Use the definitions below to help you figure out the best way to record your goals in Rhythm.
Note: This content reflects our Premium software's default features and labels. For any questions, please email help@rhythmsystems.com.
Winning Moves:
3-5 year strategies you set for your company
There are 2 types: Winning Moves for Revenue that have the potential to double your business in the next 3-5 years and Winning Moves for Profit which are the strategic capabilities you’ll need to develop to support your growth and maintain profitability.
Examples: Launch products in international markets, Acquire 3 new companies, Rebuild IT infrastructure for growth
Annual Priorities:
Your team or company's top 3-5 priorities for the year, sometimes called “Annual Initiatives”
You should identify the right handful of Annual Priorities to drive your longer-term strategy forward each year.
Examples: Open 5 new locations, Launch a new product, Transition to a virtual learning program for new hires
Quarter Priorities:
What you are actually going to do or work on each quarter
You should have 3-5 priorities for your company, your team, and yourself each quarter. These should help you get closer to your Annual Priorities
Examples: Hire new Project Manager, Host weekly live demos for prospective clients, Train sales and services teams on new product
Tasks:
Your “who, what, when” or to-do list items, sometimes called Actions or Action Items
They can be milestones on your priorities, follow-up items on meetings, adjustments to make on struggling KPIs, or just a way to manage all your to-do’s in one place.
Examples: Call John Doe, Complete background check, Submit expense report
KPIs:
Key Performance Indicators, the handful of numbers most important to your business success
These goals should be used to measure your company’s, team’s, or your individual ongoing health over time or to help you solve specific challenges or opportunities.
Examples: Revenue, Net Promoter Score, # of bugs, On-time delivery rate
Difference Between Priorities & KPIs:
Many new Rhythm users wonder about how Priorities and KPIs are different. Here's the key difference:
- Priority: Something you DO, a specific action statement. You should always start a Priority with a verb.
- KPI: Something you MEASURE, a metric that you track. Usually, your success criteria will be a number.
Occasionally, one of your KPIs may be underperforming, and you may need to create Priorities to improve that KPI. For example, you might have a KPI for "# of new leads" and supporting priorities to "Develop and implement SEO Strategy" or "Roll out referral program to clients." In this case, you can link these supporting Priorities to the KPI.
Difference Between Priorities & Tasks:
Another common question we get is about the difference between Priorities and Tasks:
- Priority: takes longer, could be broken down into smaller tasks, makes sense to have Red-Yellow-Green success criteria
- Task: a to-do item or who-what-when, something that’s either complete/incomplete
For example, you might have a Task to make a follow-up phone call. If you have to make 2 phone calls per week for the whole quarter, that would be a Priority.
AI Suggestions
If you aren't sure what Goal Type to use, our AI Business Coach will suggest clearly written goals of various types to help you: