Then write a review in your favorite social media platform. Mention my title: Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership; How to apply Silicon Valley’s secret sauce to your career, team or organization.
Please share these testimonials with your team or organization:
“Doug Gray makes the complex understandable. More important, he makes it doable.”
Craig E. Aronoff, Ph.D., author, Chairman and co-founder, The Family Business Consulting Group, Inc.
“Doug builds on the OKR approach with practical and valuable guidance for individuals, teams and organizations. If you plan on implementing OKRs for your organization, you need this book.”
John Mattox, PhD, author, Head of Talent Research, Metrics that Matter, Explorance
“Introducing the OKR framework has not only allowed us to align our company goals throughout the organization, but it has also provided an easy mechanism to give visibility into how we drive operational accountability.”
Justin Jude, Acting President, LKQ Corp, North America
“Finally, a much needed leadership focus on the importance of clear objectives and specific, measurable results. This book will be useful not just for the present but throughout a practitioner’s career.“
Dave Vance, PhD, author, Executive Director, Center for Talent Reporting
My new Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Leadership book (2019)
Please help me promote my new leadership book! The editing is nearly completed… Yeah!
Title: Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership; How to apply Silicon Valley’s secret sauce to your career, team or organization.
1. The e-book digital release is available now. Pre-order here.
2. The paper and audible book releases will be available after 11.14.19. Please forward this page to your friends and colleagues today.
3. Share these testimonials:
“Doug’s leadership training of the OKR process has been received positively by my sales team due to the coaching being simple, engaging and very effective.” Terry Fortner, VP Sales and Marketing, North America LKQ Corporation.
“Doug Gray makes the complex understandable. More important, he makes it doable.” Craig E. Aronoff, Ph.D., author, Chairman and co-founder, The Family Business Consulting Group, Inc.
“John Doerr’s book “Measure What Matters” describes how OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) transformed Silicon Valley. With this new book, Doug builds on the OKR approach with practical and valuable guidance for individuals, teams and organizations. If you plan on implementing OKRs for your organization, you need this book.” John Mattox, PhD, author, Head of Talent Research, Metrics that Matter, Explorance
“The top five companies in Silicon Valley have an economic value as great as the United Kingdom. They must know something. Doug has uncovered their secrets in his OKR Leadership approach.” Jac Fitzenz, PhD, author, Founder Saratoga Institute and Human Capital Source
“Doug Gray provides readers with a ‘moment of truth’ concerning how we can transform lofty objectives into down-to-earth results.” James Dillon, co-Founder, Emerging Step
“Introducing the OKR framework has not only allowed us to align our company goals throughout the organization, but it has also provided an easy mechanism to give visibility into how we drive operational accountability. That visibility now exists for both our employees and supervisors. OKR Leadership has encouraged broader and more in-depth conversations about the right key results to drive individual or team objectives.” Justin Jude, Acting President, LKQ Corp, North America
“Doug’s new book challenges me to be a leader and to practice leadership. This book provides a practical framework that will make you a more successful leader.“ David Cardwell, SVP, IT Operations, F100 company
“Finally, a much needed leadership focus on the importance of clear objectives and specific, measurable results. This book will be useful not just for the present but throughout a practitioner’s career.“ Dave Vance, PhD, author, Executive Director, Center for Talent Reporting
“In his new and exciting book, OKR Leadership, Doug Gray shares how his proven techniques can help you move the needle to achieve the business outcomes you’ve been striving for. If you’re ready for a transformation, then OKR Leadership is a must read!” Sheri Bankston, VP, Alliance Safety Council
“History is littered with the graves of organizations who had the right strategy but were unable to execute. Lack of execution is a very real threat to every organization’s survival. This is a very practical look at the OKR system to accomplishing results. Written incredibly clearly, Doug Gray has brought OKR Leadership to life in a way that would benefit any organization.” Brian Underhill, Ph.D., author, Founder and CEO, CoachSource
4. Share this back cover:
Leaders practice leadership, just as physicians practice medicine and attorneys practice law. Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are the secret sauce that drives the largest migration of financial assets and technological innovation ever recorded in human history to Silicon Valley, California, USA, since the 1970s. OKR Leadership — the process for managers and leaders to practice what matters – is the secret sauce that drives transformational leadership, employee engagement and the next generation of management consulting. Join the OKR Leadership movement. See details at www.Action-Learning.com or www.OKRLeadership.com. This practical and valuable book will help you practice OKR Leadership in your career, team or organization immediately.
7. Download Chapter 1 as my gift to you (below.) Then write a review in your favorite social media platform. Then forward this page to your friends and colleagues.
TO: Objectives and Key Results (OKR) practitioners/ leaders/ managers
FR: Doug Gray, PhD, PCC
Goal of the OKR leadership project:
Invite practitioners/ leaders/ managers in any-sized organization to share digital stories of HOW you are applying OKRs individually and organizationally.
Assumptions:
Leaders practice leadership. We can all be better leaders.
We can leverage technology and our organizations. We can use technology to share stories of how OKR leadership can transform individuals and teams.
OKR Leadership matters. When we model relationships that matter, then we increase awareness and learning for other individuals and teams.
Background:
After consulting hundreds of leaders and managers about OKR leadership one theme stands clear. Marketing the value of using OKRs is NOT well defined. Market confusion abounds. This OKR Leadership Project is one initiative to help anyone at any level describe HOW you are applying OKRs individually and organizationally in our global marketplace. Join us?
Process:
(a) share this invitation broadly with other OKR practitioners, (b) schedule a 30-minute session with Doug Gray here or at https://actionlearnin.wpengine.com/ (c) receive the calendar confirmation link and reserve that time in your calendar, (d) prepare your responses to the 5-6 questions below, (e) download https://zoom.us/ software and learn how to use Zoom software on YouTube, if needed, (f) at our scheduled time, Doug will record 5-10 minutes of our video session using the link at https://zoom.us/j/3432485703 (g) Doug will send your MP4 recording to you for your distribution, (h) Doug may post our recording on https://www.youtube.com/user/dgrayful/videos with this invitation to be included in the OKR leadership project.
Possible questions:
Self-introduction: Who are you, what do you do, where are you located, do you have a website or invitation to share with others?
Definition:OKR leadership can be defined as a management methodology that helps people focus activity on the same important issues throughout an organization. Some people focus on internal teams (small or large, formal or informal), some people are external practitioners, and some people focus on self-development. How do you typically define OKR leadership?
Interests: What attracts you to the science or practice of OKR leadership?
Clients: Who do you typically serve in your OKR leadership work? Please share 2-3 of your examples/ case studies/ successful experiences applying objectives and key results.
Trends: What trends or market opportunities do you see in the future for OKR leadership, technology or management consulting?
Referrals: Who else can you refer who (a) is applying OKR leadership with others and (b) may be willing to be included in this OKR leadership project?
This week, U.S. attorney General William Barr released a 400-page redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election to Congress and the public. Consider how that data speaks to you. A client suggested that most people “see-speak-hear” that data as if we were monkeys… filled with bias.
Consider how these 3 data points speak to you…
Twitter removed 70 million fraudulent accounts in only two months in 2018 (source: Inc, May 2019)
Facebook removed 583 million fake accounts in the first three months of 2019 (source: Inc, May 2019)
In my world of leadership consulting, “a lengthy global effort to create standards for reporting human capital metrics is expected to be announced this week. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will issue its guidelines for 23 human capital reporting measures, including a Leadership Trust Index (LTI) that may inform institutional investors, private investors and global business leaders” (Steve Maxwell presenting at the Center for Talent Reporting Annual Conference, February 21, 2019).
FACT: All leaders and managers struggle to collect and analyze data.
You probably know that ISO standards have defined quality improvement and safety investments in countless organizations since they were first introduced in 1947. These worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards have been adopted in 164 countries.
What if your organization collected and distributed data on the following 23 human capital measures into these 9 categories?
Ethics (number and type of employee grievances filed; number and type of concluded disciplinary actions; percentage of employees who have completed training on compliance and ethics)
Costs (total workforce costs)
Workforce diversity (with respect to age, gender, disability, and “other indicators of diversity”; and diversity of leadership team)
Leadership (“leadership trust,” to be determined by employee surveys)
Organizational safety, health, and well-being (lost time for injury; number of occupational accidents; number of people killed during work)
Productivity (EBIT/revenue/turnover/profit per employee; human capital ROI, or the ratio of income or revenue to human capital)
Recruitment, mobility, and turnover (average time to fill vacant positions; average time to fill critical business positions; percentage of positions filled internally; percentage of critical business positions filled internally; turnover rate)
Skills and capabilities (total development and training costs)
Workforce availability (number of employees; full-time equivalents)
How would that data speak in your world?
Privately held companies may use these human capital data for directional initiatives such as replacing managers with high turnover ratios identified as “toxic managers” or investing in high growth departments that require training in OKR leadership skills. For details contact us.
Publicly held companies may use these human capital data for multi-directional initiatives designed to retain more diverse employees, eliminating bias in hiring, or retaining desired employees with external coaching and consulting. For details see www.hcmi.co.
Consider one final example. Imagine a 17-year district sales manager who had regularly been promoted within her company as recognition for her history of ratings that “exceed expectations.” Then she was asked to relocate into a new geography and had 4 different managers within 5 years. The goal incentives were increased 300%. She had to hire 3 new direct reports within 8 weeks. Then her new manager stated that she “should not speak to anyone in the corporate office, even when he did not repeatedly provide required information for business decisions.” How does that data speak?
FACT: All leaders and managers struggle to collect and analyze data.
OPINION: I predict massive changes ahead in public accountability and transparency and data-driven decision making.
If you need expertise in collecting and analyzing data for your organization, then you should contact us today.
FACT: The market demands that you will increase the probability of competitive success if you can make more informed decisions before others.
In response to a client’s request, I created a free digital course called “OKR Leadership Skills” that you can take here. The Objectives and Key Results (OKR) management process has enabled countless F100 and small business leaders to increase accountability and transparency. OKR leadership has been described as the “secret sauce” that explains the largest migration of financial assets in human history to Silicon Valley in the last 30 years. OKR leadership is another example of How Data Speaks.
Here is one final example. Here is a 3-minute excerpt of a keynote presentation on OKR leadership that I provided in March, 2019 to over 700 business leaders in Denver, CO. You may need a similar data story in your organization.
Here’s to you, at your best,
Doug Gray, PhD, PCC, CEO of Action Learning Associates, LLC
I recently published the following article on Corporate leadership.
This article is reproduced with permission from Choice, the Magazine of Professional Coaching in this link: choice_V17N1_issue_Doug-Gray
Here is the text of the article for you to share…
Title: Telling Stories; Using systems thinking to help your business clients attain meaningful outcomes
Throughout recorded history, for over 4,500 years, we have used stories to teach and entertain.
Coaches use stories. Coaches teach to add value to clients. By definition, coaching is a collaborative process for clients to attain meaningful outcomes.
Are you using stories to add value for your clients?
Here are two case studies that you can apply to your corporate coaching business immediately.
Case Study 1. Recently I explained Systems Thinking to a client who owns a small leadership development business using professional actors. This CEO was struggling to articulate the unique value of his company. And he needed to prepare for a big meeting with a prospective buyer that could lead to a potential 500 percent increase above his previous annual revenue.
He was excited and scared. I mentioned leverage, Archimedes, and the idea that “with a big enough lever one could move the world.” When he wanted examples, I told him a story about applied systems thinking that Macdonald, Burk and Stewart (2006) implemented at entrenched mining companies in Australia. Those leaders were unable to see past the obstacles in front of them, such as safety incidents, high turnover and absenteeism, and erratic productivity costs. Then they created transformational changes.
When my CEO client wanted to find simple words to describe the cascading effects of organizational change, he drew a model with concentric circles like a bulls-eye. (I encourage you to take a pen or pencil and write this down. It is a simple model that works well.)
The smallest ring was unlabeled, to represent the chaotic core of deep change. The second outer ring was “individual” to represent the changes that leaders need to make. The third outer ring was “team” to represent the group of two or more people that add leverage. If that group has one scoreboard, then by definition they are a team. The fourth outer ring was “organizational” to represent the scope of leaders influencing others toward a better vision of the future. The core skill of such leaders is public optimism.
So, I encouraged this client to find the words to describe a better future for his organization. He developed a story using a pebble dropped into a pool of calm water. This CEO client needed to know that others have applied leverage. He needed a simple structure that he could adopt. You can adopt this model immediately.
One result from his client meeting is that he literally “found the words” and developed his own story about leverage. He developed new marketing content. He improved his reputation. He asked for the business. Yes, he won the big engagement with that new prospect. And yes, he did grow his business 500 percent above the previous annual revenue.
Outcome-based coaching is critical for any leader. Perhaps you can do something similar in your coaching business?
Case Study 2.
The second story encourages leaders to apply leverage to a bigger vision of a better future.
Like many International Coach Federation (ICF) members, I volunteer as a board member at our local chapter to plan annual activities. One of our colleagues leads the corporate Learning and Development group at Bridgestone Americas (a leading automotive company). She needed to develop programs using Systems Thinking.
Specifically, she needed to prepare to replace an aging workforce, and had developed programs with the largest university in the state, using values from their company and partnering with the US Naval Academy and US Army at West Point.
They needed to teach essential leadership skills using their company values at a public university. Concurrently, Bridgestone needed to relocate 30-50 percent of their senior leaders from two other states to their new corporate headquarters in Nashville, TN, without losing significant intellectual capital or market capital.
She was both excited and overwhelmed about the changes ahead for Bridgestone. She needed to discuss ways to apply Senge’s (2006) model of a learning organization to those changes. I volunteered some stories to help her design solutions. My hope is that she has the corporate leadership executive sponsorship and required resources to implement systems thinking at that organization. We all need to transform organizations.
CONCLUSIONS
Notice the pattern? Leaders, by definition, influence others toward a better future. They find the words. They seek partners. They use leverage to gain results. Whether you are coaching a small business owner or a director in a large organization, you can help your clients attain meaningful outcomes.
The cornerstone of systems thinking is personal mastery, defined as “continually becoming” (Senge, 2006). In all major religions and most philosophies, there is a recognition that humans are aspirational. We stare at the clouds, stars and weather patterns and try to understand objective “reality.” We stare at social media and fear-based stimuli and try to determine useful “facts.” We work with clients who are stuck. We help our clients overcome perceived obstacles. Thankfully, humans are continually developing. Amid those chaotic stimuli, we tell stories to teach, entertain, and achieve meaningful outcomes.
As coaches, our primary role is to help others attain meaningful outcomes. Case studies are one way to help our clients make smarter decisions today.
A coaching query is: How are you using case studies or stories to help your clients attain meaningful outcomes?
REFERENCES:
ICF (2016). 2016 Global Coaching Study; Executive Summary. International Coaching Federation.
MacDonald, I., Burke, C., & Stewart, K. (2006). Systems Leadership: creating positive organizations. Hampshire, England: Gower.
Senge, P. M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organiza- tion. Random House/Currency.
Author Bio: Doug Gray, PhD, has been an International Coaching Federation certified coach at the PCC level since 2006. He is CEO of Action Learning Associates, LLC. His dissertation explored global executive coaching and leader outcomes. He models systems thinking by serving hundreds of clients. Contact him today.
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