Management 3.0 - OKR - In addition to the academic

It may seem controversial, but after observing several courses and training on OKR I have observed many academic examples, ready-made formulas that when applied in a business context are quite different. If someone informs you that you know OKR, sincerely doubt it at the first moment and request proven experiences about its applicability. I am not the owner of the truth, but there is a big difference in knowing OKRs for yourself and knowing OKRs for others. I mean that many people know “academic OKR”, basic OKR, shelf OKR.

But when it comes to playing the game and applying it to your own goals or the goals of a company or group suffer a lot and find that although the concept is excellent the applicability requires a lot of knowledge and maturity.

And there is no point in using the internet because there you will find the brand, the fashion of the moment. I was also part of the trend of the moment, I learned a lot from readings, courses that said they were good and some videos. I also had my difficulties and I know very well that when it comes to applying within a company, the reality is different.

I have seen many cases of instructors who were unclear about what an Objective was, what a Key Result was, and what an Initiative was. And consequently, to support the theme, we observe the market indicators.

 According to research by Ernest & Young:

66% of the plans associated with the strategy are never executed.

According to an IBM survey:

72% of employees do not know or understand the important goals.

This data is very relevant, and we can draw several conclusions about it and one of them is in relation to the history of OKRs that are confused over time. Many institutions say OKR was created in Silicon Valley with technology companies, which is not true. History tells us that in 1954 Peter Drucker developed a model called MBO where we already had concepts of Management by Objectives. What happens is that Drucker's model has undergone transformations and John Doerr takes the concept worked on to apply it on Google, where the practice has spread more.

To explain the concept and applicability I chose to base this article based on the OKR view of Management 3.0. I noticed that it is one of the most complete and grounded materials. For more information, I suggest looking at the source:

https://management30.com/practice/okrs/

And what are OKRs?

It is a management method to collaboratively establish objectives in companies, teams, and individuals. The elements of an OKR are:

Objectives: What do we want to achieve?

The objectives must be qualitative, inspiring, and motivating, easy to remember and provide business value.

Key Results: How did we achieve this goal?

The key results must be quantitative, specific, measurable, and feasible within a period. Aggressive, but realistic. And we should not give more than 5 KR per goal to avoid losing focus.

For our specific scenario, we decided to exemplify the OKR model of an agility team to help in the development of a Tribe.

First, and here comes what is not academic; to determine an OKR, several inputs are needed. You cannot determine where you want to go in a company that is already working if you do not have enough elements for analysis and diagnosis. Usually in the courses they teach you to create an OKR from a zero baseline.

To exemplify the process, we act as follows:

1. For our diagnosis that we will call Agile Backlog, we used the objectives of the Tribe that were already determined, the strategic objectives of the COE for Agility, satisfaction surveys and agile maturity, squad indicators (lead time, cycle time and valocity), results from squad and tribe retrospectives and perceptions of conversations with POs, Chapters and Team Members and meetings. Once with this analysis, we already know where to focus the OKRs and have a meaningful baseline.
2. After analyzing and presenting the data by the team, we did some brainstorming sessions to define which topics were highly relevant to determine our goals and that in addition to meeting the needs of agility, could at the same time help the needs of the business and of technology. And there is another topic that is not academic. An OKR must also assess the areas that will be impacted and must have synergy with them.
3. After defining our goals and results, we define which initiatives should be carried out to move the needle of the Key Result, that is, what would allow us to achieve them and mainly prioritizing the team's capacity.
4. Finally, when finalizing our objectives, we validate with the Chapter and present it to the Tribe Leader informing our commitment and strategy with the Tribe together with our agility Road Map.

An example of our defined OKRs is as follows:

• OBJECTIVE: To be able to earn the lead time of the DB Tribu
• KEY RESULT 1: Obtain a sincere lead time of no more than 25 days in the new structure (ASIS: 20 days)
• KEY RESULT 2: Achieve 85% Reliability in Lean Productivity for the Tribe (ASIS: 67%)

Another example was:

• OBJECTIVE: Contribute to the development of the tribe, based on our knowledge of the business.
• KEY RESULT 1: Enable and promote the automation of 15% of Business Running (reporting, claims).
• KEY RESULT 2: Earn 70% Agile Tribe Maturity TTB (BL: 56%)

After, defining the commitments, there is a need to put them into practice and this will result in several initiatives that will be carried out with the Tribu squads. In addition, there is a need to check if we are reaching the goal on a periodic basis and we define with the team that each Sprint we would consolidate the vision.

LEARNINGS AND SUGGESTIONS:

1.  As a facilitator and as mentioned earlier, before defining the OKR, do a needs analysis and diagnosis.
2. § Many themes will appear during the definition and some add value, but there are goals that add more value than others, so focus on what adds the most value.
3. Do not embrace the world by setting too many Goals. This can create frustration for you and your team when starting measurements and not starting to see results. Few and consistent goals I recommend.
4. Create your measurement ritual and make commitments to report them, so you create a habit.
5. Ask at the end of each strategic definition what the team's level of confidence is, to make sure that everyone is on the same page and believes in the strategy.

I thank the instructor Erick Masgo for sharing the knowledge of Management 3.0.

Daniel Páez

Master Coach, Agile Coach, Job Hunter, Especialista en Recolocación y Carrera. Vloguero, orador, escritor, adicto a las redes sociales y emprendedor. Director de la empresa DPáez Carrera e Recolocación

La misión de mi vida es hacer que consigas el trabajo de tus sue?os.