We used the Narrative, Commitments, and Tasks framework to set goals for my VC-backed startup, Outpace. Outpace was founded to democratize access to professional coaching. In Q3 2022, we were focused on launching the first version of our mobile product and setting the stage to scale during 2023.

As a company that had not yet reached Product-Market Fit, we did not have a lot of data to work with. As a result, most of our Commitments are focused on deliverables rather than metrics. That said, we took steps to make sure that each Commitment was expressed in concrete terms and could be objectively evaluated.

Each goal includes a scratchpad of Tasks. These tasks are meant to provide a more detailed view into what needs to get done to make progress. Importantly, these tasks are not exhaustive and are not goals in themselves.

In the prior quarter, we had a similar narrative focused on implementing our content marketing strategy. In that quarter, we made outcome based commitments such as reaching 5,000 email subscribers. However, we weren’t able to hit those goals, and so we shifted our strategy for Q3. Rather than focus on achieving a particular audience size / social media reach, we focused the Q3 commitments on consistently publishing content. This gave us more control and helped us understand the relationship between content output and follower growth.

I’ve found it very important to document key “non-goals”. These are things that the team debated as part of the goal setting process, and explicitly decided not to pursue. Documenting “non-goals” has two purposes: 1) it acts as a forcing function for teams to make explicit decisions about what is in and what is out for the quarter and 2) it aligns everyone on the outcome of those decisions.

Some folks on our team were not familiar with NCT’s. We included an overview of the framework within the goals doc to make sure that the concepts were front and center as people defined their goals for the quarter.

Ravi Mehta

NCTs help us identify goals and how to achieve them and are especially good for when there are numerous PMs working together.

Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks at Outpace

Our #1 priority is to deliver a product that exemplifies our goal of reinventing coaching. We need to be able to put our app in the hands of prospective members, hiring managers, L&D managers, and investors, and have them walkaway feeling like: this is an experience I must have for myself, my team, my company, and my portfolio. Importantly, our “product” includes both the product itself and the content delivered via the product.

We also need to prepare for moving some of our engineering efforts in house, so that we can sustainably invest in product development in Q4 and beyond.

[ ] Launch v1 app on Test Flight and test with ~20 external members and ~5 external coaches (v1 includes a mobile native app, a web-based Coach dashboard, a web-based Administration dashboard, an push and email notification system, and analytics instrumentation & reporting) 

[ ] Develop and refine a demo script for demoing the product to prospects, L&D managers, and investors 

[ ] Hire a Chief Technology Officer by end of Q3 

[ ] Facilitate product development with vendors

[ ] Load the v2 Guided Sprint content into the product

[ ] Complete testing of the member and coaching experiences

[ ] Verification of analytics instrumentation

[ ] Vendor setup for messaging (Sendbird), payments (Stripe), notifications (???), analytics (Amplitude)

[ ] Complete the hero photos / illustrations for the app

2️⃣ Create a Minimum Viable Library of Sprints

Program content is an essential part of the Outpace product experience. Our initial library of programs needs to deliver on Outpace’s promise of helping mid-career professionals level up and set the standard of quality for future programs.

Each program must 1) be designed to help members navigate a critical workplace challenge, 2) refine best practices into a micro-learning experience, 3) deliver that learning via high production quality audio, 4) reinforce that learning with visuals that aid clarity and provide reward, and 5) include incisive questions that setup an illuminating conversation between a member and their coach.

[ ] Define a Program Creation Playbook (includes process for recruiting creators, developing program material, recording audio, and final QA/publication of programs) 

[ ] Produce 4 launch ready Guided Sprints including at least 1 by a well known creator (100K+ followers) 

[ ] Recruit at least 2 coaches per program to provide coaching coverage 

[ ] Hire a Head of Content by end of August 2022 

[ ] Identify an audio/podcasting expert to help us define the style guide for our content, develop a recording plan, and work with creators to record material

[ ] Define the 7 program topics we’ll cover for the MVP launch

[ ] Sign contracts with creators (including 2 well-known creators) for each of the 7 programs

[ ] Define the “design system” for audio content (intro, outro, background music, recording details)

[ ] Define Program creation and review process: concept brief, outline, audio script + exercises, audio recording, and final QA/publication

3️⃣ Establish a Self-Sustaining Acquisition Engine

Content is the primary growth engine for our business because it helps us establish authority and create compounding, self-sustaining value online.

Our initial process around content development needs to help us 1) systematically produce content on a consistent basis, 2) learn and iterate to develop the most engaging content, 3) leverage distribution of new channels (i.e. TikTok) and influencers to further grow our own audience.

For Q3, it’s critical that we’re able to consistently publish content 5x a week, iterate on insights weekly, and grow our following on LinkedIn and TikTok.

[ ] Establish and execute on a scaleable process for delivering 5 posts per week on LinkedIn and TikTok (starting in August), as well as 1 weekly newsletter 

[ ] Complete 40 LinkedIn posts by end of Q3

[ ] Complete 30 TikTok posts by end of Q3

[ ] Complete 12 newsletter sends by end of Q3

[ ] Establish and execute on a scaleable process for creating 5 new pages per week to have 30 Q&A pages live by end of Q3 

[ ] Create at least 30 Q&A pages by the end of Q3

[ ] Implement a consistent, ongoing process for adding 5 new pages per week by end of Q3

[ ] Define a compounding content strategy that leads to ongoing audience and engagement growth 

[ ] Deliver weekly analytics reporting and insights across channels solidified into growth tactics 

[ ] Provide Weekly Growth Report by channel and touchpoint (website visits, social metrics, etc.) 

[ ] Identify and recruit ghost writers / TikTok video developers to assist with content production 

[ ] Maintain and build database of competitive social posts daily 

[ ] Q4 — Test 12 collaborations with influencers (6 on LinkedIn, 6 on TikTok) 

[ ] Test 5-8 creative and topic variations to launch in experiments across LinkedIn and TikTok for Outpace account 

[ ] Maintain monthly Outpace content calendar 

[ ] Produce 5 posts weekly for personal accounts 

[ ] Help schedule and post content across channels weekly 

[ ] Review Weekly Growth Report, draft key learnings, takeaways, insights and define experimentation plan for following week 

[ ] Define which types of content we should prioritize that lead to compounding growth via virality and sharing, solidified in Growth Playbook 

[ ] Provide SEO brief template and review answers from coaches for Q&A 

[ ] Gather 5 questions, develop SEO brief draft for coaches, gather 5 answers from coaches, turn into post weekly 

We’re building something new, and that comes with messaging challenges.

Our goal is to define how we can talk about ourselves in a simple, highly convincing way — and we need to deliver this messaging through key touch points: our website, our App Store page, our launch campaign, our product copy, onboarding videos, and our seed pitch deck. While the messaging we define in Q3 will carry over into launch, we are not working on go-to-market launch strategy this quarter.

Our audiences include: initial Outpace customers, initial Outpace coaches, future L&D partners, and investors. Our messaging should be compelling and convert people to action.

[ ] Finalize core brand and product messaging for pitch deck, website, and in-app experience (working internally and with necessary external support) 

[ ] Launch A/B tests and qualitative tests to gauge efficacy of messaging and potentially new brand names 

[ ] Develop and finalize all in-app copy 

[ ] Launch new Outpace website based on revised messaging by end of Q3 

[ ] Complete Series Seed pitch deck by end of August 

[ ] Identify testing resources and develop messaging research test plan 

[ ] Identify and recruit agency or video producers as necessary to finalize intro video for app 

[ ] Work with website agency to finalize website copy across landing page and program pages 

[ ] Recruit agencies or freelancers to help with visual design as needed, including pitch deck design, illustrations, animations, photography, etc. 

[ ] Define and produce visual assets necessary for website and pitch deck 

[ ] Review all in-app copy for brand and tone of voice consistency 

In Q3, we will focus on delivering an exemplary product and establishing a self-sustaining growth engine. Accordingly, some of the operational priorities from H1 will move to the backburner:

We will not focus on converting people off the waitlist into paid members. However…

… We will ensure that any active members have a high NPS experience.

… We may opportunistically add new members to seek out feedback and keep coaches engaged.

We will not focus on expanding our coaching network. However…

… We may engage existing or new coaches to help us create content and develop programs.

We will not focus on growing the waitlist. However…

… We will focus on top of funnel growth (social audience, site traffic, and newsletter subscribers).

OKRs work great when they're executed well. But when you have a lot of different PMs all defining different OKRs with varying quality, you can have some problems that NCTs (Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks) help solve.

 The narrative is a 1-2 sentence qualitative description of what the team/pod wants to achieve in a quarter. It describes the outcome the team/pod wants to achieve and why it is important to the business. Critically, it maps the Goal back to the Product and Company Strategies.

. Commitments are 3-5 objectively measurable goals that the team is committing to achieve by the end of the quarter. Commitments are the evidence that the team has made progress on the narrative.

. Tasks lay out what work might need to be done in order to complete the commitments and achieve the narrative. Tasks are important because they give clarity on what could be done to achieve commitments, and help determine if a goal is actionable and achievable.

At the end of a quarter, if all your commitments but none of your tasks are complete, that's a win. If all of your tasks are complete but none of your commitments, that's a fail.

The word commitment is used deliberately. Words are very important when managing a large org – they can either be well-understood shorthand for a rich set of ideas or the source of confusion.

Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks at Outpace

Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks at Outpace

1️⃣ Build an Exemplary Product

Commitments

Tasks

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