Overview

Goal lists were inspired by the book Traction and the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) with their weekly scorecards and quarterly rocks concepts. We built BrightGauge Goals to help companies take being data-driven to the highest level. Goals can help your teams track their objectives by keeping individuals and teams accountable and aligned.

Goals Feature Summary

• You can track any company, team, or individual goal in BrightGauge.
• There are two types of Goals: Weekly Process Goals & Outcome Based Goals. Outcome Goals are those things you want to accomplish by a later date and Process Goals are weekly goals you must accomplish each week.
• Process goal progress is tracked weekly (Sun-Sat) and can be tied to a KPI (number Gauge) from BrightGauge or manually entered.
• Goals are assigned to a user who then "owns" the Goal. Goal Owners must "check in" to the Goal weekly to confirm the number and/or check in whether the Goal is On Track or Off Track.
• Cells on the Goal will turn green or red when someone checks in.
• Goals can be powered by number Gauges from BrightGauge or manually entered each week. For example, you may add a “weekly cash balance” Goal, but because BrightGauge does not connect to bank accounts you will need to check in the number manually.
• Goals are not filtered by owner if they are powered by a Gauge, but data can be filtered at the Goal level.
• Check-In Reminder Emails go out over the weekend to everyone who is assigned a Goal.
• Summary Emails can be configured to email everyone on the Goal List after everyone has checked in, including people who are not assigned a Goal but still have access to the Goal List.
• Viewers can be assigned a Goal and will be able to participate by checking in (no charge).

Goal Setting Tips

• Set SMART (Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Based) goals.
• Only Number gauges (#) can be used for goals.
• Select the right goal type or your goal: Progress or Outcome.
• Filter the goal for the correct timeframe (current week, month, quarter, etc.).
• You can track any goal skipping the target number (certifications, new employee training, hiring progress, tool implementations, etc.).

Create a Goal List

To create a goal list:

1. Click the green plus sign in the top menu bar and select Goals.
2. Enter a name for your goal list.
3. Click Create Goal List.
4. Select Create New Goal to create a goal from scratch or Find Inspiration to use a pre-made goal.
   1. If you select Find Inspiration, select one or more gauges from the list.
   2. If you select Create New Goal:
      1. Select either Outcome Goal or Process Goal.
      2. Select a gauge to provide the data for your goal. If you would like to enter the data manually, click Switch to Manually Entered Goal.
      3. Click Add Goal to enter your target value.
      4. Click Save.
5. Click Add Goal.

Add a Goal to a Goal List

To add a goal to a goal list:

1. Click Goals in the top menu bar.
2. Select the goal list from the menu.
3. Click Add a Goal.

Remove a Goal from a Goal List

To remove a goal from a goal list:

1. Select the desired goal list.
2. Click on the goal.
3. Click the three dots icon.

   

4. Select Delete Goal.

Add a User to a Goal List

To add a user to a goal list:

1. Select the desired goal list.
2. Select More > Goal List Users.
3. Select the checkbox for each user you would like to add.
4. Click Apply.

Goal Inspirations

With the help of some of our power-users, we’ve come up with a list of Goal Inspirations to help you decide what processes and outcomes you’d like to track.

To add goals from the inspiration list, just mark them as shown in the screenshot above and click "Add these goals". 

Process vs Outcome Goals

When creating a Goal, you must choose a type of Goal you want to create. There are two Goal types: Weekly Process Goals and Outcome Based Goals. For our EOS fanatics out there, a Process Goal is your Scorecard KPI and an Outcome Goal is your Rock. Works like a charm! Feel free to customize the Goal List terminology to whatever you want. 

Outcome Goals

An Outcome-based Goal is something you want to achieve or accomplish over a longer period of time (a month/ quarter/ year). For Outcome Goals, you may choose a target number to meet or choose to check-in with “On Track” and “Off Track”. 

Process Goals

A Process-based Goal is one that needs to be accomplished on a weekly basis. Here's an example: if your outcome goal is to loose 10 pounds by the end of the quarter, your process goal would be to run 2 miles every day. It's also recommended to have your Process goals aligned with your Outcome goal.

Gauge Powered Goals

This is for those who want to create Gauge based Goals for each of your engineers and/or salespeople (e.g. utilization weekly) and now you can! With Goal Filtering, we made it easier and faster to create multiple Goals based on one Gauge.

To utilize Goal Filtering, click on the filter icon next to the Goal name and you will be presented with an option to pick any text field from the Gauge’s Dataset. The text filters work just like they do in the Gauge Builder and are applied to the entire Gauge. Now you can quickly create multiple Goals powered by ONE Gauge and filter it at the Goal level. This is a big time saver and a way to assign everyone a similar Goal powered by just one Gauge.

Weekly Goal Check-Ins

The Goals feature does not work without participation from the owners of the Goal. Participation is the key difference between looking at a Dashboard (passively) versus owning a Goal (actively). Check-ins enable companies, teams, and individuals to stay accountable and invested in accomplishing the important goals they set for themselves.

Every week, goal owners will be prompted to check in. To check in, click on the number for the previous week.

You'll be presented with the below check in screen: 

As part of your check-in, you’re asked to update whether you’re on track or off track, and to provide context as to why you may be falling behind or what was accomplished the previous week. 

In BrightGauge, the cells of the Goals will change color (to green/red) when someone checks into the Goal. This means the Goal Owner must actively participate in confirming the Goal is correct.

Goal Check-In Emails

Two types of emails are associated with Goals:

• Check-In Reminder Emails are sent on Mondays at 7am local time and tell which Goals are not checked-in from last week. If all of your Goals have been checked in, then you will not receive this email. Otherwise, you will receive one email with all Goals needing a check-in across all Goal Lists you are assigned to.
• Summary Emails are very powerful as they provide a summary from the previous week’s check-ins. You can configure these emails to go out at different times of the week from the "More" menu on the top right. The Summary Email will go to anyone who is on a Goal List, whether or not they own a Goal. Learn more about Goal list summary users here. This is hugely valuable to keep multiple teams, managers from other departments, CEOs, and board members in the loop with each other.