The Vision, Strategy, Execution (VSE) Framework is a tool Attivo’s FP&A team has developed to deliver actionable, well-reasoned financial plans that support founder vision, provide metrics to measure achievement, and create team alignment across a client’s business.

At its core, a financial model is about communicating strategy and aligning teams on roles and responsibilities to execute against initiatives. When developed through Attivo’s VSE Framework, the resulting model is a guide that helps founders visualize and organize the core activities of their business and ensure the best next steps are taken to grow and scale.

Name: Attivo’s Vision, Strategy, Execution Framework

Vision

Vision encapsulates how a company operates at the highest level and sets the tone for what teams are driven to achieve in the long run. Founders and leadership teams set lofty goals to energize their teams and, ultimately, to see what the company can become. 

In this framework, vision is simple, exciting, and a reference point for any subsequent strategic choices. A few examples we like are: 

• Stripe: “Increase the GDP of the internet.”
• Substack: “Building a new economic engine for culture.”
• Coinbase: “Create an open financial system for the world.”

Each of these examples is appropriately ambitious while remaining specific enough to guide and inform future strategic decisions. In the context of financial planning and accounting, vision becomes a guiding principle that influences operational goals and aspirations while creating team alignment. 

Strategy

After a vision is articulated, it must cascade down into measurable objectives and tactics. Strategy is what clarifies the vision and links it to objectives against which the team develops programs for performance. In this way, strategy is where we see the ambitions of leadership distilled into operational realities. 

In the VSE Framework, Strategy is the set of objectives and measures that describe long-term drivers of success. A few examples could be: 

• Setting a revenue goal of $100 million over 3 years 
• Identifying a key product feature to develop over the next 18 months
• Targeting 15% of market share in the next year

When Attivo’s FP&A team supports leadership teams, the initial conversation is typically focused on strategy because understanding a company’s business model and tactical approach is essential for developing an effective financial model. After the financial model is developed, it serves as a form of communication to bring the management team together around a cohesive set of objectives. 

Execution

Through the financial model, we link Strategy to Execution. The financial model becomes an essential communication tool because we must be sure that we are investing in the most important initiatives related to the business’s Strategy and Vision.

In the VSE Framework, Execution is where roles and responsibilities are aligned, and resources are allocated. A few examples could be: 

• Resource allocation for each department 
• Hiring strategies related to a top-line revenue or development goals 
• Go-to-market strategy 

In this segment of the VSE framework, results are measured, and feedback loops are created to allow for learning and continuous improvement. Through the financial model, Attivo’s FP&A team is able to develop metrics that provide feedback on the business’s ability to execute against initiatives. 

In practice, this could look like working with team leaders to understand the resources they want and comparing that against the resources we have available to honor those requests. There may be multiple rounds of back-and-forth to reach an agreement and understand the tradeoffs being made. 

The VSE Framework Applies to All Parts of a Business

At its most fundamental level, a financial model is an investment in doing the most important things well. As we work through the Vision, Strategy, Execution Framework we can ensure that the financial model drives the communication, strategic focus, and alignment needed for the business to succeed in realizing its vision.

When we combine this framework with Top Down and Bottom Up modeling techniques, the result is a process and communication framework for approaching any topic related to the business: revenue modeling, sales hiring, R&D, manufacturing, and whatever else might be relevant to the business’s needs. This process allows Attivo to build detailed financial models and plan strategically for the future of the companies we work with. 

Ready to Level Up Your Decision-Making?

Attivo’s FP&A team works alongside founders and leadership teams by providing valuable data and strategic insights to aid their decision-making. By working with a team of experienced FP&A professionals, leadership teams can make informed choices, allocate resources wisely, and guide the growth of their business. Our FP&A team can support fundraising, build annual plans, establish key metrics, provide budget v.s. actual reporting, perform deep-dive financial analysis, and provide other services that help founders scale their business.

 

Don't let guesswork guide your growth—partner with Attivo to develop a robust financial model tailored to your startup's needs. Contact us now and begin your journey to more innovative, effective decision-making that will transform your strategic vision into actionable insights for success.