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First 30 Minutes

Audience: End User / Admin
Summary: A step-by-step checklist to set up your workspace and complete the first strategy loop.


Minute 0–2: Login and workspace selection

Step 1: Log in

  1. Log in to COS (if you received an invite, use the email link)
  2. You should arrive at the dashboard (role-based welcome screen)

Step 2: Select workspace (if you have more than one)

  • In the sidebar header, choose your workspace from the dropdown.
  • If it’s your first time, you will usually see only one workspace.

Tip: If you only have one workspace, just continue.


Minute 2–8: Phase 1 — Setup (Organization & Strategic Cycle)

Step 3: Create organization structure

Path: /org

  1. Sidebar → Context → Organization
  2. Click “Create Organization”
  3. Enter a simple hierarchy (example):
Holding: ACME Corp
└─ Company: ACME Turkey
├─ Department: Sales
│ └─ Team: SMB Sales
├─ Department: Engineering
│ ├─ Team: Backend
│ └─ Team: Frontend
└─ Department: Finance
└─ Team: FP&A
  1. Assign a leader to each unit (select user)
  2. Save

Tip: This becomes Version 1. Any later structural change creates a new version.

Step 4: Create a Strategic Cycle

Path: /strategic-cycles

  1. Sidebar → Context → Strategic Cycles
  2. Click “+ Create Cycle”
  3. Fill in:
FieldExample
Cycle name2025 Strategic Year
Start date01 Jan 2025
End date31 Dec 2025
ScopeACME Turkey
Description(optional)
  1. Save

Verification: You should see “2025 Strategic Year” in the list.

Step 5: Write Mission & Vision

Path: /mission-vision

  1. Sidebar → Context → Mission & Vision
  2. Click “+ Create”
  3. Fill in:
FieldExample
Cycle2025 Strategic Year
ScopeACME Turkey
MissionProvide fast, reliable software solutions
VisionBecome market leader in 2025 (20% market share), NPS > 80
  1. Save

Tip: Mission = “why we exist”, Vision = “where we’re going”.


Minute 8–15: Phase 2 — Reality Filter (Resources)

Step 6: Add resources (budget / capacity)

Path: /resources-vrio

  1. Sidebar → Analysis → VRIO / Resource Analysis
  2. Click “+ Add Resource”
  3. Create a few resources (example fields):
FieldExample
Resource name2025 Budget – Sales
Cycle2025 Strategic Year
DepartmentSales
TypeBudget
Amount2500000
CurrencyUSD
DescriptionAnnual budget for Sales
  1. Save
  2. Repeat for Engineering and Finance

Example totals:

  • Sales: 2.5M USD
  • Engineering: 5M USD
  • Finance: 500K USD

Verification: You should see 3 resources in the list.

Step 7: Resource approval (approver role)

  • If you are not the approver, you can stop here and wait for approval.
  • If you are the approver (or in a demo workspace), open the resource and click Approve.

Tip: If resources are rejected (insufficient), you return to Phase 1 to revise the plan.


Minute 15–25: Phase 3 — Assessment (Current State, SWOT, BSC)

Step 8: Create Current State analysis

Path: /current-states

  1. Sidebar → Analysis → Current State Analysis
  2. Click “+ Create”
  3. Add baseline metrics (example):
FieldExample
Name2025 Current State Assessment
Cycle2025 Strategic Year
ScopeACME Turkey
Baseline metric 1Market share: 12%
Baseline metric 2NPS: 68 (target: 80)
Baseline metric 3Revenue growth: 8% YoY (target: 15%)
  1. Save

Step 9: Create SWOT

Path: /swot

  1. Sidebar → Synthesis → SWOT
  2. Click “+ Create SWOT”
  3. Fill in cycle/scope
  4. Add entries per quadrant:

Strengths:

  • Agile engineering team
  • Modern tech stack
  • Strong customer relationships

Weaknesses:

  • Limited sales capacity
  • High acquisition cost
  • Limited enterprise experience

Opportunities:

  • Enterprise market growth
  • AI/ML demand
  • Regulatory tailwinds (e.g., compliance needs)

Threats:

  • Pricing pressure
  • Market consolidation
  • Supply chain disruptions

Verification: You see entries in all 4 categories.

Step 10: Create Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

Path: /bsc

  1. Sidebar → Execution → Balanced Scorecard
  2. Click “+ Create BSC”
  3. Fill in the basics (if prompted):
FieldExample
Name2025 Balanced Scorecard
Cycle2025 Strategic Year
ScopeACME Turkey
  1. Add at least one KPI per perspective:
  • Financial: Revenue $100M → $110M
  • Customer: NPS 68 → 80
  • Internal Process: Deployment frequency 2/week → 5/week
  • Learning & Growth: Certifications 30% → 60%

Tip: You can pick KPIs from the library or create new ones.


Minute 25–30: Phase 4 — Execution Plan (Themes → OKRs)

Step 11: Create Strategic Themes

Path: /strategic-themes

  1. Sidebar → Synthesis → Strategic Themes
  2. Click “+ Create Theme”
  3. Example theme:
FieldExample
NameCustomer Centricity
Cycle2025 Strategic Year
ScopeACME Turkey
DescriptionImprove CX, raise NPS above 80
ColorBlue
  1. Save

Recommended: Create 2 more themes (e.g., “Technology Leadership”, “Market Expansion”).

Step 12: Create an OKR (theme required)

Path: /okr/cycles

  1. Sidebar → Execution → OKR Cycles
  2. Click “+ Create OKR”
  3. Fill in:
FieldExample
ObjectiveIncrease NPS above 75
ThemeCustomer Centricity (required)
OwnerVP Customer Experience
PeriodQ1 2025
  1. Add Key Results:
Key ResultTarget
Support SLA24h → 4h
Customer satisfaction (NPS)68 → 75
Churn rate5% → 2%
  1. Save

Verification: The OKR should appear in the list.


Minute 30: Congratulations

✅ Phase 1: Org + Cycle + Mission/Vision
✅ Phase 2: Resources + approval
✅ Phase 3: Current State + SWOT + BSC
✅ Phase 4: Themes + OKR

Next actions:

  1. Return to the dashboard and start tracking
  2. Make assignments: link OKRs to owners and contributors
  3. Create initiatives and link them to OKRs
  4. Run weekly check-ins (WBR) to keep data fresh
  5. Plan quarterly reviews (QBR)

See also