V2MOMs: How They Work and When to Use Them

Goal-setting frameworks are only as good as their execution, and that often hinges on how well an organization’s leaders and employees connect with them and deploy them. Finding the right fit matters, and one option that offers a compelling alternative (or complement) to traditional goal-setting approaches is the V2MOM model, an acronym for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, Measures.

Designed to create organizational alignment across an entire organization, starting with the CEO, V2MOMs offers a collaborative approach to goal setting. Here’s a look at where V2MOMs come from, how they work, and when to use them. 

What is a V2MOM?

The V2MOM framework was developed by Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, soon after he launched the company in 1999. As he wrote in an article on Salesforce.com, Benioff needed alternatives to “stagnant management tools” such as annual performance reviews because they failed to meet the demands of fast-moving environments that require continuous improvement.

“Organizations that don’t adapt have problems in the long run, and these antiquated tools don’t inspire constant change,” he wrote. “The V2MOM, on the other hand, sparks meaningful dialogue and informs decision-making throughout the year.” 

V2MOMs are especially adept at driving alignment and connecting organizational strategy to execution when treated as living documents, said Sara Green-Hamann, owner of Tallwood HR Consulting, who worked with an organization to implement the framework.

The company kept its V2MOMs visible and relevant, Green-Hamann said, by revisiting them in monthly company-wide meetings, flagging required updates, and coaching managers to have regular conversations with their direct reports about them.

Quarterly reviews gave them structure, but the expectation was that updates could happen at any time when something shifted, she said. “It makes people more laser-focused on what needs to happen, how they're going to do it, what's going to get in their way, and how to move past that.”  

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Breakdown of V2MOMs’ Five Elements

V2MOMs are composed of five elements, which work together and inform one another. They “give us a detailed map of where we are going and an understanding of how to get there,” Benioff wrote. Here’s how they break down: 

1. Vision

A company’s vision, generally, is its driving force, said JM Ryerson, founder of Let’s Go Win, a personal and professional development platform. “That vision is what gets you out of bed every day.” 

In Ryerson’s view, vision statements should be big and sweeping. “Some people call it the BHAG — the big, hairy, audacious goal,” he said. “That’s ultimately what that vision needs to be.” 

2. Values 

Company values drive culture, and selecting the right values, whether it's accountability and growth mindset or transparency and innovation, depends on the needs of the organization. Ryerson coaches business leaders to set three values and no more. 

“The more clarity you can have on those values, the more that your people — your most brand new employee — can say, ‘Oh, this is exactly what we stand for. This is how we show up and operate,’” Ryerson said.

3. Methods 

This V2MOM element covers the methodologies an organization and its various stakeholders will use to accomplish required day-to-day, weekly, and longer-term tasks — whether it’s communicating with clients for a sales team, onboarding new hires for an HR team, or training employees on a new software system for the IT team.  

“You’re looking at methods to get from A to Z and then continue to evolve,” said Matthew Burr, founder of HR consulting firm Burr Consulting.

4. Obstacles 

Goal-setting frameworks don't usually put roadblocks front and center, but V2MOMs force an organization to tackle obstacles head-on. Thinking about challenges drives innovation, change, and progress in the right direction, Burr said. 

“Having those conversations needs to start at the top,” he said. “And sometimes senior management needs to take a hard look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘Are we the obstacle?’” 

5. Measures

Finally, organizations must determine how they’ll measure success. What qualitative and quantitative metrics are they working to meet? “You’re measuring progress,” Burr said. “You’re measuring the path forward.” 

Some targets, such as revenue or sales growth, are easier to track. More subjective goals, like “building a strong culture,” might seem more difficult. But Ryerson notes that the information can be found in employee feedback during reviews or in weekly check-ins with team members. 

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How V2MOMs Work in Practice

V2MOM is a cascading model that starts at the top with the CEO and C-suite and flows down to teams and individuals. “With a model like this, it's great to be driven from the top down, but we have to get people involved in the process as well,” Burr said. 

At Salesforce, top leadership drafts a V2MOM for the entire company through a process that includes focus groups, company-wide meetings, and other feedback, according to its Trailhead blog. 

Once the corporate version goes live, it flows down through functions, teams, and individuals, according to the blog post. Every employee builds their own V2MOM, which they tie to the organization’s broader goals, fostering alignment and transparency across the company.

[V2MOMs] definitely bring people together to the point where everyone's singing from the same sheet of music.

When Green-Hamann supported V2MOM implementation across a remote organization, employees chose values such as "flexibility,” “growth,” or “transparency.” Some even put down “making a good living.”

“It doesn’t have to be this warm and fuzzy, I want to change the world kind of thing,” she said. “It really was where they were.” 

The conversation around obstacles was another chance for honest dialogue. Managers were encouraged to connect with their peers to see if the same obstacle was popping up elsewhere. That triggered more cross-company collaboration, Green-Hamann said. “Other types of performance management frameworks [don’t] explicitly call some of these things out.” 

V2MOMs are dynamic, living documents and best implemented when they are kept top-of-mind, during one-on-ones with managers, at monthly and quarterly all-hands meetings, and other points. But the organization that Green-Hamann supported took that transparency a step further.

Everybody’s V2MOM was added to a shared drive that could be accessed by all employees, she said. “If they were curious to know, ‘What is this group working on? What is that group doing?,’ they could see.”

When to Use a V2MOM

Organizations can implement a V2MOM framework at any point in their journey. Benioff deployed it at Salesforce when it was a tiny startup, and the corporation continues to use the approach. 

Annual or quarterly strategic planning can be a good time to launch the V2MOM process as new budgets or initiatives begin, but organizations don’t have to wait for a calendar milestone. Strategic pivots, leadership transitions, or mergers and acquisitions could also be the right time to refocus and align the company on the path forward. 

“Any organization that's looking at going into a new market or that's looking to do change management, this would be a true asset to implement,” Burr said. 

Rolling out new cultural or organizational values is another good time to consider the framework. “It definitely brings people together to the point where everyone's singing from the same sheet of music,” Burr said. 

[V2MOMs] can bring out changes in organizational structure that perhaps wouldn't be seen otherwise.

Green-Hamann helped implement V2MOMs at an organization that was going through some transition. The process encouraged individuals in every role across the organization to demonstrate how their work connected to the company’s top-level goals, she said.

V2MOMs are also valuable during periods of rapid growth, when roles and responsibilities can shift faster than formal job descriptions reflect. Conversations between managers and direct reports uncover gaps in a way that normal management routines can miss, Green-Hamann said. “It can bring out changes in organizational structure that perhaps wouldn't be seen otherwise.” 

V2MOMs vs. Other Goal-Setting Models

V2MOM isn’t the only goal-setting framework, and it isn’t always the right one. SMART goals, for example, encourage teams to set targets that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. OKRs involve companies considering their objectives and key results. KPIs focus on key performance indicators. 

V2MOMs are more comprehensive than SMART goals, and more value-driven than OKRs or KPIs. None of the three explicitly call out vision, values, or obstacles as V2MOMs do.

OKRs, KPIs, and SMART goals, however, could be embedded within a V2MOM approach, specifically within the “Methods” and “Measures” elements. SMART goals, for example, could inform the time-bound actions outlined in Methods. OKRs and KPIs can provide a structured way to track key results listed in Measures. 

The best framework is the one that fits with your organization’s culture, Burr said. “This model might work better for one company versus another company. The cultural appetite for some of this is going to play a role in how we implement and drive this forward.”  

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How Lattice Can Help

Creating a goal-setting framework from scratch, whether it’s V2MOMs, OKRs, KPIs, SMART goals, or something else, takes time and energy. Lattice makes that work easier. 

Lattice Goals, for example, mirrors the cascading V2MOM structure, aligning individual, team, and organizational goals. Lattice 1:1s and Lattice Updates keep V2MOMs visible and actionable with regular check-ins. And Lattice Analytics tracks progress, surfaces blockers, and ties outcomes back to V2MOM goals.‍


Ready to see it in action? Schedule a demo or take a product tour to see how Lattice brings strategic frameworks like V2MOMs to life.