V2MOM
Definition
V2MOM is a goal-setting and strategic alignment framework created by Marc Benioff at Salesforce: Vision (what you want to achieve), Values (what matters most), Methods (how you'll get there), Obstacles (what's in the way), and Measures (how you'll know you've succeeded).
Marc Benioff wrote the first Salesforce V2MOM in 1999, before the company existed, as a one-page document that aligned the founding team on the company's purpose and direction. He has written one every year since, and Salesforce cascades them through every layer of the organization — each team and individual writes their own V2MOM aligned to the company's.
The five components:
- Vision: A clear, motivating statement of what you want to create or achieve. Not a strategy — a destination.
- Values: The principles and beliefs that guide how you work toward the vision. These constrain the Methods — if one method conflicts with a value, the value wins.
- Methods: The specific actions and strategies you'll use to achieve the vision. Ordered by priority — when resources are constrained, the top method gets funded first.
- Obstacles: What stands between you and the vision. Naming obstacles is unusual in goal-setting frameworks; V2MOM treats them as first-class planning inputs. If you don't know your obstacles, you'll be surprised by them.
- Measures: Specific, quantitative criteria for success. Different from key results in OKRs mostly in framing — measures define 'done,' not just 'better.'
V2MOM's differentiator from OKRs is the explicit inclusion of values and obstacles. OKRs are pure goal-and-measurement; V2MOM is more holistic — it encodes the team's principles and forces an honest look at what's blocking progress.
V2MOMs get written collaboratively, often in workshop sessions. Teams put the five components on a whiteboard and fill them in together. The result is a one-page strategic alignment document that the team owns because they built it.
Examples
- Vision: Be the market's most trusted data platform. Values: Customer obsession, transparency, simplicity. Methods: (1) 99.99% uptime, (2) SOC2 Type II certification, (3) Self-serve onboarding. Obstacles: (1) Small eng team, (2) Pricing complexity. Measures: NPS > 60, churn < 2%/month.
- Individual V2MOM: Vision = Be the company's authority on growth. Values = Rigor, curiosity, collaboration. Methods = Weekly experiment readouts, cross-team data training. Obstacles = Fragmented data sources. Measures = 3 shipped experiments per quarter.
- Product team V2MOM: Vision = Make onboarding so good it sells itself. Values = User delight, speed. Methods = Redesign step 3, add video walkthroughs. Obstacles = No design resources until Q2. Measures = Day-7 retention up 15%.
Snap a v2mom. Ship its actions.
BoardSnap turns any whiteboard — including this one — into a summary and action plan.