Hey happy Monday,
When you have an obsession you also become an information magnet.
My friend Francio from Hello World shot me this reel from the Instagram account of 20VC-one of the best podcasts around on startup and growth topics-in which Jean-Denis Greze, CTO of Plaid, talks about measuring progress.
This gives me the cue to go into depth and especially to show you how to do it in practice using the certified tools of MAKE PROGRESS with OKRs.
What does Jean-Denis say?
Suppose we want to go from Paris to Milan.
Let us consider 3 ways in which this can be done:
- Walking
- Going by train
- Going by plane
We also decide to measure progress by looking at one metric: the percentage of distance completed between Paris and Milan.
Each day decreases and it can be predicted very clearly when the person will arrive in Milan.
If we measure progress from the perspective of those who walk, this metric moves steadily if only slightly at a time, confirming that we are making progress in the right direction.
If we measure progress from the perspective of those who go to by train we will see that their metrics will move very slowly, perhaps in the opposite direction because the station is elsewhere in the city, then they will undergo an acceleration toward their final destination by arriving in Milan before those who go by foot.
Looking at the metric from the perspective of the person leaving by plane, the situation is even stranger… We might ask: What is going on? He leaves the city (to get to the airport) then stays put for hours (waiting for the plane) and suddenly arrives in Milan before the others.
His point is that if we focus only, and I emphasize only — I’ll explain now — on metrics, this way of managing work will incentivize the behavior of walking. Of making small, steady, predictable progress. It is a situation where everything is measurable and because of that comfortable: you will be sure that sooner or later you will arrive at your destination.
Speaking of innovation.
“It is clear that the best means of transportation is the airplane. The best job is the one where you build an airport and invent airplanes. And then, a few years later, you can get from one place to another, not in 27 hours, but in an hour.
It is necessary for someone to put themselves on the line and say, “I believe this will work!” I will put my promotion and my career on the line. For example, we will have five people working on this. I think this is the product innovation part. It’s really difficult.”
KR In Real Life
Here is a diagram showing how key outcomes move in the real world in an OKR program.
Trend 1 is that of the boy walking.
Stable, linear daily progress. It rarely happens because this means that there will be no hiccups and that the strategy works with absolute predictability. If this were the case then my opinion is that you wouldn’t even need the OKRs in the first place-you just need the KPIs.
Trend 2 is that of the boy moving by train.
He makes small progress, at first he seems not to make it, then his speed increases, he becomes stable and reaches the destination. This case is very common. It happens when teams work for a period of time maintaining previous performance while they are about to launch an incremental innovation such as launching a new feature.
Here is a screenshot taken from one of OKR’s programs that I personally followed.
Trend 3 is that of the guy who moves by plane.
It is the case of disruptive innovations that Jean Denis talks about. Of bold pivots that when they work allow you to overcome the competition and completely change the scenario. Progress is made, then everything is challenged, and then all previous records are burned.
Progress may be invisible
but it does not mean it is less important
Adopting OKRs and goal-oriented work in general does not mean filling your days with spreadsheets and numbers to measure–that would be like saying that to lose weight you have to weigh yourself all the time.
Some metrics may not move for a long time, or even regress – momentarily – below previous performance so how do you feel progress even in these situations?
It is also important to track the confidence level that is, the level of confidence in reaching the target at the end of the period based on the performance of initiatives and resource consumption.
Let’s take an example. In the case of the boy moving by train, the confidence level might remain constant until he arrives at the station even though his metric does not represent the expected outcome. In the same way, the confidence level of the person who is moving away from the city to the airport could also be high despite having a contradiction in the metric. It means having the situation under control. Both know that their vehicles are on time and will get them to their destination on time. Both are making tangible progress that is not captured by the metrics. That is why it is important that in every check-in it is not enough to update their KRs but also to update their confidence level.
The biggest benefit? Avoid micro-management
Without this parameter, you would probably stick to the phone to figure out what is going on….
But by prioritizing conversations by confidence level, a manager can anticipate problems by talking to teams that are having difficulty and letting those that are making progress work.
And what is that thing that all leaders want and all employees desire but none that they get? Autonomy.
Confidence level is an integral part of OKR check-in techniques.
If you want to go deeper, browse to page 353 of the most pragmatic book on OKRs around today and remember…
ALWAYS MAKE PROGRESS ⤴
Occasions to meet live
On Oct. 25, 2023, at the H-FARM campus in Roncade (TV) companies and top managers will have an opportunity to discuss organizational management, sharing experiences and being inspired by each other. Speeches, workshops, networking opportunities and one-on-one sessions in a day of comparing people and organizational models.
Here is all the information https://impact2030.laborability.com/
And if you are going to be there, answer this email so I will be sure to make time to meet with you.
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