Implementing OKRs and human behaviour — part 2
Every change effort is a failure until it succeeds. The implementation of the OKR method is also an organizational change. People don’t like changes like that and the reasons for this are not rational. What can companies do to deal with this?
This is the second, and final article, adapted from my speech which was given at the Amsterdam OKR Forum 2019. The first part, where I describe the five problems with the implementation of OKRs rooted in human psychology, is still available.
The problems which appear along the way when implementing any organizational change are similar. Many of them are rooted in human psychology. Some of the solutions and precautions seem to be universal — from numerous sources I have distilled five steps, which can help.
#1 Tell a convincing story
In the beginning, there are some obvious steps. You need to learn about the method, be aware of possible problems and prepare yourself. But when starting the change, managers of companies and organizations have to decide what they want to improve and tell a convincing story about it to employees. The goal is to win their hearts and minds.
Finding things which motivate employees may be challenging. What motivates founders and executives doesn’t necessarily motivate most people. Like a bigger profit, for example, is not the source of motivation for a software developer. Writing a beautiful code, surprisingly, may be.
So, the first important step is to build the story for the team. It must explain how the change will impact them, their team, the company, the customer and why it can be beneficial.
#2 Think long term
Implementing OKRs changes how the organisation works. It is about what it will be like a year from now, not in the next quarter. This is the reason why trying to do it quickly may be not a very good idea. But the truth is we always want quick wins and to take shortcuts.
A good way to approach this change is to think about implementing OKRs as climbing a ladder. In the beginning, companies can start on the top level only — setting goals for the company, communicating them, and following them regularly.
This will bring the first benefits. If they are hard to imagine, you may make a small experiment. Go to some mid-level managers in your organisation, and ask them to name three goals of your company. But be careful — it is not enough to ask them if they know them because they will confirm. When you ask them about naming priorities, there is a very small chance, they will say the same things.

An analysis of 124 organizations conducted by a group of scientists from MIT Sloan, revealed that only 28% of executives and middle managers responsible for executing strategy could list three of their company’s strategic priorities.
Starting OKRs only on company level also shrinks the change in the eyes of people. It will lower emotional reactions to it.
The first step on the ladder is “Everyone knows the priorities”. When you reach it, you can go further and work with a group of teams.
#3 Build habits
Organisations need discipline to execute things. A good way to achieve this is by implementing habits supporting required behaviours. An example of such a habit which works with OKRs are Monday check-ins. This short meeting should remind people about goals, show progress and help to put everyone back on track.
A good way to implement this is to connect training and implementation. At the end of every initial OKR training participants should be given assignments: setting first OKRs with the team and then start to follow them. After a short time, they should have an opportunity to evaluate the progress with trainers.
One of the reasons why implementation takes time is the need to introduce behaviours supporting them. Normally in busy organizations, there is no time for new things. And it takes at least 90 days to change a habit…
#4 Mid-level managers
A good way to prepare for any change is to accept the fact that problems will appear.
Statistics from McKinsey and Harvard Business Review show the failure rate in change efforts to be higher than 60 or 70 per cent.
It may be even worse in the first part of a process. Lister and DeMarco years ago wrote in “Peopleware” that every change has the “things were better before” period and the chaos phase when change is perceived as nothing but failure. You must go through this.
To prepare for it, you need to have a conversation about what can go wrong. But there is no amount of preparation which can guarantee that you will go through the process smoothly.
For executives and boards, the key thing when starting this change is not to go through this period alone. They need to engage their managers — people who work with people who do the actual job. This is the crucial group in implementing any organizational change (according to Gallup research, they are responsible for 70 per cent of engagement among people).
In the beginning, this would be the main group to work with. They need to be trained and prepared to walk people through problems. Especially to teach them to use mistakes as a learning opportunity.
#5 Celebrate progress
The last thing you need to do and teach your managers to do is to assure the progress of reaching the goals and that the benefits from the implementation are visible. Especially in the beginning, it is important to notice and show the first benefits from OKRs.
When it comes to working on goals among teams, the crucial thing is to ensure regular updates of the OKRs status — weekly or at least bi-weekly. This will not only increase the chances of reaching the goals but also create the opportunity to notice and praise the progress. This should have a very positive effect on motivation — progress is a huge and very healthy motivator.
…
This is it — five problems and five ways to deal with them. The source for inspiration for the second part were numerous conversations with people who went through such efforts and also books and articles listed here below.
BOOKS
- “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard “ — Chip Heath, Dan Heath
- “Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me)” — Carol Tavris, Elliot Aronson
- “Thinking, Fast and Slow “ — Daniel Kahneman
- “Your Brain at Work “ — David Rock
- “Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams — Tom DeMarco, Tim Lister
ARTICLES
- The psychology of change management — McKinsey Quarterly
- The irrational side of change management — McKinsey Quarterly
- 4 Tips for Managing Organizational Change — Greg Satell, HBR
- Turning Strategy Into Results — Sloan MIR Management Review
- No One Knows Your Strategy — Not Even Your Top Leaders — Sloan MIT Management Review
…
Thanks for reading!
My name is Tomasz, I’m an independent OKR expert
Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn or Twitter.
