Generating New Habits with the Adoption of an OKR Model

The OKR model has experienced significant growth in popularity in recent years, prompting numerous organizations to quickly adopt it.

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While the initial practice focuses on writing and distinguishing KPIs, it is crucial to recognize the profound changes that the implementation of an OKR model implies. Differentiating between practice and the underlying cultural transformation not only allows for sustaining changes over time but also enables maximizing organizational performance by leveraging the full benefits of the OKR model.

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Some cultural changes that the OKR model poses and that go beyond mere goal-setting are:

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1. Shifting from "fixed goals" to "short-cycle reviews,"

2. Abandoning the mindset of "no to error" in favor of "innovation and learning."

3. Evolving from "private information" towards "transparent information."

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These are some changes proposed by the model and require a deep understanding to derive significant benefits.

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Here's a practical exercise to assess the maturity of OKR implementation in your organization. Reflect on:

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Short-cycle reviews: Evaluate the change dynamics in goals, the existence of collaborative spaces to discuss priorities, and the regularity of monthly follow-ups toward goals. Also, reflect on how aligned conversations are throughout the organization—how much time it takes to impact a change in the organization when changing the strategy.

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Innovation and learning: Reflect on the culture of innovation in your team, the duration of experiments, and decision-making based on data in short cycles. Think critically about how many experiments your team conducted in the last 2 months and, conversely, how many decisions were based on quantitative data from end users.

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Transparent information: Assess the existence of a single source of information aligned with strategic purposes, universal access to information about goals, and the availability of visual boards to understand individual and team contributions.

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Understanding implementation as an evolutionary process:

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In our years of experience in OKR adoption processes, we have observed that achieving sustainable performance and benefits beyond initial efforts involves going through several work cycles.

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In the early stages of deploying the solution, using traditional or context-specific maturity measurement tools in collaboration with human resources teams not only guides the evolution of an organization but also helps define success criteria and measure the deeper changes introduced by the model.

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Always as a team:

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An added benefit is the early and active participation of leaders and early adopters in constructing success criteria defined in relation to the OKR implementation. This positions them as genuine change agents.

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OKR, being a model of straightforward deployment, offers the ability to early-screen organizational practices. By using it not only as a management tool but as an integral part of cultural change planning, additional value is added, allowing leadership in the transformation across the entire organization.

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In summary, adopting the OKR model goes beyond implementing a tool; it implies a profound cultural change. Understanding and managing new habits, transforming the OKR implementation into a comprehensive and continuous organizational improvement process, can make your actions a true competitive advantage.

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And in your organization, ¿do you define success criteria linked to cultural change when implementing OKR? ¿What roadmap guides cultural evolution?

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