Planning season is here & as you turn the corner to 2026 everyone will be talking about goals, goals and more goals. Here’s a simple combo to make sure your goals are ambitious and measurable.
Step 1: Draft 3–5 Objectives (qualitative, inspiring)
Examples:
“Build trust by communicating product changes early, clearly, and often.”
“Grow our expert voice in [industry] conversations.”
Step 2: Attach 2–4 Key Results per Objective (quantitative)
“Increase monthly briefings with top-tier journalists from 2 → 6 by Q3.”
“Lift branded search clicks +25% YoY via thought-leadership PR.”
For inspiration, browse communication OKR patterns like response-time SLAs, intranet engagement, and customer sentiment targets.
Step 3: Make every Key Result SMART
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
Step 4: Tie to 2026 realities
Owned + social first. More teams are shifting from pure media hits to channels they control (newsletters, LinkedIn) as coverage gets harder.
AI-accelerated outputs. Plan for content drafts, pitch personalization, and reporting assisted by AI—then spend human time on strategy, creativity, and relationships. It’ll save time and prove efficiencies so you human hours are more strategic.
Step 5: Cadence & hygiene
Quarterly check-ins. Archive learnings and reset.
One dashboard per audience (exec, marketing, sales) to prevent “report sprawl.”
Pre-mortem each big bet: “If this fails by Q2, why?”—and design guardrails now.
It’s not rocket science, but it definitely requires a method. Find what works for you and your team and set goals you can achieve that positively impact your brand. Make the most of December (so you can enjoy a much needed break before jumping into the new year!