Here are five stages that will help you define each element in the V2MOM framework:

Step 1: Define vision.

This is your destination. Your Promised Land.

Some people claim it is your WHY, but it is not. The WHY pertains to the past, whereas the Vision refers to the future.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself to define your vision:

What is the ideal outcome we want to achieve?

What do we perceive the perfect outcome to be?

Naturally, this is not the place for statistics, initiatives, or product specifications. Resist the impulse. This is the place to provide an inspiring future state that emphasises the advantages to the parties concerned. 

The Vision works as a North Star.

“If your team doesn’t have a clear direction, then it’s hard to drive strategy execution and motivation effectively.” – S Adithi Reddy – COO – Cullinan Creative Concepts

Everything that follows should point or urge you towards it. It is the foundational stone that promotes business alignment. Once you have this ready, everything that follows (from cascaded V2MOM statements to the rest of the V2MOM) should answer yes to this single question.

Does this assist us achieve our Vision?

Step 2: Values.

Consider V2MOM Values to be either your company’s or your values.

According to the definition, values are principles that guide your actions in various situations. The V2MOM framework assists you in determining what type of behaviour your firm and people must exhibit for the vision to be realised.

We wrote this essay to illustrate how to produce value. But, in short, think about what is most important to you and your staff. Conduct an internal survey or brainstorming session with key stakeholders. Gather insights, create a list, and prioritise the most critical values that will help you realise your goal.

V2MOM Example: Values

At GGP, we live and breathe these key values:

One client, one crew.

Be strategic and courageous.

No BS and no jerks.

Push forward, even if you step back.

Step 3: Methods.

This is the weakest link in the V2MOM framework. Why? Because it is the most important aspect of the V2MOM, it does not receive the attention it deserves.

In this part of V2MOM, you may add strategic objectives and initiatives, set goals for the team, or identify major projects you wish to complete within a certain timeframe. Again, avoid introducing business KPIs and data at this stage. Use the SMART model and make it memorable so that every team member may use it to prioritise their daily efforts.

Whatever you pick, make sure to incorporate objectives and initiatives in your planning process.

Tip: You may utilise the OKR framework to supplement the V2MOM technique by defining significant goals for this year or quarter.

Extra tip: When filling out this section, consider: What are the measures that will move us closer to attaining our vision?

V2MOM example: Product team methods (initiatives):

Create a version(s) of the platform for visually challenged youngsters.

Teach the game’s rules in less than ten minutes.

Step 4: Obstacles

This is where V2MOM becomes interesting.

There is no other (popular) goal-setting or strategy framework that includes this component. It is one of the most important components of the V2MOM architecture. Why? When you describe the challenges you expect to face on your path to attaining your goal, you can take a proactive approach and plan accordingly.

A proactive approach might emerge in two ways:

You allocate resources differently to account for potential issues.

Your concentration is enhanced. When you know what problems are ahead, you may reject activities that will not influence your goals.

An easy technique to identify difficulties is to ask the following question:

What exactly does failure look like?

Then delve deeper with:

What problems do we have to overcome to avoid failure?

V2MOM example: Obstacles faced by the product team.

Weak awareness of a visually challenged child’s requirements.

There were no test users for the original edition of the platform.

Step 5: Measures.

Have you made any progress towards your vision?

How can you know whether you’re still heading in the correct direction?

It’s time to discuss numbers. In SMART, the “M” stands for Measurable, also known as metrics. Motivating your team with ambitious and exciting objectives is fantastic for generating momentum, but you must be aware that you are coming closer to attaining them.

Any leader may set up a few indicators to monitor progress. And most leaders do. However, assessing progress is a complex game that, if not played carefully, may lead to disastrous blind spots.

Here’s what you should know.

You should not rely on a single, all-revealing indicator to determine how excellent your team is at a glance. It does not exist. Instead, select a group of measures that together provide a 360° perspective of progress. Look for three distinctive metrics:

Lagging KPIs are classic business measurements that indicate prior efforts’ outcomes. Yes, it is useful, but it cannot predict future outcomes.

Leading KPIs: These are actionable measures that indicate whether you will meet your lagging KPIs.

Counter KPIs: Determine one or two of these to ensure you’re not over-optimizing for lagging KPIs and unintentionally excavating your future self’s tomb.

V2MOM Example: Product team measures:

(Lagging) The number of users that quit before starting their first game.

(Lagging) Number of visually challenged youngsters who finish their first game.

(Leading) Hours spent researching and creating new features.

(Counter) Number of players that leave their first game.

A V2MOM example.

How do you create a departmental or personal V2MOM document that is consistent with those issued from the top?

This is the million-dollar question that all implementation issues boil down to. Let’s look at what the V2MOM document of a hypothetical and ambitious sustainability leader named Jane may look like:

Vision

Make the company the first in the industry with no environmental impact.

Values

Sustainability, commitment, and putting the community first are key principles.

Reduce the company’s carbon impact to 0% by 2030.

By 2025, adjust processes and operations to meet local environmental and socioeconomic circumstances.

By 2025, the corporation will transition to alternate, sustainable energy sources.

Obstacles

High cost of change.

The intricacy of operations is enormous.

Legislation forbids certain decisions or modifications.

Measures

Manufacturing’s water usage % of energy from renewable sources

Cost of new technology and the ROI timetable

This is only an example that may be used as a starting point. Jane and her team will and should explore ideas, become more precise with the Methods, and ground the Vision and Values in reality before committing to this V2MOM document.

But this example establishes the tone for each section of the paper and how Jane and her team should approach it.

Tip: Each team member’s own V2MOM example may be simply created using the same framework.

4 Final Tips for Creating Your V2MOM

Implementing a framework out of nowhere is rarely a smart idea.

And we don’t think you ever had that aim. We are certain you will contribute your critical thinking, prior experiences, and finest people to the process.

Our staff has prepared a few additional pointers just in case you need them:

1. Maintain the order of the items in V2MOM.

It may seem apparent to some, but here’s what everyone else should know.

It is difficult to fill out a V2MOM paperwork. You’ll notice that certain elements are difficult to complete or differentiate from others. You’ll want to skip these. Don’t. The sequence matters.

As you begin with the Vision and conclude with the Measures, you must first establish the destination and then work backwards to determine how to get there. Then, knowing how you’ll track your progress, you may plan the first step towards it.

This is how you establish focus and momentum for strategy implementation.

2. Keep it brief and basic.

Only one page.

Long V2MOM papers include a lot of fluff and don’t cascade well. They are keeping things brief forces you to make tough prioritisation decisions that will pay off in the medium to long run.

A V2MOM document loses 50% of its value if it is overly long or complicated.

Avoid acronyms and jargon, and instead use memorable language to convey clarity.

People make more targeted selections when they grasp and recall their objective.

3. Experiment and provide room for learning.

Theory and reality aren’t exactly best friends.

Reality tends to bully theory until it cracks. In general, reading a guide on implementing a framework such as V2MOM is a good place to start. However, the sacred portion of the fight occurs during execution. When you try to implement a framework for the first time, you encounter opposition and make several mistakes.

That’s okay.

Expect it, but don’t put too much stock in its effective execution until your company has matured enough. Begin small and grow as you acquire experience and little successes. Allow your employees time to learn and adjust, and make sure you change your strategy with each following stage to make V2MOM match your culture.

4. Use the appropriate tools to track your V2MOM.

Make V2MOM more than just a “set it and forget it” workout.

You need to know if it is operational at any particular time. This can be done with static tools such as spreadsheets, but it will rely greatly on an individual’s dedication. If you want to eliminate time-consuming manual inputs and erroneous data, you should use solutions that can expand throughout the organisation and provide real-time visibility into performance.

Use V2MOM to close the strategy execution gap.

According to the 2022 Strategy Report, 63% of C-suite executives engage with the strategy every week, compared to only 18% of Team members. There is a 45% disparity, and it is just growing. It is now more important than ever to understand why this is occurring and how to prevent it.

Why? Engaged and motivated personnel are essential for plan implementation. When your staff are unaware of the company’s aims, they are unable to adapt and assist you guide the organisation in the proper path. This can eventually lead to poor business outcomes and a loss of market share.