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Target setting by division gave us greater clarity over our goals

Guy Hacking, co-founder of Tribe, took a different approach to target setting
When it became difficult to track success, Guy Hacking changed their approach to target setting

Name: TRIBE
Location: London
Employees: 11
Founded in: 2015
Tip: Go for it. You learn so much more by doing.

The problem

At vegan fitness brand TRIBE, the business is divided into two parts. One part sells a range of energy bars, while the other runs fundraising events for the TRIBE foundation, a charity set up to tackle human slavery and trafficking. 

Each part of the business feeds into the other – 1p from each energy bar goes to the foundation and its fitness-led fundraising events raise awareness of TRIBE products. 

While the complementary nature of the business works for their brand, it was challenging for the leadership team to set and keep track of targets. KPIs needed to cover their online and in-store markets, products and events, and revenue and community building. 

The solution

The team started by setting goals using the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) framework, which would allow them to identify retail performance. Revenue had to be prioritised, and success in stores like Boots and Sainsbury’s would provide them with the foundations to grow elsewhere. 

“It’s where we really get into the mass market. We appeal to the next wave of adopters who don’t necessarily have that interest or initiative to search things out online,” Guy Hacking, co-founder of TRIBE said.

The next step was to think about target setting for their foundation – often a source of future customers. This came in the form of a handful of overarching OKRs that would then trickle down to each department. 

Some targets looked at the amount of funds raised or charities involved, while qualitative targets that could analyse brand and community engagement.

To ensure nothing was missed or misinterpreted, TRIBE separated the people responsible for delivering results and those responsible for analysing them. 

“We really benefited from having that separation,” Guy said. “It gave us some transparency and meant people were less likely to brush things under the table. I think by having someone you’re accountable to, it helped people be less afraid of missing the results because they were always encouraged to be open about it and learn from it.”

The results

The process of dividing up targets for revenue and community has helped TRIBE identify future goals for their product range and foundation. It’s also helped them understand how to divide up responsibilities for their 11-strong team. 

“You have to do a lot of strategising and planning in business, but my advice is to be ambitious. Just commit and do it. If something doesn’t work out, learn from it, whether that’s learning in terms of skills development or more realistic target setting,” Guy said.

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