Summary
Create your first Objective or Goal in Brev — set a clear target, add key results to measure it, assign an owner, and connect it to your team's priorities.
What Kind of Goal Should You Start With?
If you're new to Brev, don't try to build the entire company OKR tree on day one. Start with one well-formed objective that matters right now — something you're actively trying to move this quarter.
A good first goal to create: a current company or department objective you're already tracking somewhere (spreadsheet, Notion, memory). Brev will be the home for it from here.
Understanding Goal Types in Brev
Before creating, know what you're creating:
Start with an Objective. Then add Key Results or metric underneath it.
Creating an Objective
1. In the left nav, click Goals.
2. Click + New Goal (top right).
3. Select Objective as the goal type.
4. Fill in:
Title — Clear, outcome-oriented (e.g., "Become the market leader in mid-market SaaS")
Description — Optional, but useful for context
Owner — Who is accountable for this objective?
Time period — Select the active quarter or cycle
Team — Which team does this belong to? (Company-level objectives select "Company")
5. Click Create Goal.
Pro tip: Use Brev's Goal Coach feature to get AI feedback on your goal quality before saving. It'll flag if your objective is too vague or too tactical. See: Writing Quality OKRs and Goals (Goal Coach).
Adding Key Results or Metrics
After creating the Objective, add the Key Results that will define success:
1. From the Objective's detail view, click + Add Key Result.
2. Fill in:
Title — What specifically will be measured?
Metric type — Percentage, number, currency, or checkbox
Starting value — Where are you today?
Target value — What does success look like?
Owner — Who is responsible for this key result?
3. Click Save.
Repeat for each key result (typically 2–4 per objective).
⚠️ Note: Key Results should be outcomes, not activities. "Launch 3 customer webinars" is an activity. "Increase customer engagement rate from 40% to 60%" is an outcome. If your key result doesn't have a number, reconsider.
Setting Goal Status (Checking in)
Once created, set the initial status:
On Track — Progress is where it should be
At Risk — Behind but recoverable
Behind — Significantly off track
Not Started — No progress yet
You can also set Auto-status — Brev will calculate status automatically based on progress vs. target.
Aligning to a Parent Goal
If you're creating a department goal that rolls up to a company objective:
1. Open the goal.
2. Click the Parent Goal field.
3. Search for the company objective.
4. Select it.
The department goal now appears as a child of the company objective in the Goals hierarchy view.
What You'll See After Creating
Your new goal appears in the Goals view
The goal owner will receive a notification and a check-in reminder on the next scheduled date
If you added key results with numeric targets, a progress bar appears automatically
More questions?
As always, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] with any questions or directly chat with us in the Brev app.