Priya Marie Ross

Summary

Situation: The CEO needed to introduce a goal-setting tool to align the entire company towards common objectives.

Task: Collaborated with internal stakeholders to create a comprehensive communication, implementation, and monitoring plan for the project.

Action: Coordinated with the CEO and COO to educate and inspire staff on this new initiative. Singlehandedly executed an email campaign, utilized project management software, and developed print collateral to monitor progress.

Result: Successfully developed a comprehensive program that enabled all staff to connect their individual contributions to the company’s overarching goals.

Details

On the day I was offered the job, the CEO personally called to congratulate me and invite me to spearhead a special project: introducing the goal-setting tool Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) popularized by John Doerr and used at companies like Google.

Within three months, I rolled out the first OKR cycle to the staff. This involved multiple working sessions with both the CEO and COO to define our specific objectives and key results. I also researched and selected the most suitable tool to ensure our teams’ success during the cycle. Finally, I created a series of educational emails to explain the concept to a staff with limited formal education, securing their buy-in for the project. All this was achieved in addition to my primary role in data analytics. We completed three OKR cycles before external factors interrupted the project.

Reflecting on the OKR project, the most significant outcome was teaching staff to connect their daily tasks to larger goals that drive the company’s success. Did we strictly adhere to the OKR methodology? No. Were our objectives ambitious enough? Not always. We faced challenges, including limited leadership commitment, which hindered accountability. However, it was a valuable learning process for everyone involved.

Lessons Learned

This project was a major undertaking at a company inexperienced with goal-setting tools and quantitative performance metrics. At the time, most staff, including leadership, were data-illiterate. There was a notable lack of voices to support a data-driven culture.

For those in similar situations, I recommend:

1. Assess team leaders’ data literacy and commitment to a data-driven culture upon joining the company.

2. Address any leadership gaps in data literacy and commitment, as these are critical for project success.

3. Develop a comprehensive accountability plan with team leaders, including daily and weekly check-ins and periodic assessments. Encourage active engagement from team leaders to improve buy-in.