Arndt Schmidtmayer: Agile goal system OKR: especially in difficult times like these (Covid-19)

It is astonishing and admirable how people - at least many that I know and have the privilege to work with - are able to work flexibly from home due to the curfew and successfully navigate through this new situation using a multitude of new virtual tools (such as Zoom, Miro, Mural, Google Hangouts, or Jamboards), even though it is quite challenging and exhausting. Furthermore, what remains important for employees and companies, or even becomes more important, are the shorter-term, jointly developed goals or Objectives & Key Results (OKR), as used by Axel Springer, Roche, Vision11, and many others (including my clients). With the 3-month cycles (instead of annual goals), everyone can be much more agile and better respond to situations like the global Corona pandemic, providing certainty and planning stability in challenging times with significant disruptions... Even though invented and successfully implemented by Intel's CEO Andy Grove many decades ago, this method is already becoming more and more popular in the dynamic VUCA world and especially in times like these. What is the outstanding benefit of the OKR systematics in times like these:

1. A certain orientation, stability, and security for the next 90 days
2. A collectively developed focus and prioritization by the team
3. A wide range of adaptation possibilities, including the Midterm Reviews
4. Structured transparency for everyone, ensuring that everyone is on the same page
5. Enhanced collaboration across hierarchies and silos
6. The ability to exchange virtually via the web about the OKR sets (I have facilitated many successful online OKR sessions in recent weeks)
7. Increased future viability of the team, department, and company

Of course, the OKR framework is not a magic wand and cannot simply make existing organizational, procedural, financial, personnel, and cultural deficiencies disappear. On the contrary, OKR (similar to other agile frameworks) requires a team-oriented, learning, and agile (non-bureaucratic) mindset, as well as compliance with certain standards and components such as a retrospective similar to the Scrum process - without becoming too complex. Ideally, the OKR processes are integrated into existing team meetings such as weekly team exchanges or quarterly strategy meetings. As a team leader confessed to me: "Since we started using the OKR set in our weekly team meetings, they have become much more effective and efficient." The following four important steps in the OKR cycle should be considered: (1) Planning of new goals & Key Results (OKRs) before the start of the new quarter (2) Quick Updates in (existing) team meetings every 1-2 weeks (3) Midterm Check including possible reprioritizations at halftime (around week 6) (4) Review & Retrospective at the end of the quarter to continuously leverage learnings The OKR canvas, or the 'OKR Canvas' in modern terms, not only helps systematically place the goal post-its (live or virtual) but also shows the cycle plus important criteria for qualitatively goal-oriented formulation of the OKRs ('Quality Criteria') such as: - The Objectives align with the Vision and Mission and describe an inspiring impact. - The Key Results are classically SMART formulated (Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, and Time-bound). - The Lead Initiatives & Lag Results in the Key Results are defined as 'Stretch Goals', meaning 75% achievement is already 'good' (difficult when linked to bonuses). - For the Key Results, the MECE principle from McKinsey applies: they should be 'mutually exclusive', meaning they do not overlap, and 'collectively exhaustive', meaning all KRs of an O should be able to fulfill it. This indeed means that leading an organization to truly successful implementation of the OKR framework is not entirely trivial, as it represents more than just a method. As in any (agile) transformation, the following are particularly helpful: - The commitment of top executives to enthusiastically introduce the team to this new OKR systematics - A 'phased approach' (not all departments and areas at once for companies larger than 100 employees) to avoid overwhelming the organization - Exciting and pragmatic OKR introduction workshops with input and exercises for all participants to ensure a common correct understanding - Sustainable support from OKR Champions at team and department levels, guiding the implementation and learning from each other Good luck in utilizing OKR or the OKR Canvas!