In 2009, when I first became a manager, here's what I thought would make my team's work standout:

❚ Strategy.

By 2014, when my team's work had actually a model for the rest of the company, here's what made the biggest difference:

❚ Process.

In 2024, here's the advice I now give first time managers:

Overrated: Strategy
Underrated: Process

What does this mean for the new manager? If you want the CEO to notice and respect you,

❌ Don't try to DO strategy.
✅ Master & command processes.

Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Credibility
2. Leverage
3. Foundational

Let me explain each.

6 Signs of Impending OKR Failure and how frontline managers can prevent & mitigate them.

Based on my experience from 30 cycles of OKRs in 7 years. 1. Boss-driven moving targets

The 😩
—

"My boss keeps changing the targets, so I never know what I'm supposed to be working on."

The 💊
—

NEVER change a KR target

• mid-cycle
• unilaterally
• without data

OKRs are a team-sport driven by both data and trust.

How I developed my strategic thinking capabilities as a frontline manager without an MBA. Why strategic thinking matters

1. Drives everything else

• how companies thrive
• how they create value

2. Gives you the CEO mindset
3. Helps you solve problems that matter

Checkin to #OKRForum2022

Looking forward to learning a lot. @meetfelipe is up first with

"Who do some companies success with #OKRs while others fail?"

Note: Felipe is militantly "outcomes over outputs" "OKRs are plumbing as well as poetry" - @meetfelipe

Plumbing is messy and takes time, not as 'cool' as poetry. So most organisations neglect plumbing.

Plumbing means changing the traditional ways of working to suit OKRs.

#OKRForum2022

Two people just can't seem to get along at work.

X: "All Y does is send emails instead of doing "real work"
Y: "X is too bureaucratic, everything must be a process"

How Cultural Intelligence (CQ) can wreck or supercharge a team.
(inspired by the @QuanticSchool class) Culture is the set of
⚈ values
⚈ norm &
⚈ customs,
which a group of people share.

It's why you look at this photo and think
⚈ "India"
⚈ "Africa"
⚈ "Arab"

Or "cultural appropriation" when the "wrong" person is wearing the dress.

High-performing teams are great at

(a) Disagreeing
(b) Decision-making

It seems logical that (a) tends to be the enemy of (b).
One explanation for this is the "Smart vs Stupid Fallacy"

#thread What do we likely think & react when others disagree with our views?

a) They're not as smart as we are (stupid)
→ Therefore: lecture them

b) They agree but have a personal agenda (evil)
→ Therefore: counter-attack

This is the "Smart vs Stupid Fallacy"

How to Kill OKRs Before They Take-Off

(1) Complicate them
(2) Lean heavily on coaches & consultants
(3) Implement them because Google does
(4) Lower the quality bar b/c "baby steps"
(5) Fight for executive buy-in, ignore managers' buy-in How to Kill OKRs Before They Take-Off
1 /5 Overcomplicate them

⚈ Start with multiple levels
- Company OKRs
- Team OKRs
- Individual OKRs
⚈ Mandate perfect alignment of all OKRs
⚈ "Supercharge" everything with OKR-software
⚈ "No team left behind".