Cinco De MyO(bjectives)

Cinco De Mayo is this weekend, and that’s reason to celebrate! There’s the traditional Mexican holiday, observed to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, the notably less traditional American holiday, often involving tequila and tacos, and our very own “Cinco De MyO(bjectives)” where we are celebrating five of our favorite things about MyObjectives!

Uno: Great conversation starter

This is where it all begins, and this is where the real value of MyObjectives lies. Because our solution is oriented around the team scorecard, rich conversation among team members is a natural byproduct. What work is essential this quarter? What work is lower priority? What can be reserved for future quarters? Who does what? What other teams need to be involved? How does the objective align to the strategic priorities of the company? What is a realistic amount of progress to expect?

These questions and more are all addressed during the setup phase of a new game period. The conversation continues beyond the setup phase and throughout the duration of the game period as well. Options for flagging objectives, adding comments on objectives, and in-app notifications, set the stage for discussion during team meetings. At the end of the game period, with the completed scorecard as a guide, the team meets to discuss and document what went well, what could have gone better, what puzzles the team, and things to try in the next game.

With that, the game period ends, the score resets, and the cycle begins again!

Dos: Scoring!

Our scoring algorithm is awesome (if we do say so ourselves). It’s also unlike anything offered by our competitors. Intuitive and fair, the “actual score” and “forecast score” are visible from throughout MyObjectives and will inspire progress on objectives, every time you login to the system. Seeing it in action offers the best understanding (request a demo), but if we could sum it up, it works like this:

  • The score is a cumulative function of objective weight (1, 2, 3, stretch), and objective status (not started, started, progress, partial success, bordering success, success). In other words, the more important the objective is to the team and organization, the more points are available. Reach success on a level 1 objective and see your score skyrocket!
  • We have two scores, and they’re both important. The first score, the actual score, reflects “the total number of points earned on this scorecard at this exact moment.” The second score, the forecast score, reflects “the expected final team score at the end of the game period.” This second score is what makes MyObjectives unique. Just like the actual score, the forecast score is a cumulative function of objective weight and objective status. When users update their actual status on each objective, they are also encouraged to update their forecast status. For example, a user might enter their actual status as “started,” but knowing that they will not fully complete that objective by the end of the quarter, they will set the forecast status to “partial success.” This two-score view, gives the organization’s leadership a clear picture of not only “how are we doing” but also “how do we expect to finish.”
  • Scores are updated in real time. That means every time you move an objective from one progress stage to the next, your actual score adjusts before your eyes.
  • The “available points remaining” view is a lifesaver. When you reach that point in the quarter when you’re feeling unsure about what to work on next, shift your view to see the remaining available points for every objective on your scorecard. Pick the objectives with the highest-remaining points, get to work on those objectives, and maximize the results of your efforts.

Tres: Sense of Purpose

Do you ever wonder if what you’re doing at work actually has an impact on the success of the organization? Well, with MyObjectives you can squash that pesky thought once and for all. The system is specifically designed to link all work, no matter how small, to the highest-level priorities of the organization.

When teams set objectives for the quarter, they must consider which strategic priority that objective fulfills, and physically set that alignment. This way, the organization’s leadership can get a birds-eye (or drill-down) view of what percentage of all work is aligned to specific organizational goals. This powerful information can be used to analyze, set, or reassign priorities and focus.

A sense of purpose is also created in the cross-team and cross-department collaboration that results from summarized and pooled objectives. No more working in silos. The MyObjectives scorecard makes it simple to align your work to other teams, collaborate on objectives, or get a summary view of how your different teams are performing.

Quatro: Based on science

When we were first creating MyObjectives we worked with XEODesign, an award-winning firm that helps organizations increase engagement with play, and PhD Loretta Breuning, author, professor, and founder of the Inner Mammal Institute, to intelligently design a solution that not only worked, but that had the scientific backing to show why. According to XEODesign, MyObjectives works well at unlocking human potential through play by incorporating: clear team objectives, well-designed achievement badges (great variety of shapes, colors, and details), multi-directionally linked objectives, visuals for team score comparison on the climb to the success zone, and cohesion that results from the whole company playing one game.

Dr. Bruening similarly asserts that managing an organization through gaming (team scores, badges, leaderboards, awards) creates positive feedback in the human brain, triggering the production of “happy chemicals.” Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Serotonin are all produced while engaging with MyObjectives. These feel-good chemicals are triggered when we sense we are about to be rewarded for our efforts, when we experience the security of being part of a team, and when we take the lead in competition. To learn more about the science behind our methodology, please read Dr. Breuning’s white paper “Management by Gaming: Stimulate Happy Brain Chemicals.”

Cinco: Scorecard pricing, not by user

“No per user pricing.” That’s our promise, and it pays. More money in your pocket, means less stress on your organization. And unlike our competitors, we charge “by the scorecard” and not “by the user.” Translation? Whether you have 2 users or 50, it’s the same low price. How is that possible?

Well, our impressively affordable scorecard bundle starts at 5 scorecards for $50 dollars (per month). Additional scorecards can be added at any time for an additional $25 dollars per scorecard (per month). A scorecard is designed to house the objectives of one team. Teams of 3-10 users could comfortably share a scorecard, but how many users share your scorecard is ultimately up to you! Your organizational structure, your number of teams, your selection of scorecards. We make it affordable, so you can make it worth it.

Well there you have it – five of our favorite things about our goal management software, MyObjectives!

Happy Cinco de MyO(bjectives)!

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Paul Niven

Paul Niven is a management consultant, an author and a public speaker on the subjects of corporate strategy and performance management systems, like the Balanced Scorecard.

Ben Lamorte

Ben Lamorte is the founder and president of OKRs.com. He advises business leaders on the best methods for defining and making measurable progress on their most important goals.

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