We have different types of objectives in Cascade—"Linked objectives," "Contributing objectives," and "Nested objectives." However, these are simply different terms used to describe how objectives connect to a plan and to each other.
You can view how all these objectives align and are related to each other in the Objective Alignment Map (See View the Alignment of your Objectives for details).
Linked objectives are those that are shared across plans and contribute to the plan's success.
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They allow collaboration of different teams to work on the same outcome sharing the same success criteria.
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Here, the relationship is between different plans.
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Note that, when an objective is linked, the associated success criteria are also shared and available in the plans that they're part of.
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Use them when you're collaborating on the same objective from different plans, and only when its ok for others to see those success criteria too.
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For example, an objective "Net positive impact on the environment" can be shared between the Corporate Plan as well as the Operations, Supply chain, and Manufacturing Plans.
- Adding an "Existing Objective" as top level objective, will result in a Linked objective.
Contributing objectives are those that are attached to a parent objective and contribute to the parent objective's success.
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They connect the efforts of different plans or teams and establish one-to-many relationships that impact health tracking.
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Here, the relationship is between these two objectives in the same or different plan.
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There is a transfer of health and progress between the connected objectives.
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These are the same as the objectives that are added as contributors in the Relationships tab of the objective's sidebar.
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Use them when an objective is contributing to the success of another (parent) objective, thereby rolling up the progress and impact health tracking.
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Objectives can contribute to an unlimited number of objectives, so contribution is a flexible way to connect different objectives together in the strategy.
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For example, the objective "Total revenue in sales" in the Sales plan can be contributing to the objective "Achieve ARR of 20m$" in Corporate Plan or Revenue Operations Plan.
Nested objectives are those that are added as a success criteria to the parent objective. We can also call them "Sub Objectives".
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They break down the work of a single team within the same plan, while supporting health tracking. This keeps the work visible and self-contained to that specific plan and team.
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Here, the relationship is between the child and the parent objective.
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These objectives cannot be linked to any other objectives or plans.
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Use them when you want to break down your parent objective to more focused and actionable outcomes which can be executed by specific individuals.
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For example, an objective "Explore usage of AI and ML in operations" can be a nested objective for the parent objective "Use technology advancements to improve operations", irrespective of the plan or focus area it resides in.
FAQs
Can nested objectives be linked to other plans?
No, nested objectives inherit the plan and focus area of its parent objective.
Can a nested objective also be a contributing objective?
Yes, you can use a nested objective as a contribution. But, the best practice is to add them as contributing objectives instead of nesting them to keep work collaborative and avoid silos.
Can a linked objective be added as a nested objective?
If a first-level objective is a "Linked objective," you must first unlink it from shared plans and focus areas in the "Contributes to" section. Then, select the relevant objective to nest it under. However, once nested, it cannot be linked again. The best practice is to add it as a contributing objective instead, ensuring it remains shared across plans and focus areas.