While the role of strategy work is changing, we still believe in its importance: You need to know where you are going, you want to develop ambitious objectives and understand how to get there. OKRs are one approach for how to bring strategy into the organization which is the prerequisite to make it happen. Scaling successfully and sustainably is already an enormous challenge. Without such strategic building blocks and a clear sense of direction scaling becomes an even more difficult endeavor. That’s why we decided to put this sprint at the very start of the program.
It is the sheer number of tasks together with their wide-ranging diversity and complexity, which scaling organizations are dealing with. Everything seems urgent and important. Many things are being done for the very first time. This makes it really difficult to sort the important from the less important. So, categorizing and prioritizing is really a key!
Our frameworks help to do so; plus, they facilitate execution!
We encourage leaders and founders to visualize and verbalize their strategic priorities. Strategy must not remain only in the head(s) of the founder (team), it needs to be made explicit and it has to be communicated. You need to have the entire team on board to make it happen.
It does not have to be perfect the very first time around. If you see strategy work and OKRs as a continuous process, then the learning curve, as a team and as an organization, can be quite steep.
Well, they influence each other! If your leadership style is rather traditional and top down, where the leader makes strategic decisions alone and others are there to execute, then OKRs are simply not for you and you can spare yourself and others the effort.
But if you expect your people to really contribute and if you believe that these contributions make a positive difference, then having your people participate in strategy work is the way to go. This can take different forms and there are various degrees of participation (OKRs are one instrument of facilitation), but the essential ingredient for making it work is mutual trust. Trust by employees in the leadership, trust by leaders in the competencies of their people.
The key is to kick-off an ongoing dialogue with several steps of check-in and reviews. This has several reasons: The aforementioned participatory leadership style is not something which can be switched on in one go. It needs practice on both sides and iterations. In addition, internal and external realities are changing fast. Short cycles in the process allow you to respond to such changes, to adapt priorities and adjust your course.
Sprint 1 of the
Scaling Readiness Run has laid a strong foundation for scaling, guiding startups to turn strategic priorities into action through OKRs and participatory leadership under Michael Kubiena’s expert guidance.
Next up, Sprint 2: Product Market Fit and Sales will focus on refining product-market fit, strengthening unique selling propositions, working with core segments, and streamlining CRM and sales processes. Stay tuned as the Scaling Readiness Run continues to empower startups with tools for sustainable growth!
