Your 2026 plan is a hallucination
Stop making resolutions. Use this prompt to convert vague wishes into binary, measurable OKRs before February hits.
“Grow revenue” is not a plan. It is a wish.
If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it. Most executives spend January dreaming and February panicking because they didn’t do the math. We don’t do “Resolutions.” We do Objectives and Key Results.
The Prompt
Act as a Strategy Consultant (John Doerr style).
My Primary Objective for 2026 is: [Insert Vague Goal, e.g., “Scale to $10M ARR”].
Stop me from lying to myself.
1. The Key Results: Convert this wish into 3 specific “Binary” numbers (0 or 1) I must hit by March 31st to be on track.
2. The Inputs: Break those numbers down into weekly “Non-Negotiable Actions” I must take starting Monday.
3. The Failure Mode: Tell me the #1 reason companies fail at this specific goal, and give me a protocol to prevent it.
The Executive Upgrade
Setting your OKRs is the easy part.
Getting your direct reports to set OKRs that actually align with yours? That is the nightmare.
Sandbagging: Your direct reports will set easy targets to guarantee their bonuses.
Broken Cascade: You say “Grow 20%,” they hear “Hire 20% more people.”
Here are the two Governance Protocols to run immediately after you define your own goals.
Follow-Up Prompt 1: The Sandbag Detector
(Paste your direct report’s proposed OKRs)
Act as a Private Equity Board Member.
Here are the OKRs submitted by my [Department Head, e.g., Head of Sales].
My Corporate Objective is: [Insert Your Goal].
Audit their submission for "Sandbagging" (setting low targets to hit bonuses easily).
1. The Alignment Gap: Where does their goal fail to support my goal?
2. The Ambition Check: Are these targets "Roofshots" (100% achievable) or "Moonshots" (50/50 chance)?
3. The Pushback: Script a specific question I can ask them to force them to raise their ambition without demoralising them.
Follow-Up Prompt 2: The Cascade Translator
(Use this to assign goals to your direct reports)
Act as a Chief of Staff.
My Top Level OKR is: [Insert Your OKR].
I need to push this down to my direct reports.
Draft the specific "Objective" mandate for:
1. The CTO.
2. The CMO.
3. The CFO.
Ensure that if they hit their goals, I automatically hit my goal. (Mathematical alignment, not just thematic).