V2MOM: Why a Simple One-Page Strategy is Critical for Growth

It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of scaling into new markets—launching new products, building your brand and boosting sales, or chasing after partnerships—but amidst all this, one critical factor often gets overlooked: a clear, simple strategy that everyone understands and rallies around. 

The secret sauce to overcoming the chaos is clear communication and alignment, which you’d know I’m a sucker for if you read my last column. Clarity creates a cohesive culture and sets you up for velocity, enabling companies to move at a fast clip. The faster you move WITHOUT breaking things, the more likely you’ll succeed when entering international markets. If there is one thing that rings true, it’s that US companies move fast. You have to keep up - and outpace -  to win. 

If you want to crack the code for sustainable, efficient growth, V2MOM is your go-to tool.

So, what exactly is V2MOM? 

Developed by Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, V2MOM stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, and Measures. It’s essentially a strategic plan distilled down to one page—a simple, yet powerful framework that defines your key objectives and aligns your entire team around what matters most and how you’ll win.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Vision: What do you want to achieve?

• Values: What’s important about this vision?

• Methods: How will you get there?

• Obstacles: What challenges stand in your way?

• Measures: How will you track progress and success?

You may think, "Okay, I already know what I want to achieve, and I have a rough idea of how to get there. Do I really need this?" Yes, you do. Here’s why.

Why V2MOM Matters for Scaling Companies

In the fast-paced world of growth and international expansion, clarity is king. A V2MOM framework doesn’t just provide clarity for you—it ensures that everyone in your company is rowing in the same direction. It’s easy to say, "We’re focused on growth," but growth means different things to different people. One team might be laser-focused on customer acquisition, while another is looking to deepen existing relationships and yet another is focused on ensuring the product can handle an influx of users. Without a clear, shared understanding of the vision and methods to achieve it, you risk fragmented efforts that don’t move the needle - or worse yet move it in opposite directions.

V2MOM takes abstract goals and makes them actionable and trackable. It forces leaders to clarify what success looks like and ensure that everyone—from the C-suite to the field—is aligned with the company's most critical objectives. When expanding into a highly competitive market like the U.S., this alignment becomes even more essential.

Case in Point: The Power of Simplicity

I’ve seen firsthand how transformational the V2MOM framework can be. I once worked with a high-growth tech company that was pushing aggressively into the U.S. market. Everyone was pumped—there was a ton of energy around this expansion, but as the months wore on, we noticed a problem. Each department had its own idea of what ‘success’ in the U.S. looked like. The product team was heads-down building new features, marketing was focused on brand awareness and sales was chasing enterprise deals. Each initiative was important, but they weren’t connected.

V2MOM brought everything back into focus. The leadership team came together and mapped out a clear vision—establishing a foothold in the U.S. market with X revenue in Y timeframe—and defined the values that would guide us, like speed, customer-first mentality, and localizing the product for U.S. needs. We listed out the methods for how we'd achieve this, the obstacles we’d face (and there were plenty) and the measures to track progress.

Once that V2MOM was in place and printed for all to see, it was a game changer. Suddenly, product decisions became clearer because they were tied back to the shared vision. Sales and marketing efforts were aligned, and everyone knew what they were working toward. We quickly started to see traction because the whole company was moving as one unit, not as siloed departments chasing their own goals. Every team was on the same (single) page.

Make the Complex Simple

The beauty of V2MOM is in its simplicity. There’s an elegance to reducing all the chaos of scaling into a single-page strategy. It forces you to cut through the noise. Most importantly, it keeps your team focused and accountable. When you’re scaling quickly and expanding internationally, the ability to execute with clarity and speed is crucial. And that’s exactly what a V2MOM provides.

Creating Your Own V2MOM

Ready to implement V2MOM at your company? Here’s how to get started:

1. Define the Vision: What’s the ultimate goal? Be specific. Whether it’s breaking into the U.S. market, hitting a revenue target, or launching a new product, clarity here sets the tone for everything else.

2. Clarify the Values: What principles will guide you in achieving this vision? These are the non-negotiables—whether it’s speed to market, customer satisfaction, or innovation, these values will steer decision-making.

3. Outline the Methods: How exactly are you going to achieve this? This is where you get t

4. actical. Break down the steps your team needs to take to reach the vision.

5. Identify Obstacles: What could stand in the way? Be realistic. Identify potential roadblocks, whether it’s market competition, regulatory challenges, or internal resource constraints.

6. Set the Measures: How will you measure success? These are your OKRs, KPIs and metrics. If you’re expanding into a new market, success might look like X number of new customers or Y revenue by a certain date.

Keep It Visible

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is creating a strategy, only to bury it in a document that no one reads. Your V2MOM should be a living, breathing part of your company’s daily operations. Share it widely. Revisit it regularly. Make it a cornerstone of leadership meetings, and hold everyone accountable for progress.

**Hot Tip – Make it fun. Brand it. Bring it to life with your ethos! Print it and give a copy to every employee to frame by their workspace.**

The Bottom Line: Clarity Drives Speed. Speed Drives Success 

When it comes to scaling and cracking the international markets a simple, clear, and well-communicated strategy is your secret weapon. V2MOM offers just that. It distills the complexity of growth into a framework that’s easy to understand, easy to communicate,easy to translate to departmental and individual objectives, and—most importantly—easy to execute. Provide yourself clarity to survive the whirlwind of scaling and confidently lead your company to global success.