OKR Forum 2024

For the last 6 years, OKR Forum International, organized by Computer Futures in partnership with OKRmentors,  brought together leaders and experts in strategic execution, transformation, and performance. This year the OKR Forum brought together over 200 leaders and experts in strategic execution, transformation, and performance, offering a rich tapestry of workshops, keynotes, and roundtable discussions to share best practices and at elevate strategic execution. 

Let's delve into some of the highlights from our speakers and panel discussions.

Keynote Address by Jeff Gothelf - Everyone has a customer:

In his opening Keyonte Jeff Gothelf emphasized that building a digital company is all about making educated guesses, with rapid learning cycles highlighted by the frequent updates of giants like Amazon (23000 deployment per day) and Google (5000 deployment per day). He points out that while we have tools to guide these guesses, many companies get too caught up in producing outputs, missing the real goal of solving problems.

He advocates for a human-centric approach, reminding us, "Always put customers at the center. Understanding who they are, what they want." This includes recognizing both external and internal customers within our teams.

Drawing from his experience, Jeff shows how understanding our audience leads to more meaningful contributions. He encourages us to focus on the impact of our work on people's behavior, asking, "What behaviors do we want to impact vs what do we want to deliver?"

Jeff defines success not just by what we create, but by the positive changes in behavior that drive business results. This approach shifts the focus from products to the more inspiring goal of making a real difference in people's lives through our work.

Over the course of the day, in three tracks, we zoomed in on how various renowned companies have started using OKRs for their benefit and accelerating business operations: Starting with OKRs, Scaling with OKRs, and OKRs unusual stories.

Let’s take a closer look.

 

Track 1- Starting with OKRs 

What lessons can we learn from groundbreaking companies that worked with OKRs?

Embarking on the OKR journey transforms not just how goals are set, but how teams align, prioritize, and find purpose in their work. Michael Fichter shared with us his key learnings and experiences gathered throughout Siemens' pioneering OKR journey and we heard key insights and best practices from Garanti BBVA, Safetica and iExec. Here’s what stood out:

• Phased Introduction: Jumping headfirst into OKRs can be overwhelming. A gradual rollout, complemented by regular check-ins and a manageable number of OKRs, sets the stage for a smoother transition and sustainable practice. As you roll out, it's critical to have an OKR Lead and Champions to support the process.
  
  
• Leadership and Culture: The transition to OKRs starts at the top. Active participation of the unit manager or OKR team manager throughout the process increases the sense of ownership of team members. Leadership buy-in isn't just about approval. it's about leading by example. Cultivating a culture of trust, transparency, and clarity paves the way for OKRs to thrive.
  
  
• Scope and Focus: OKRs are most powerful when they're focused on transformative efforts rather than business-as-usual tasks. Distinguishing between areas for OKRs and KPIs helps maintain clarity and purpose. Use KPIs to track Run the business/ BAU activities, and OKRs for initiatives to Change the business.
  
  
• Learning and Adaptation: The OKR journey is a learning curve. It requires humility, a reasonable ambition, and a commitment to continuous learning and adaptation, often supported by expert mentoring and shared responsibilities.
  
  
• Driving Adoption: Clear communication on the 'why' behind OKRs, robust training, continuous communication across the board (all hands, team meetings, 1on1s), and feedback loops are crucial for embedding OKRs into the fabric of your organization., Especially in the first cycles, prioritize progress over perfection.

Track 2- OKR at Scale: Insights from Leading Organizations

What is more insightful than seeing how the A players of the world have scaled OKRs within their organizations and what they have learned from it? 

In this track we learnt that embarking on the OKR journey is about bringing teams together, focusing on what truly matters, and finding deeper meaning in our work. Drawing from the experiences of companies like Worldline, Fujitsu, Pearson, and Accor, we've gathered some key insights to help guide your OKR implementation at large scale:

Why Companies Choose OKRs:

• Worldline aimed to improve team alignment and customer focus. They built a network of OKR Champions, meeting weekly to share insights and monthly for expert sessions, making OKRs part of their culture.
  
  
• Accor wanted clearer roles and value-driven goals. They introduced a maturity model to customize the OKR journey for each team, making the process smoother and more effective.
  
  
• At Pearson, a leader's initiative sparked the OKR exploration, leading to the creation of an OKR Center of Excellence. This center supports the rollout, offering guidance and expertise.
  
  
• Fujitsu focused on enhancing team connectivity and creativity. They set annual OKR Principles, aligning everyone's efforts towards innovative change.

Now that we know why companies choose OKRs, let’s take a look at how exactly they are implementing them successfully: 

• Start with Expertise: Learning from OKR experts can fast-track your journey, helping you avoid common mistakes and deepen your understanding.
  
  
• Leadership First: The commitment needs to start from the top. Leaders should not only agree but actively participate and lead by example.
  
  
• Test and Learn: Running pilot programs in different areas allows you to learn and adapt before a full-scale rollout. These pilots can also create success stories that inspire the wider organization.
  
  
• Build a Support Network: Having a group of OKR advocates within your organization can help ensure everyone gets the support they need to succeed with OKRs.
  
  
• Design Your OKR Framework: A clear structure helps keep everyone aligned and ensures each OKR contributes to the company's overall strategy.
  
  
• Train Everyone: Providing comprehensive training empowers teams to manage their OKRs effectively, fostering autonomy and confidence.
  
  
• Communicate Widely: OKRs should be part of a larger conversation about where the organization is headed. Use every opportunity to tie OKRs back to the company's strategic direction.
  
  
• Keep Tools Simple: Start with basic tools for tracking OKRs and progress. As your team gets more comfortable, you can explore more advanced options.
  
  
• Iterate and Improve: Implementing OKRs is a journey. Be patient and ready to adapt as you learn what works best for your team.

By following these steps and learning from the experiences of others, you can make OKRs a powerful tool for transformation in your organization, driving alignment, focus, and a shared sense of purpose.

Unlocking Strategic Transformation: Insights from the OKR Roundtable

During our roundtable discussions, featuring panels of OKR and strategy execution experts, we explored two recurrent topics we see and discuss often with customers during their OKR implementation journey:

How to integrate OKRs with Portfolio and Performance management processes. 

Here are the elements that we have learned are crucial for success:

OKRs & Portfolio Management: Driving Strategic Alignment and Execution

• Strategic Umbrella: OKRs serve as the guiding framework, aligning portfolio projects with the organization's overarching vision to ensure every endeavor contributes meaningfully to broader goals. By embedding OKRs, projects gain clarity and purpose,as teams can continuously test and observe how project tasks are impacting overarching strategic goals.
  
  
• Visibility and Measurement: With OKRs, effective prioritization is democratized across the company, with success metrics emphasizing impact over outputs. To make this possible,  It’s important to foster open dialogues to evaluate objectives and facilitate course correction as needed.
  
  
• Adaptive Execution: In cases where project and OKR timelines misalign, adopting an agile approach by breaking down project work into smaller chunks ensures rapid adaptation and ongoing strategic alignment.

Now that we have looked at the execution, how do companies adapt to using OKRs and how does the organization culture need to be fostered to ensure a sustainable use of OKRs in the long run? Let’s find out:

OKRs & Performance Management: Nurturing a Results-Oriented Culture

• Emerging Trends: Modern workplaces are shifting towards a collaborative, feedback-driven culture, focusing on evaluating overall team achievements rather than individual tasks. This approach resonates particularly with younger employees who value regular feedback and facilitates the introduction of OKRs.
  
  
• Challenges: Organizations often struggle to refine priorities and identify suitable metrics to transition from a culture of business to one rooted in results. The aim is to emphasize the overall impact of task completion.
  
  
• Dos and Don'ts: Performance management and OKRs are related so they should connect in some way. Experts advocate against a direct correlation and rather recommend an interaction between the two universes to ensure they build a consistent and empowering infrastructure for the teams and individuals. Strive for a balanced approach that aligns team achievements with individual performance without confusion.
  
  
• Role of HR: Entrusting the same individual to lead both OKR implementation and performance management discussions ensures a cohesive and effective approach.

To find out how all of this looks on a practical level, take a look at our guidelines below.

Track 3- OKR Unusual Stories: Aligning Strategic Execution Practices

How can OKR help improve strategic execution practices?

In this track, Sparkfood, Inteleos, Newstore, and DXC technology showed us how OKRs allow you to focus on what is important for the company and have meaningful conversations around it, as well as how important the role of leaders in the early stage of the implementation process is.

Let’s put the magnifying glass on Sparkfood and what they have identified as key best practices for using OKRs: 

• Clear Objectives: Sparkfood's journey exemplifies the power of clarity in setting objectives, so much so that they could print it on a T-shirt. Their weekly challenge to move confidence levels to yellow or green demonstrates the actionable nature of well-defined Key Results.
  
  
• Alignment Across Companies: While Sparkfood influences but doesn't execute OKRs at the subsidiary level, they ensure alignment through a dedicated Sherpa role. This collaborative approach ensures consistency and progress towards shared goals.

Inteleos, a global non-profit, embraced OKRs to transition from non-profit to "For Purpose" and to facilitate global expansion while enhancing product and customer experience. The two key elements they have identified are:

• Early Professional Coaching: Inteleos emphasized the importance of early professional coaching to accelerate understanding and adoption.
  
  
• Leadership Understanding: Leaders' comprehension of OKRs is pivotal as it shapes communication and organizational alignment.

Newstore embraced OKRs to drive more focus, alignment, and collaboration within their teams. How have they done it: 

• Phased introduction: Newstore believes it’s key to have a phased introduction approach that starts with the Executive team and some pilot teams in the organization.
  
  
• Breaking down silos: They further advise implementing OKRs by aligning as much as possible company and team level OKRs and by creating co-owners and cross-functional teams for company-level OKRs.

At DXC technologies, OKRs served as a powerful tool for aligning a service company with customer priorities, fostering commitment, creativity, and a focus on outcomes over perfection. Here are their steps: 

• Alignment: OKRs serve as a potent alignment tool, ensuring organizational goals resonate with customer priorities.
• Commitment: Commitment to tracking and stretching goals fosters a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
• Creativity Over Perfection: Embracing creativity over perfection encourages experimentation and agility in pursuing customer-centric objectives.

Conclusion: Embracing the Future with OKRs

From learning from industry leaders to innovative strategies from pioneering companies, the OKR journey has been enlightening. Let's carry forward OKRs as a catalyst for change and growth.

Join us for our next forum next year as we continue exploring strategic management and organizational success. 

Thank you for your participation and contribution. Here's to a future guided by purpose, passion, and success.