Podcasts about okrs

What happens when the cost of intelligence drops to zero? The only thing that matters is knowing how to give the right instructions.In this episode, Andreas Bachmann – co-founder of Adacor, a managed cloud and critical infrastructure provider serving banks, automotive, healthcare, and energy clients across Germany – shares what 22 years of deliberate, founder-led growth actually looks like. We explore the real tension between innovation and zero-tolerance uptime, the co-founder crisis that almost broke the company, and why Andreas believes the primary job of every knowledge worker in five years won't be doing the work – it'll be managing the agents doing it for them.What You'll Discover:[00:01:19] Innovating When Failure Is Not an Option → How Adacor runs experiments for critical infrastructure clients who can't afford a single hiccup – and the mental model that makes it work[00:05:30] The Sustainable Growth Playbook → Why Andreas chose deliberate, step-by-step growth over hypergrowth – and how that decision made Adacor more competitive, not less[00:13:49] The Co-Founder Crisis Nobody Talks About → At 40–50 people, Adacor fractured into silos and the founding team needed “marriage counseling” – what they decided, and who stepped back[00:17:34] Self-Organization Without Chaos → How Adacor implemented OKRs, dailies, and retrospectives in a high-stakes environment – and the one thing that makes retros actually stick[00:23:37] Building a Human-Centered Tech Company → From family compatibility programs to volunteer firefighter support – why Andreas treats the company as the strong one, not the individual[00:27:26] The AI Question: Bullshit or Real? → Why Andreas went all-in on AI in 2022, how Adacor hacked EU innovation grants to build an AI team years early, and why he skipped the GPU commodity race entirely[00:34:16] The Future of Work Is Managing Agents → Andreas's thesis on what happens when intelligence is automated and essentially free – and what human value actually looks like on the other sideKey Takeaways:Sustainable growth is a competitive advantage in high-trust industries – adding people too fast breaks the thing clients pay you for“Fast fashion software”: non-developers are already using AI to write and discard code; this is a glimpse of where all knowledge work is headedThe best retros are useless without a committed “what do we do about it now?” – every retrospective at ATCO must produce 1–3 actionable initiativesThe co-founder transition from parallel silos to one clear direction is one of the most underreported breaking points in company buildingThe new leadership superpower isn't having all the answers – it's knowing when to step back and trust the people who doAbout Andreas Bachmann:Andreas is co-founder and CEO of Adacor, a German managed cloud and critical infrastructure company he's been building for over 22 years with a deliberate focus on stability, human-centered culture, and innovation that doesn't break things. He's also a founding force behind Media Monster, an initiative supporting mental health and work-family compatibility in tech.

Andrea Spielmann gestaltet bei Lorenz Snacks seit 25 Jahren Marken, die man nicht erklären muss, sondern einfach kennt: Nic Nacs, Saltletts, ErdnußLocken, Naturals, …Mit Martin & Olli spricht sie über wertebasierte Transformation im Mittelstand – und darüber, wie ikonische Marken generationenfähig bleiben.In der Folge wird sehr greifbar, warum Mittelstand nicht „kleiner Konzern“ ist, sondern ein eigenes Betriebssystem hat: Nähe zur Vision, kurze Wege, Verantwortung, die nicht nach Quartalen tickt. Andrea zeigt, wie Lorenz Digitalisierung entlang der Wertschöpfung nutzt (von Rückverfolgbarkeit bis Logistik-Emissionen), wie OKRs als Werkzeug für echte Fortschritte im Alltag funktionieren – und warum Markenarbeit längst mehr ist als Kommunikation: Produkt, Kanal, Kultur, Führung.Ein roter Faden bleibt: Wandel gelingt dort, wo Menschen sich sicher fühlen, verstanden werden und mitgestalten können.KEY TAKEAWAYS:Widerstand kommt oft aus Unsicherheit. Kommunikation macht dabei den Unterschied.Digitalisierung dort starten, wo der Alltag klemmt: kleine Pain Points, kurze Zyklen, sichtbare Fortschritte.Marken über Generationen führen heißt: Markenkern bewahren, aber im Ausdruck variieren.Themen unter anderem:(00:19:00) Produktportfolio-Management(00:24:40) Start with Why(00:39:10) Generationen & Marken(00:51:00) Generationenwechsel Management(00:55:30) Change-Kurve & WiderstandLinks:https://designingyour.life/books-designing-life-original-book/LinkedIn:→ Andrea Spielmann→ Olli Busch→ Martin Boeing-MessingKeywords: Unternehmergeführte Organisation, Drei-Monats-Zyklen, Pilotierung im Rollout, Freiwilligkeitsprinzip, Rückverfolgbarkeit, Logistik-Emissionsmessung, Zielgruppen-Übersetzungsarbeit, Markenverjüngung, Change Management, Change-Kurve (Elisabeth Kübler-Ross), Circle of Safety Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Scale a Business Without Killing Profit and Cash Flow with Aaron Trahan   Find Rocky Lalvani @ www.ProfitComesFirst.com or email him at rocky@profitcomesfirst.com   Most businesses don't fail because they can't grow; they fail because growth exposes weak priorities, sloppy execution, and fragile cash flow.   In this episode, Rocky Lalvani talks with Aaron Trahan about why revenue can be a "vanity metric," how companies "grow into insolvency," and what to install so scaling improves profit and cash not just topline numbers.   Rocky Lalvani interviews Aaron Trahan, a seasoned executive who was thrust into leading a $100M division at age 24 and later helped operate at a billion-dollar revenue run rate. Aaron explains why revenue growth is often misunderstood: if growth isn't efficient, it can crush profitability, consume cash, and push a business toward insolvency. He shares the "Inc. 5000 rule" (68% of fast-growers fail or stall within 5–7 years) and introduces his "Golden Five" framework—Priority Management, Communication, Focus, Execution, and Accountability—as the operating system that keeps scaling sustainable. The conversation also covers quarterly OKR sprints, the 24/12/6/3 planning protocol, and "red teaming" as a way to stress-test assumptions before they become expensive mistakes.   In This Episode, You'll Learn: If growth dilutes execution, growth becomes the risk.  Revenue without profitable delivery and cash conversion can be dangerous.  Focus is a competitive advantage, but only after priorities are crystal clear.  "Scaling" isn't "doing more", it's getting more outcome per unit of effort/cost.  Install a quarterly cadence so strategy doesn't drift into "someday."  Stress-test assumptions early; weak growth stories break fast under scrutiny.   Big Takeaway: Scaling isn't "more revenue." Scaling is creating more profit and cash flow with better execution. If growth is costing you as much as it's earning (or it's breaking your team's ability to prioritize, communicate, focus, execute, and stay accountable), you're not scaling, you're treading water and increasing risk. Aaron's core message is simple: treat revenue like a vanity metric unless it converts into profitability + cash + operational discipline, and install a cadence (Golden Five + quarterly OKRs + 24/12/6/3 planning) so growth strengthens the business instead of stressing it.   Bio: Big goals don't build great businesses. Great systems do. His mission is helping businesses create the bridge that connects vision to strategy to execution, using systems that scale. Born from real-world experience & lessons learned from scaling a billion-dollar consumer company, He designed a business operating system that takes a system-driven approach to scaling smarter, through enhancing effectiveness in the areas that matter most to any business: Prioritization Communication Organizational Focus Accountability Execution His methodology combines the hard-earned lessons of a seasoned operator with the mindset of a performance coach. The outcome: leaders can scale smarter, teams will execute sharper, and businesses are able to generate sustained high-performance... without the chaos.   Links: Website: https://performancemindsetcoaching.co/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaron.trahan.664525  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarontrahancoaching/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aarontrahan/   X: https://x.com/trahanAD   Conclusion: If you've felt like your business is "growing" but somehow getting tighter—more complexity, more firefighting, and less cash—this episode is your reset. Start by validating that leadership can name the same top priorities, then lock in a quarterly execution rhythm with clear OKRs, and pressure-test your growth assumptions through red teaming before betting the company on them. The goal isn't to grow fast—it's to grow sustainably, so profit and cash flow expand with revenue and you build a business that can survive (and thrive) through change.   If you're tired of "growth" that creates more stress and less cash, take one action from this episode and apply it this week: get your leadership team aligned on the top 3 priorities, then set quarterly OKRs that protect execution and cash flow. Sustainable scaling isn't about chasing revenue—it's about building a business that throws off profit and cash while staying operationally disciplined.   #ProfitFirst #CashFlow #Profitability #BusinessScaling #SustainableGrowth #Leadership #OperationalExcellence #OKRs #StrategicPlanning #Accountability #Execution #BusinessOwner #Entrepreneurship #BusinessCoaching #RiskManagement #SmallBusiness #ScalingUp   Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman Sign up to be notified when the next cohort of the Profit First Experience Course is available! Free Copy of the Profit Blueprint Book: : https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/landing-page-page  Monthly Newsletter signup: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/newsletter-signup Relay Bank (affiliate link): https://relayfi.com/?referralcode=profitcomesfirst Profit Answer Man Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/profitanswerman/ My podcast about living a richer more meaningful life: http://richersoul.com/ Music provided by Junan from Junan Podcast Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs.

Juan and Tim are back for a LIVE episode with Nachiket Mehta, an experienced data leader who has lived and breathed the “shift left”. In this episode we unpack how ontology, events and culture unlock enterprise AI. We discuss the gap between what your systems think is happening and what's actually happening on the ground and dive into real world examples: a trailer with expensive merchandise sat forgotten in a yard for weeks. $35M in delayed orders. The math added up, but nobody saw it coming. Why? Because we're obsessed with cleaning data and building dashboards, but nobody mapped the happy path vs. the exceptions actually happening on the ground. What is delivery when the customer isn't home? What's "lost in transit" versus "sitting in our own yard"? The solution? Send your ontologist to the fulfillment center. Build tiger teams. Shift your data teams left to act like software product teams. And most importantly: connect the five why's back to your OKRs, or you're just building features nobody needs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've told the team what needs doing. You check in later. Nothing's happened. Your blood boils… then you realise you might not have been clear enough in the first place. In this episode, I'm joined by Stuart to break down OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) in plain English. It's a simple way to set a clear goal, define 3 to 4 measurable checkpoints, and keep everyone pulling in the same direction without turning into a micromanaging nightmare.  We cover the difference between "good intentions" and real alignment, why teams still drift even with high effort, and how OKRs stop chaos like the classic "let's refresh the pitch" situation, where everyone does something different, and the whole thing goes sideways. What you'll get from listening: What OKRs actually are, and why they're so popular in high-performance businesses. How to turn vague goals like "improve customer experience" into clear outcomes and measurable results. Examples you can use in a dealership (NPS/CSI improvement, response times, reviews, complaints handling). How OKRs reduce emotion in performance conversations, because the numbers don't argue back. How to keep autonomy in the team while still checking progress properly. Listen and then use it to set sharper goals with your sales or service teams this month. Finding this useful? Follow the show About Symco Training: Symco Training was founded in 2000 by Simon Bowkett and it was his belief that the business had to offer its clients something different. That difference was clear to Simon from his days in the dealership when he experienced many sales trainers who had all the answers, but were unable, unwilling or both to actually show the delegate how they could be implemented. It remains the ethos of the business today. You see, Symco only employ trainers that are committed to delivering not only in spiring and insightful training, but are equally as happy to demonstrate these skills and techniques with real customers in your own showroom. We believe in order for sales training to be effective and in Simon's words 'real world', it needs to be tried and tested in the only place it matters the showroom floor. There is no room for theory when your goals are for your team to sell more cars, hours or parts and retain more profit. In dealerships around the world the focus applied by many of the sales executives is to try and sell a deal. Symco specialise in getting your teams to focus on selling themselves, the product and then supporting this with the deal. To find out more visit: www.symcotraining.co.uk

In dieser Ask-Me-Anything-about-OKR-Episode des Murakamy Podcasts geht es um konkrete Spannungsfelder der OKR-Praxis: um den Unterschied zwischen Outcome und Output, um Tagesgeschäft versus Wandel und um Verantwortung in organisationaler Unschärfe. Wir diskutieren, warum „as measured by“ kein harmloser Shortcut, sondern ein Bruch in der OKR-Logik ist. Es geht darum, wie mit 80 Prozent Tagesgeschäft umzugehen ist, die Ressourcen binden, aber keine Verbesserung versprechen. Und wir fragen, was mit Zielen passiert, wenn sich Rollen, Aufbauorganisation und Verantwortlichkeiten permanent verändern. Die Folge macht deutlich, warum saubere Zielarbeit immer eine Führungsfrage ist – und weshalb OKRs dort scheitern, wo Entscheidungen vertagt oder delegiert werden.

If you're a product manager, founder, executive, or even an individual contributor navigating OKRs, AI, and innovation pressure, this episode of Career Sessions, Career Lessons offers a practical reframing of how great products and meaningful work actually get built.Host JR Lowry sits down with Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking, to unpack why traditional goals, OKRs, and performance targets often do more harm than good in modern product organizations.Drawing from her experience as an MIT-trained engineer, startup founder, and product leader across industries, Radhika introduces an alternative: puzzle setting and puzzle solving. Rather than optimizing for short-term metrics, she says that the most successful teams spend more time in the problem space asking better questions, learning faster, and adapting intelligently.Together, JR and Radhika explore:Why OKRs and targets could kill curiosity and innovationThe difference between optimizing numbers and solving the right problemHow “puzzle-driven” teams outperform “goal-driven” teamsThe dangers of AI-driven “product slop” and what humans must do better than machinesLeadership lessons on delegation, critical thinking, and psychological safetyAI's impact on recruiting and cultureCheck out the full series of “Career Sessions, Career Lessons” podcasts here or visit pathwise.io/podcast/. A full written transcript of this episode is also available at [insert URL for the transcript of this episode.]Become a PathWise member today! Join at https://pathwise.io/join-now/

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM  This episode challenges goal-driven thinking in an AI-enabled world through a conversation with Radhika Dutt. The discussion explores why OKRs and vanity metrics often fail, especially when AI accelerates optimisation without understanding. The core insight is a shift from goal setting to puzzle setting. By framing problems clearly, staying in the discomfort, and learning through small experiments, teams can build products that create long-term value. Practical examples show how this mindset helped recover stalled growth, improve trust, and reduce churn while keeping humans central to AI-driven decisions. 

What does it really mean for an HR team to be “strategic” – and how can you make that shift without adding more to your workload?In this solo episode of HR Coffee Time, Fay explores a practical and accessible way to strengthen your team's strategic focus: using OKRs – Objectives and Key Results.If you've ever felt pulled between operational demands and the bigger picture, this episode will help you think differently about how HR goals connect to organisational priorities – and how to make that link clearer for your whole team.Drawing on real examples (including a memorable orange analogy

David C. Baker recently published a fascinating thought experiment about what he’d do if starting an agency from scratch today—and it’s packed with provocative ideas worth serious consideration. His article offers a comprehensive blueprint covering everything from organizational structure to compensation philosophy, and much of it aligns with how Chip and Gini think about building sustainable agencies. But the most interesting conversations happen when smart people disagree, which is why this episode focuses on the handful of points where Chip and Gini see things differently. Not because Baker’s ideas are bad, but because they expose the tension between aspirational agency management and the messy realities of running a business with real budgets, real people, and real client demands. In this episode, Chip and Gini tackle mandatory one-month sabbaticals for every employee, open-book finances published on your website, 360-degree reviews, and incentive compensation structures. They dig into why ideas that sound compelling in theory often create unintended consequences in practice—like how retention-based bonuses can fuel scope creep, or why forced sabbaticals don’t actually solve the single-point-of-failure problem they’re designed to address. The conversation reveals thoughtful nuance on both sides. Gini shares her brutal experience with anonymous feedback that backfired when presented poorly. Chip explains why he sees most performance measurement systems as “performance theater” while still advocating for more financial transparency with teams. They discuss the logistical nightmares of scheduling multiple month-long absences and why backup systems for unexpected departures matter more than planned time off. Throughout, they return to a central theme: what works brilliantly at one stage of growth can be completely wrong at another. The goal isn’t to declare Baker’s ideas right or wrong, but to test assumptions and recognize that even the most well-intentioned frameworks deserve scrutiny before implementation. Key takeaways Chip Griffin: “Really to deal with single points of failure, you need to be able to handle those unexpected absences, right? Someone has a family emergency, someone has a health issue. Those are the kinds of things that you wanna make sure you’ve handled.” Gini Dietrich: “When you’re constantly slacking or texting or calling while on vacation, and we don’t give you a response, it makes people angry. But what I’m trying to do is give you the time off because you deserve it and I want you to come back refreshed and ready to work.” Chip Griffin: “When you have incentive compensation, whether that is commissions or for hitting profit targets, the problem that you run into is people tend to focus on the thing that gets them the commission. It doesn’t mean that it’s good revenue. It doesn’t mean that it’s profitable.” Gini Dietrich: “I subscribe to give ongoing feedback. You get feedback consistently. And when we’re in a meeting and I see something that you did really great or I see something that could use some work, I tell you that immediately.” Turn Ideas Into Action Read Baker’s full article and identify your three favorites. Don’t just focus on the disagreements—pull out the ideas that resonate most with your vision for your agency and commit to implementing one of them this quarter. The value in thought experiments like this isn’t picking sides, but using them to clarify what you actually want to build. Spend 30 minutes reading, then schedule time to test one concept that genuinely excites you. Identify your true single points of failure. List every critical role in your agency, then honestly assess what would happen if that person disappeared tomorrow without warning. Focus on unexpected absences—not planned sabbaticals—because those expose the real vulnerabilities. For each critical role, document who could cover the basics for 1-2 weeks while you figure out a longer-term solution. This takes less than an hour and protects you better than mandatory vacation policies. Replace annual reviews with ongoing feedback. If you currently do annual or 360-degree reviews, shift to giving immediate feedback when you observe something—positive or negative. Make it a two-sentence conversation: “That client presentation was excellent because you anticipated their objections” or “When you miss that deadline without communication, it creates problems for the team.” Save annual conversations for compensation changes and goal-setting, not for dumping a year’s worth of stored-up feedback all at once. Resources David C. Baker’s article If I Started A New Firm, Now Related Starting your own agency Should you force employees to take time off? Setting your agency's PTO, vacation, and leave policies Employee compensation essentials for agencies View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, we’re going back to a place that we’ve used for inspiration before. And no, I’m not talking about Reddit this time. Oh, I’m, I’m sorry. Dear listeners, this is not one of our Reddit episodes. Gini Dietrich: I, I’m always scared of the Reddit episodes. Chip Griffin: The Reddit episodes are always, they’re interesting. We’ll leave it at that. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I saw one the other day that I was like, oh boy, okay. In the real world… Chip Griffin: Sometimes I just, I read those posts in the, in the agency subreddit, and I just, I wonder if, if they’re actual, real people posting about real stuff, because some of it just seems so insane that it just couldn’t be real. Gini Dietrich: Yes. And some of it is very junior level entitled frustrations who don’t understand how a business operates. And so some of it you’re just like, Ugh. Okay. Chip Griffin: Yep. But I mean, we were all once those people sort of a little bit Gini Dietrich: Fair, true. Chip Griffin: At one point in time. Gini Dietrich: Yes. So absolutely. Chip Griffin: But that is not what this episode is. We are going to use another source of inspiration for us that we’ve used in the past, and that is David C. Baker. And, in this case, he had a post in his newsletter recently about what he would do if he was starting his own agency today. And it’s a lengthy article that walks through all of the different choices, that he would make strategically and tactically for the business. And there’s a lot of good food for thought in there. It’s, mm-hmm. It’s probably gonna inspire a few additional episodes, down the road as we dig deeper into some of the specific topics there. But, one of the things that I did on LinkedIn was I broke out into four buckets, my perspective on it, and broke it into things that I agree with, things that I agreed to disagree with. It depends because, hey, that’s our motto here, so why not? It does depend. Yes. Yep. And then of course, food for thought. So, there are far too many points for us to cover in a reasonably length podcast episode. So. I figured why not be controversial? Let’s deal with the disagrees that I had on my list and, use that as our jumping off point. And we’ll of course include a link to the article in the show notes that you can go read the full article as well as additional context around what we’re gonna talk about today because there is a lot to, to explore here. Gini Dietrich: And I think the buckets that you, you broke it into are really good. And for the most part I agree with how you’ve compartmentalized them all. But there are some interesting ones on the agree to disagree bucket. So let’s, let’s do that. Let’s start there. Chip Griffin: Alright. Do you have, do you have one that you would like to start with or do you want me to just start calling ones out? Gini Dietrich: Let’s see. Yeah, there’s, well, yes I do. That we require one month annual sabbatical to eliminate single points of failure. Sounds lovely. I would also like a one month sabbatical every year. Chip Griffin: It’s as, as I understood the article, and it is possible, I misunderstood the intent in the article, but as I understood it, he was suggesting that every year, every employee. Gini Dietrich: Everyone. Yes. Chip Griffin: Had to take a full one month sabbatical. Gini Dietrich: Yes. That’s how I read it as well. Chip Griffin: That is, I mean, it’s a nice idea. I think it is highly impractical for most organizations. And look, I think the, stated intent here is truly a good one, which is to avoid those single points of failure, over reliance on any individual team member. Yeah. ’cause this is a giant problem for agencies, honestly, of most sizes until you get to be giant. But it is something that, that you need to be conscious of. I don’t know that you need a full one month sabbatical for every employee every year in order to get there. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, and I mean, truth be told, like if you’re designing in the agency of the future and you’re starting from scratch today, I don’t know how you do that. I mean, to your point, even in a large organization, I don’t know that how, you do that because it costs a lot of money. Not just resources and time, but it costs money to have people out. And so, you know, if you’re a, you’re an agency of three people or you’re an agency of 50 people, or you’re an agency of hundreds of people, it still costs money. And so requiring that I think is a bit too much. And also, I will say that as somebody who has an extraordinary flexible and generous paid time off plan. There are people who take advantage of those things and you have to adjust to that, unfortunately. And I just don’t think it’s realistic. I don’t think it’s something that you could actually do. I don’t think it’s something you could enforce. I think it would be extraordinarily stressful for the person and for their team, even though it might be nice in writing. I don’t think it’s, realistic in practice. Chip Griffin: Well, I, think you, I mean, you, have a number of logistical issues that come into play here in addition to everything else. And particularly because one of the other, tenants in there that I, disagreed with was, that you would require all employees to take four one week vacations. Over the course of the year. So now you’ve, essentially got all employees out for two out of 12 months. Gini Dietrich: Two outta 12 months. Yes. Chip Griffin: And, that is logistically challenging because how do you do this and make sure that you don’t have too much overlap because inevitably there are certain times where people are going to prefer to do this. I mean, absolutely. If you want to take a one month sabbatical, most people are probably gonna want to do that over the summer months. Yes. When perhaps, you know, family members have access to vacation or those sorts of things. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: Or they may want it end of year around the holidays and those kinds of things. So you, have collisions between people wanting the same time. If, they, can’t get what they want now, they may be frustrated that I gotta, you know, I have to take off a month in February. What good is that gonna do me? I mean, it’s cold, it’s snowy outside. My family can’t take the time off. My significant other won’t go. Like, Gini Dietrich: yeah, Chip Griffin: so what am I just gonna sit around in my house all day for the month. so I think there are some logistical challenges. So I guess what I, this is one of those ones where I’d say the ideal is nice. I’m not sure that it is practical to implement in the vast majority of firms. I would encourage instead that owners look and try to identify single points of failure and make sure that you have backups. Yes, yes. And frankly, those are important, whether you have someone taking a month off or a week off. And my view is that every employee should have a backup who can at least do the, minimum required for that role while they’re out. Particularly if they’re out suddenly, right? Because being able to plan for it. You’ve got a sabbatical, it’s on the calendar, six months ahead of time. You can get some stuff done early, you can push off some deadlines. There’s a lot of things you can do, but really to deal with single points of failure, you need to be able to handle those unexpected absences, right? Someone has a family emergency, someone has a health issue. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: Someone gets an opportunity to go on a game show, I don’t know, whatever it is, that takes them away suddenly. Those are the kinds of things that you wanna make sure you’ve, handled, with single points of failure. So. Nice idea. I just, I, don’t think it’s practical for most firms. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. And the other thing I’ll say on the single point of failure piece is one of the things that I experience as an agency owner quite often is that my certain members of my team will take time off, but they can’t… They can’t allow themselves to take time off. So they’re constantly checking in and they’re constantly asking for updates and they’re constantly, and so one of the things I do with them is. You know, ensure A, that you have some backup, and B, that when you’re asking for updates or you’re constantly slacking or texting or calling, that we don’t, we don’t give you a response. And, it makes people angry. But what I’m trying to do is A, give you the time off because you deserve it and, I want you to come back refreshed and ready to work. And B, well, I’ll say C. Actually there’s three, three things, B there, nothing’s going to burn down while one person is out because we have backup and we do have places where there is not a single point of entry. And lastly, it’s really demeaning to your team, like it’s demeaning. And even me as the owner sometimes I’m like, well, don’t you trust me to fall to take care of your clients while you’re gone? Like, come on, seriously. Right. That’s how it makes you feel. So I would say that it’s important from a single point of entry perspective as well to ensure that on the opposite side, that the team feels comfortable taking time off, that they don’t feel angst about taking the time off, that they can take the time off, and that the team behind them is, feels empowered and ready and trusted to do the work. Chip Griffin: Spot on. Alright, well there’s, there’s a lot on this list. So let’s move on to, to something different. How about we talk about open book finances, because this is, one that, I, will say that I disagree with an asterisk. So I, what he’s advocating in his piece is open book finances, including public disclosure of finances on the agency’s website. Gini Dietrich: Nope. Chip Griffin: So, and in general, I am not a fan of full open book either internal or external. Gini Dietrich: Nope. Chip Griffin: However, I do believe that most agency owners would be better off being more transparent than they currently are with their teams. That doesn’t mean being complete open book, but it does mean at a minimum, sharing with them more specifically the trends that are going on with the agency. You know, Even if you take actual numbers out, I like to show charts that show the directionality of revenue, the directionality of expenses. You know, so that you can kind of see those mapped up against each other so that as an employee, you start to understand more about the fundamentals of the business. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: And it starts to make you less surprised when you’re seeing growth and less surprised when you’re seeing, you know, a narrowing of the gap, say, between revenue and expenses. So therefore, profit is shrinking. I, think that there does need to be more communication about that with, as I always say, education. You can never provide numbers, whether that’s percentages or charts or actual numbers to your team without helping them to understand the economics of the business. Because otherwise you’re just giving them numbers that they will interpret however they want. But I do think the smarter you make your team about these things, the better they can help to manage project budgets, the better and more realistic they can be about compensation and bonuses. All of these things, information helps, but not in my view all the way to full open books, either internal and certainly not external. No, definitely not. I don’t see enough upside doing it external. Gini Dietrich: Definitely. I, can’t imagine doing it externally because all that does is open up the, an invitation for your clients to say, well, you don’t really need to be that profitable, so let’s, take some, let’s take a percentage off like the No, no, no, no, no. And I also think, if I read it correct, his article correctly, he was advocating for open book on everyone’s salaries too. And no, I mean, we do salary bands, but you, do not know exactly how much every person makes. That’s not, that does not contribute to any sort of morale building inside a culture. Absolutely not. Chip Griffin: Yeah. I mean, the only thing I will say to that is that, I, agree with you. However, the reality is that most people have a pretty good idea of what everybody else in the business except the owner is making anyway. And perhaps other select senior level people depending on, how your organization is structured. But pretty much all the juniors know what all every other junior makes. They all talk. Gini Dietrich: Well, and that’s why we have salary bands ’cause everybody pretty much makes the same Chip Griffin: right Gini Dietrich: amount. Right? Like they all make the same, but I’m still not publishing it. Chip Griffin: Exactly. And salary bands, you know, protect you. On that. And so, I mean, you could make the, case as long as you have tight salary bans. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: Disclosure actually isn’t a problem. But you know, I don’t, I think as long as you have salary bands, you don’t need that. Obviously a lot of states are in here in the US are now requiring more disclosure around salary bands and that kind of stuff. So, you know, we’re headed there as an industry one way or the other. but I do think that salary bands are probably sufficient and, we don’t need to share actual salaries with team members. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I totally agree with that. Chip Griffin: You know, that said, I will say that all of your employees think you make far more than you do. We’ve talked about this before, so there may actually be an upside for, most owners to share what their actual take home is because Gini Dietrich: that like 10 people actually make more than I do. Chip Griffin: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I know a lot of agencies where the owner is making less than team members. Gini Dietrich: Yes. Chip Griffin: Which is wild to me, but. Gini Dietrich: There’s also the upside on that though, if, you’re profitable and you make enough money at the end of the year, you get, you get that. But yes, from a salary perspective. Chip Griffin: Right, right. Alright, how about, 360s? My, one of my pet peeves. I consider it performance theater. I think most KPIs and OKRs and all these things, I think it’s all performance theater. I think it has very little to do with what actual performance outcomes you get from your team. But, 360s, you know, they’ve been popular for a couple of decades now. I don’t understand them. You know, I’ve been in organizations that, have done them. I will confess that, that, you know, at various points in time, my own businesses have experimented with them, and most of the feedback that you get from them is borderline worthless. Because most of it falls into the category of nobody wants to say anything really bad about anything else, it’s, you know, at worst it’s lukewarm. But then of course, you always get the random ones who just, they have an ax to grind Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: And they’re gonna use the 360 Yep. As their way to grind an ax against a colleague. Yep. Or, or another department. Yep. Or whatever. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: And I, I’ve yet to see any, that actually helps to provide good feedback from the employees to the owner themselves. That’s just, I mean, you can tell people it’s anonymous. You can use an outside advisor to organize it, but people are not gonna put in writing. Even if they think it’s anonymous, any perspective about the owner, it just, it doesn’t happen in, the real world. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I agree with you. The only time I’ve, and it this happened to me, the only time I’ve seen it be effective is I, early in my agency life, business life, I hired somebody externally to do interviews. It was all anonymous, it was all verbal, nothing was recorded, and people were absolutely brutal. And the way he presented it to me made me so defensive that I couldn’t take even the kernels of feedback that I needed to hear. And there was some in there, but it was so brutal. And he, the way, and he presented it, I, in retrospect, I think he embellished some of it to make me, I, to make it like more jarring and alarming. Because he thought that that would make me wake up and pay attention. And in fact, it had the opposite effect. It was not, not good at all. And then I didn’t feel good about the people I had hired. Because it was, it was brutal. So I agree that, they’re not great. I subscribe to the give feedback, ongoing feedback. And so I don’t do annual reviews, I don’t do 360 reviews. You get feedback consistently. And when we’re in a meeting and I see something that you did really great or I see something that could use some work, I tell you that immediately. When I’m trying, when I want to coach you on something, I do that immediately and I ask my team to do the same with their team. So there’s, we have the ongoing feedback and then the annual review, quote unquote, is, Hey. We met our goals, we did really, really well. Here’s a raise, or you know what? This year was shitty and it sucked. You did your part in trying to make it better. I’m gonna give you a cost of living raise or whatever it happens to be, right? But it’s not a, here’s all the shitty things that your clients say, and here’s all the shitty things that your colleagues say and more about, I, you already know that you’re doing a great job in these areas. You already know that these are areas that need to be worked on, and we just continue to move forward. Chip Griffin: Yeah, I mean, I’ll say from, an owner trying to get, you know, feedback and perspective from the team there. You know, you, I wouldn’t do it through a, you know, a normal 360 review process, but you know, what, you’ve described part of it, I think the, whoever you hired got it right in having, you know, very anonymous conversations with team members. And I think that bringing an outside advisor who has those kinds of conversations, nothing in writing, it’s just it, you know, it’s dialogue back and forth. I do those for my clients from time to time. I’ll be honest, I, you know, I would say it’s maybe 50/50 whether I feel like I’m truly getting candid feedback. Gini Dietrich: Sure. Chip Griffin: from the team members, because usually I don’t have any prior relationship with them, so they don’t know whether they truly can trust me or not. But you know, it’s, I mean, even 50% in most cases is enough to start, you know, pulling some common threads. But the whole, the way you use that information as an outside advisor, the way you present that. Matters a lot. And so you need to really understand how is it gonna land best with the owner that has hired you. And is that by being blunt, is that by sort of internalizing the knowledge and sometimes I’ll just use it in my ongoing conversations to try to steer things. Yes. To address some of that feedback. Sure. Without even explicitly saying, well, Gini Dietrich: yes, Chip Griffin: you know, the whole team said you’re very bad at X, Y, and Z. Gini Dietrich: Brutal. Chip Griffin: But instead, try to find other ways Yes. To, achieve the same outcome, because then the team starts to feel like it was useful to talk with me, and the owner then starts to feel good about the way the team starts to pull together and all that kind of stuff. But it, is, delicate and, I would say that, you know, the, typical 360 process where it tends to be, you know, written survey feedback form type things, I, just, I think that’s, it’s very difficult to see that working in most cases and in my own experience, it has rarely worked out, the way people would like it to. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, totally agree. Chip Griffin: All right. let’s see. We have time probably for at least one more, or maybe just one more here from the list. I don’t know if there’s something that, that jumps out at you that you would like to have, covered. Gini Dietrich: Let me look, let me look. Uh, maybe we can mush board of advisors and direct access to CEO together. Chip Griffin: Sure. Although they’re, well no, because the direct access to CEO is the CEO of the client. Gini Dietrich: Oh, oh, got it, got it, got it. Chip Griffin: So they, they are, they are separate issues. Got it. But I, mean, I think either, either board of advisors, the other one I would throw out there is a possible one is the, tying all, employee comp to have an incentive component. Oh, yeah. I, think either one of those would be good. So I’ll let you pick between board of advisors or employee comp. Gini Dietrich: Employee comp. Chip Griffin: So, this is, this is one of my pet peeves. And I’m sure that David doesn’t know this, and, if he did that… Gini Dietrich: Ha! He wrote it just because he knew it was your pet peeve. Chip Griffin: But, but his argument was that every employee should have at least some of their compensation effectively at risk as part of a, an incentive compensation plan. And I hate this idea. I hate formulaic, incentive-based compensation for virtually all employees. And I’ll be controversial here, it doesn’t really apply to most agencies, but I don’t think it should apply to most sales reps either. Because I think that when you have incentive compensation, whether that is commissions or for hitting profit targets or you know, other things, the problem that you run into is people tend to the extent that they pay attention to it at all. Right? So. You’ve got a couple of risks here. One is that you’re paying people for things they don’t even care about. Right? Right. You know, I mean, I’ve had sales reps they were gonna sell or not sell, and it had nothing to do with the commission they were getting. Gini Dietrich: Fair. Chip Griffin: Now that’s rare. Most sales reps are incented by their commission and, so they will try harder to get it, but what are they doing? They’re, focused on the thing that gets them the commission, which is the actual signature on the contract and the revenue. It doesn’t mean that it’s good revenue. It doesn’t mean that it’s profitable. It doesn’t mean that it’s a good client. It doesn’t mean you can get results for them. It doesn’t mean any of those things. And you’re now creating tension because if you have more than one sales rep, nobody wants to help each other because then they gotta split the commission. And so, but this goes beyond, you know, sales and other ways of doing incentive compensation. You still have, it’s very difficult to craft a plan. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Chip Griffin: That doesn’t have unintended consequences. Yeah. And particularly when you’re outside of the sales realm, my experience is that most employees are not truly motivated to hit specific targets for their incentive comp. They’re either gonna do a good job or they’re not. And it has nothing to do with you saying if you hit this target, you’ll get a little bit extra. But to the extent that it is, it does have those unintended consequences because now they’re fixated on, I mean, let’s say it’s client retention. So now what if, if you’ve got a client retention target and if you have a client retention over 85%, you get a bonus. Sounds great. Right? Because we’re, retaining clients. Except that what are we doing to retain those clients? Right? Oftentimes that means we’re going to go way down the, rabbit hole of scope creep. Yep. And, we’re just gonna be giving them all sorts of freebies to keep them around. And so those are the things we need to think about. And it’s, why in general, I’m opposed to all forms of incentive comp. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I agree with you. I mean, one of the things that we do do is we say you can earn up to a certain percentage of your salary in bonus. It’s the end of year bonus. And here are the, gates, like revenue, profitability, all the things. But most of it is not reliant on the individual. Most of it’s reliant on the company as a whole. And so we all have to work together to achieve those goals. And then they sort of know like, okay, well this, this is where we are, so I’m gonna make 90% of that percentage or whatever it happens to be. So they are they are clear about those kinds of things and they tend, because of that, they tend to ask… They tend to be more engaged and ask more strategic questions about work, and they’re more thoughtful about it. But to your point, we don’t reward scope creep. We don’t reward, you know, keeping a client longer than we should. Those kinds of things. Those, like, we take those pieces out. So we, do it based on, we don’t do it commission or incentive based, but we do do it based on a certain percentage of your salary if we meet certain objectives as an organization. Chip Griffin: I mean, that’s better, but I’ll be honest, I still don’t like it. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. It works for us. It’s highly motivating for us. Chip Griffin: And that’s, the thing. I mean, the, as we say at the end of every, episode, it depends. So even these things where Gini Dietrich: mm-hmm. Chip Griffin: You know, we may disagree, you know, where David has different ideas than we do, that doesn’t mean that, that none of them can work in your agency. Right. and I think that it’s, that’s a point that, that he made in a LinkedIn conversation that, that we had, recently as well. You know, some of these may be good ideas, some of them may be bad ideas. Some of them may be good ideas, but you know, wrong place, wrong time or wrong agency, wrong time. And, some of these ideas are good at different stages of the lifecycle of even your own agency. So something that works when you have two employees may not work when you have 20 or 200. Right. And so, you know, I just, I, love articles like this though, because it gives you that food for thought. It makes you think, it makes you, you know, to test your assumptions. You know that I’m a huge, advocate of curiosity generally. And so, you know, making you think about things is helpful. And so hopefully we’ve made you think just as David made us think. And, so we, appreciate that and, we hope that we’ve given you those insights here that may help you think through decisions for your own agency. And of course, you know, check out the full article for many, many more ideas beyond what we were able to cover today. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, absolutely. It was a really good, really good article. Chip Griffin: Absolutely. So thank you all for joining us. That will conclude this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: I’m Gini Dietrich, Chip Griffin: and it depends.

Send a textIn this episode of Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations, Joey Pinz sits down with Michaela Anderson, founder of LoyaltyOps™, to unpack why so many organizations stall—not because of strategy, tools, or talent—but because people aren't aligned on how to think, behave, and decide together.Michaela breaks down the real difference between leaders and managers, why culture exists whether you design it or not, and how misalignment quietly destroys execution. Drawing from her experience as a Division I athlete, business founder, and organizational advisor, she explains how performance becomes predictable when teams operate with shared standards—not heroics.The conversation dives deep into why popular frameworks like EOS and OKRs often fail to create consistency, what AI can (and can't) fix inside organizations, and why loyalty—defined as commitment plus action—may be the missing ingredient behind sustainable growth.This episode is a must-listen for founders, executives, and leaders who feel stuck firefighting, drowning in meetings, or frustrated that “great people” aren't producing great results. You'll walk away with a clearer understanding of how leadership, culture, and systems must work together—especially as companies scale. ⭐ Top 3 Highlights

In this episode of The People Dividend Podcast, Mike Horne interviews Radhika Dutt, author of 'Radical Product Thinking'. They discuss the limitations of traditional success metrics like goals and OKRs, and how these can lead to performance theater rather than genuine progress. Radhika introduces the concept of puzzle setting as a more effective approach to measuring success and fostering innovation. She shares insights from her work with organizations, demonstrating how a focus on learning and problem-solving can lead to significant business improvements.   Key Points: Goals and targets can create performance theater. Metrics should be tools for insight, not evaluation yardsticks. Organizations can achieve better results without traditional goals and Radhika's methodology has dramatically transformed companies' performance.  Radhika emphasizes the importance of shifting from traditional goal-setting to a puzzle-solving mindset, which encourages teams to explore problems deeply and collaboratively, leading to more innovative solutions.   Links:  Learn more about Mike Horne on Linkedin Email Mike at mike@mike-horne.com Learn More About Executive and Organization Development with Mike Horne Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikehorneauthor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikehorneauthor/,  LinkedIn Mike's Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6867258581922799617/,  Schedule a Discovery Call with Mike: https://calendly.com/mikehorne/15-minute-discovery-call-with-mike     Learn More about Radhika Dutt: https://rdutt.com/  #peopledividendpodcast #podcastepisode #podcastrecommendations #RadicalProductThinking #Innovation #PerformanceTheater #PuzzleSolving #BusinessSuccess

ตั้งเป้าหมายด้วย OKRs ยังไง ?จากคอร์ส Goal Setting: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)Leadership Every Day: Start your day thinking like a leader.เริ่มต้นวัน ด้วยวิธีคิดแบบผู้นำ.If you are a great leader, many lives will have a great life.ผู้นำที่ดี…ชีวิตของหลายคนก็จะดีขึ้น

Confirm uses organizational network analysis to surface hidden high performers and toxic actors that traditional performance reviews miss - identifying the quiet contributors everyone relies on and the problematic employees who manage up effectively. In this episode of BUILDERS, I sat down with David Murray, Cofounder & CEO of Confirm, to dissect their most painful go-to-market lessons. David shares why leading with methodology superiority torpedoed their early sales, the specific discovery framework that flipped their win rate, and how they segment the four distinct HR buying motions that require completely different sales approaches. Topics Discussed: Why traditional performance reviews are 60% manager bias according to research by Maynard Goff How organizational network analysis identifies introverted high performers and manages-up toxic actors The catastrophic early GTM mistake: positioning against existing processes Discovery frameworks for conservative buyers in compliance-heavy functions Talk ratio targets and silence techniques from clinical psychology applied to enterprise sales Channel testing methodology that identified LinkedIn ads as their primary acquisition driver The four-quadrant framework for HR sales: CHRO vs line manager, company-wide vs HR-only tools Messaging strategies that balance shock factor with substantive education GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Discovery trumps differentiation in category creation: Confirm's design partner had promoted toxic employees and lost quiet high performers in the same cycle—a perfect case study for their ONA methodology. But when they pitched other HR leaders with "here's why your approach is broken," they hit walls. The shift: stop selling methodology, start diagnosing pain. Reference what you've observed at similar companies—"Some folks at your size tell us they struggle with X, is that true for you?"—then let prospects surface their version of the problem. Only after they've articulated their pain do you map your differentiated approach to their specific context. Target buyer timing, not just buyer titles: Confirm identified a specific trigger: HR leaders in their first 1-2 months at a new company. These leaders are hired to make change and need early wins. The outreach question: "How are you looking to make your mark?" This surfaces whether they're hungry for innovation or managing political capital. A newly hired CHRO has different motivations than a 5-year veteran protecting their process choices. Map your outreach to career timing, not just seniority. Enforce 50/30/20 talk ratios in discovery: David's target: prospects speak 60-80% of discovery calls, with 50% being acceptable. If you're talking more than half the time, you're pitching, not discovering. The clinical psychology technique: positive encouragers ("yeah," "huh") plus deliberate silence after open-ended questions. Prospects will fill silence with the real issues—budget constraints, political dynamics, past vendor failures. This intel is gold for multi-threading and objection handling later. Test channel-message fit with minimal spend: Confirm's approach: "do everything a little bit and see what sticks." They found LinkedIn ads with precise targeting (title, company size, recent job changes) delivered qualified pipeline cost-effectively, while other channels didn't. The framework: allocate 10-15% of budget across 5-6 channels for 60 days, measure cost-per-qualified-meeting, then concentrate spend. Plan for 3-6 month creative refresh cycles as audiences develop ad fatigue—this isn't set-and-forget. Map your product to the HR buying matrix: David identifies four distinct quadrants: (1) CHRO buyer, company-wide deployment = traditional enterprise sale, 6-18 month cycles, heavy multi-threading required; (2) CHRO buyer, HR-only tool = shorter cycles but still executive selling; (3) Line manager buyer, company-wide = requires bottom-up adoption mechanics; (4) Line manager buyer, HR-only = SMB-style transactional sale. Confirm operates in quadrant 1—the longest, most complex sale. Most founders don't explicitly map which quadrant they're in, leading to mismatched sales motions and blown forecasts. Use provocative messaging with technical substance: "One-click performance reviews" generated meetings because it triggered both excitement (managers hate writing reviews) and concern (is AI replacing human judgment?). The key: the shock factor gets the meeting, but you need depth on the call. Confirm's explanation: the AI aggregates data from Asana, Jira, OKRs, peer feedback, and self-reflections to reduce recency bias, then generates a draft managers edit. The dystopian concern becomes a feature when you explain the data anchoring. Surface-level shock without technical credibility burns trust. Adjust for organizational risk tolerance by function: HR and healthcare share conservative buying cultures due to compliance, documentation, and legal requirements. David contrasts this with selling to CTOs or engineers who "kick tires and want to break things." This affects everything: longer evaluation cycles, more stakeholders in legal/compliance, emphasis on security and data handling, reference checks weighted heavily. If you're selling to risk-averse functions, adjust your content (white papers, compliance documentation), your timeline expectations, and your change management positioning. Reframe education as extraction, not instruction: David's mental model shift: "I need to learn from them" replaced "I need to educate them." In practice: "I've heard from others that calibration meetings consume 10+ hours per cycle with unclear outcomes. They tried approaches like forced ranking or manager-only decisions. Have you experimented with either?" This positions you as a pattern-matcher across their peer group, not a lecturer. They become receptive to alternatives because you've demonstrated you understand their world through other customers' experiences. // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

In this episode, Jeff Mains sits down with Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking, to challenge the conventional wisdom around goal-setting, KPIs, and OKRs. Radhika reveals why chasing metrics can actually distort behavior and undermine long-term growth, introducing a powerful alternative: treating growth like a puzzle rather than a scorecard.The conversation explores how well-intentioned targets create perverse incentives, why measures should be tools for insight rather than evaluation, and how a curiosity-driven approach—using the OHLA framework (Observe, Hypothesize, Learn, Adapt)—helps teams make smarter decisions in real-world conditions. Radhika shares compelling examples from OpenAI, maritime SaaS platforms, and robotics companies to illustrate how puzzle-solving beats goal-setting for sustainable growth.Whether you're drowning in dashboards or hitting targets while feeling like something's off, this episode offers a refreshing lens on progress, leadership, and building momentum without the performance theater.Key Takeaways[0:00] - Episode introduction and overview of why goal-setting may be backfiring[4:48] - The fundamental problem with KPIs and OKRs: Goodhart's Law and Campbell's Law explained[6:28] - Dutt's Law: "A measure is only useful as a tool for insight, not a yardstick for evaluation"[7:16] - Real-world example: How OpenAI's user engagement targets led to dangerous "sycophantic AI"[10:37] - The hidden dangers of hitting targets while ignoring negative indicators[11:44] - Introduction to puzzle-setting vs. goal-setting mindset[12:09] - The OHLA framework explained: Observe, Hypothesize, Learn, Adapt[17:51] - Case study: Why improving filters wouldn't have solved the real problem[28:47] - The performance theater trap: Why jumping to solutions feels comfortable but fails[30:28] - How to get customer meetings when people say "you should already know this"[33:00] - Why in-person observation matters more when mental models differ[36:27] - Growth comes from matching user mental models, not forcing adoption of yours[37:47] - The Tesla UI example: When "cool" design ignores user mental models[37:47] - Top-down vs. bottom-up: How to introduce puzzle-solving in organizations[39:27] - Why leaders fear losing control and how to address it[43:01] - Vision-driven vs. iteration-led: Crafting a detailed, actionable vision statement[45:41] - Example vision statement that tells the whole story without mentioning the product[48:03] - Why detailed visions create ownership better than memorable slogans[50:01] - One mindset shift founders can make this week to reduce performance theaterTweetable Quotes"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. We've known this since 1975, yet we keep setting goals for metrics.""A measure is only useful as a tool for insight, not a yardstick for evaluation. That's the critical mindset shift.""When you set targets, everyone's incentive is to show you they've hit that target. You don't look at the negative numbers to see what's actually happening.""Puzzles trigger curiosity and questioning. If you already know the answers, there's no puzzle. That's the...

The OKR Illusion, Why Structure Without Direction Is Just NoiseOKRs (Objectives and Key Results) have gained significant traction over the past decade, especially after being widely adopted and championed by companies like Google. Originally developed at Intel, OKRs are a simple yet powerful framework for setting and tracking goals. At their core, OKRs are about defining what you want to achieve (Objectives) and how you'll measure progress (Key Results). While the concept is simple, the impact lies in how OKRs align teams, create focus, and connect everyday work to meaningful, measurable outcomes.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

What if your OKRs are actually holding you back? Radhika Dutt flips goal-setting on its head, showing why most leaders chase numbers instead of progress. She unpacks performance illusion when teams look successful but quietly stall and how a puzzle-based approach creates real ownership and innovation. We dive into her Dutt's Law ("metrics are for insight, not evaluation"), why curiosity beats control, and how to run teams that tell the truth instead of gaming the numbers. This episode isn't anti-goals – it's about building smarter ones that actually grow your people and your business. Timestamps: 00:00 — Cold Open & Intro 03:42 — Turning OKRs on Their Head (Where Goals Really Came From) 06:55 — Performance Illusion: When Numbers Lie to Leaders 07:35 — Goals vs Puzzles: A Simple Question That Changes Everything 12:49 — Dutt's Law: Metrics Are for Insight, Not Evaluation 17:28 — The Avid Story: Hitting Targets While Losing the Market 21:19 — The Infinite Game: How to Stay Curious and Keep Growing 23:19 — Fear of Losing Control: Leaders and the Puzzle Mindset 31:02 — The O-H-L-A Method: Objectives, Hypotheses, Learnings, Adaptation 31:23 — Psychological Safety: Getting the Truth from Your Team 38:13 — Why Big, Hairy Goals Are Bullshit Website: www.radicalproduct.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/radhika-dutt

Performance Reviews. Schon beim Wort ziehen sich bei vielen die Schultern hoch: zu viel Bürokratie, zu wenig Fairness, zu viel Politik und am Ende bleibt das Gefühl, dass eine Note mehr über das System sagt als über deine Arbeit.In dieser Episode drehen wir das einmal um. Wir schauen uns an, wie Performance Reviews wirklich funktionieren, warum sie in der Tech-Welt so oft anecken und wie du sie als Engineering Manager, aber auch als Individual Contributor aktiv für dich nutzen kannst.Wir sprechen über Ziele wie Feedback, Wachstum und Dokumentation, über Subjektivität, Bias und die Frage, warum "wer schreibt, der bleibt" im Alltag leider erschreckend oft stimmt. Dazu nehmen wir konkrete Modelle auseinander: Peer-Feedback, 360-Grad-Feedback, Self-Assessments, Kalibrierungsrunden und die heikle Kopplung von Gehalt und Beförderungen. Plus: Wie du Glue Work sichtbar machst und warum Outcome fast immer mehr zählt als Output.Wenn du dieses Jahr nicht im Review überrascht werden willst, ist das hier dein Setup. Und ja, du kannst mehr beeinflussen, als du denkst.Bonus: Wenn du nach der Folge anfängst, Impact zu tracken, hat dein Future-Ich beim nächsten Review deutlich weniger Stress.Unsere aktuellen Werbepartner findest du auf https://engineeringkiosk.dev/partnersDas schnelle Feedback zur Episode:

This week’s guest is Radhika Dutt. Ron and Radhika discussed OKRs, Toyota Kata, the target mentality, the OHLA puzzle framework, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn:  Radhika’s favorite quote (3:13) Her background (4:26) What OKR stands for (6:46) What happens when you set goals and targets (7:47) The Toyota Kata framework (10:20) About the target mentality (23:46) How goals make us feel (26:37) About the OHLA puzzle framework (33:56) Measuring people (38:53)  Her final words of wisdom (43:35) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Radhika on LinkedIn Radhika’s Website Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? What are your thoughts on OKRs?

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Bruno Annicq, CFO of Wellhub (formerly Gympass), to unpack a practical finance playbook built around cash discipline, sustainable growth, and simplicity. Bruno explains how he rebuilt forecasting using an AI-driven, probabilistic ensemble model, moving teams beyond single-scenario planning. They also dig into his EMPOWER planning framework, usable OKRs, and why tighter alignment between finance, HR, and wellbeing is becoming a durable lever for long-term performance.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you're scaling on an ERP that wasn't built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjTabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runAbacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.aiBrex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metricsMetronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That's why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com—LINKS:Bruno on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bannicq/Wellhub: https://wellhub.com/CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:“Run Toward a Tough Market” — Developing the Hard and Soft Skills To Be a Great Finance Leaderhttps://youtu.be/iNHbkcG7YEo—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:02:19 Sponsors — RightRev, Rillet, Tabs00:06:43 Accidental CFO Origin Story00:07:34 Consulting to Operations Pivot00:08:12 Why Finance Clicked for Bruno00:09:28 McKinsey Prioritization in Real World00:10:02 Eisenhower Matrix and Prioritization00:11:08 Investing in Non-Urgent Work00:13:30 Lessons From AOL Reinvention00:16:10 Sponsors — Abacum, Brex, Metronome00:20:01 Career Growth Through Hard Problems00:20:52 Broadening Skills Through Change00:23:12 Five Core Finance Principles00:24:02 Cash Is King00:25:14 Driving Sustainable Growth00:26:01 No Surprises and Forecasting00:26:07 Finance as Business Enabler00:27:22 Less Is More Philosophy00:28:47 Hardest Principle: Less Is More00:29:46 Deterministic vs Probabilistic Forecasting00:31:11 Marketplace Volatility and Forecast Error00:32:10 Ensemble Models Explained00:33:37 Forecast Accuracy Gains00:34:53 Building Models In-House00:36:46 Why Explainability Matters00:37:48 Empower Framework Introduction00:47:47 Urgency, Compounding, Long-Term Thinking00:48:10 Advice to Younger Self00:50:06 Finance Stack and Expense Stories00:52:51 Credits#RunTheNumbersPodcast #CFO #FinanceLeadership #Forecasting #AIinFinance This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

What if the secret to staying focused, aligned, and genuinely excited about your goals wasn't a 20-page annual plan, but a simple monthly sprint? Nikki and Jason pull back the curtain on how PeopleForward Network uses OKRs and monthly sprint goals to spark team momentum.

Hitting every goal should feel like progress. Instead, it often leaves high performers stuck, frustrated, and quietly falling behind. Kendall Berg breaks down why traditional goal setting systems like OKRs and KPIs reward performance optics while hiding the problems leaders actually need to see. In this conversation with Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking, Kendall challenges the belief that better metrics lead to better decisions. They unpack why green numbers can create dangerous blind spots, how teams learn to filter bad news, and why leaders become the last to know when strategy is breaking down. The episode introduces a smarter alternative to goal chasing that helps teams surface real issues, think more strategically, and stay aligned as priorities shift. Radhika shares her puzzle setting and puzzle solving framework, a practical way to replace false certainty with curiosity, learning, and iteration. Instead of obsessing over targets, leaders learn how to frame the right questions, invite honest feedback, and guide teams through uncertainty without losing credibility or control. This episode is essential listening for professionals who want to move from execution to influence and lead with clarity in fast changing environments. In this episode, we discuss: Why do OKRs and KPIs hide problems instead of revealing them? How does hitting every goal still lead to stalled career growth? What is the puzzle setting method and how does it replace goal chasing? How can leaders admit uncertainty without losing authority? What is the first step to changing goal driven cultures without resistance? FREE toolkit for puzzle-setting and puzzle-solving: https://www.radicalproduct.com/toolkit/#OHLToolkit Follow Radhika Dutt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/radhika-dutt/

In dieser Folge spreche ich mit Dr. Joachim Bonn, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Sparkasse Duisburg, über einen beeindruckenden Transformationsprozess. Vor neun Jahren erkannte die Sparkasse eine entscheidende Lücke: zwischen der Notwendigkeit zur Veränderung und der eigenen Veränderungsfähigkeit. Was daraus entstanden ist, zeigt eindrucksvoll, wie konsequente Führungskräfteentwicklung wirklich aussehen kann. Die wichtigsten Themen **Der Ausgangspunkt** - Über 2.000 Verbesserungsvorschläge aus der Belegschaft systematisch ausgewertet - Umfassende Mitarbeiterbefragung mit 70 Fragen als Startschuss - Von 20 Kulturdimensionen wurden 4-5 priorisiert – Führungskultur war zentral **Die Führungsakademie** - Mehrjähriges Programm zur Weiterentwicklung aller Führungskräfte - 360-Grad-Feedbacks alle zwei bis drei Jahre mit messbaren Verbesserungen - Heute: Führungsbooster mit Impulsen alle 6-8 Wochen **Vorbildrolle des Vorstands** - Vollständige Teilnahme an allen Maßnahmen – keine Ausnahmen - Offenlegung der eigenen 360-Grad-Feedback-Ergebnisse in aller Transparenz - Der Vorstand als am meisten veränderter Akteur im Prozess **Kommunikation neu gedacht** - Eigener Bereich für interne Kommunikation aufgebaut - 91 Ausgaben des Vorstands-Newsletters in regelmäßigem Rhythmus - Neue Formate: Sprechstunden, Kaminabende, Newcomer-Frühstücke, Impulsgespräche **OKRs als Umsetzungsinstrument** - Tertiale Zielesetzung (alle vier Monate) für alle – inkl. Vorstand - Große Leistungsversprechen werden in kleine, erreichbare Schritte zerlegt - Fokus auf Ergebnis- statt Aktivitätenorientierung Die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse: **Kulturwandel braucht Zeit und Konsequenz** – Acht bis neun Jahre kontinuierlicher Arbeit haben zu messbaren Verbesserungen geführt. **Der Vorstand macht den Unterschied** – Führung funktioniert nur durch Vorbild. Die Bereitschaft zur eigenen Veränderung war entscheidend. **Unterschiedliche Perspektiven akzeptieren** – Der Vorstand hat einen anderen Blickwinkel als die Mitarbeitenden. Diese Erkenntnis anzuerkennen, war ein wichtiger Erfolgsfaktor. **Forderung und Förderung gehören zusammen** – Moderne Unternehmenskultur bedeutet nicht, nur nett zu sein. Klartext und Konsequenz gehören dazu. **Dein Feedback ist mir wichtig!** Wie immer freue ich mich über dein Feedback zu dieser Folge. Was nimmst du für dich mit? Wenn Dir diese Folge gefallen hat, dann freue ich mich über Deine Bewertung mit 5 Sternen bei Apple Podcasts und wenn Du meinen Podcast weiterempfiehlst. Mail mir gerne Deine Gedanken zur Folge unter jw@juergenweimann.com. Liebe Grüße, Jürgen Abonnier hier meinen Newsletter: https://juergenweimann.com/juergen-weimann-newsletter/

In this episode, Bernhard Kerres discusses the challenges and importance of effective conversations in the implementation of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). He reflects on his experiences as a CEO and coach, emphasizing that the failure of OKRs often stems from inadequate conversations between managers and their teams. The episode highlights the need for practice in these conversations to ensure alignment and focus, ultimately driving better results. Bernhard introduces a new tool designed to help managers rehearse these critical discussions, making the case that understanding the theory of OKRs is not enough without the ability to engage in meaningful dialogue.Key Topics:Why OKRs fail (it's the conversation, not the framework)Bernhard's OKR failure as CEO (trusted too much, didn't challenge enough)The five patterns that make OKR conversations difficultWhy practicing with AI that pushes back prepares you for real conversationsThe 30-minute challenge: Why this scenario takes real time and real skill- How to adapt the scenario to your company's actual OKRsKey Insights:OKRs fail when managers approve weak Key Results to avoid conflictThe conversation requires challenging people without demotivating themMost managers have never practiced pushing back on activity-based OKRsJanuary is when these conversations happen—practice before they go liveEach persona conversation takes 30 minutes because real coaching takes timeLinks:Practice OKR conversations: www.roleplays.ai or https://roleplays.ai/s/BpMSFqCJ6MMHLearn more about Bernhard: www.bernhardkerres.comAdapt the scenario to your company: Contact us at office@bernhardkerres.com#OKRs #leadership #goalsetting #management #difficultconversations #performancemanagement #coffeeandcoaching

We're always talking about how to create strategic plans and then execute them with intention for immediate action and measurement. As we like to do on this show, we bring forth many different approaches and ways of thinking, because we know not every tool is a one-size-fits-all. Today, that focus is on the OKR framework aka Objectives & Key Results. We wanted you to learn from an expert who knows OKRs better than anyone, so we welcomed on Philipp Schett. He's the Founder of Wave Nine, the #1 OKR consulting firm. You'll also love their free OKR Crash Course. For more about ForthRight Business by ForthRight People or for 1:1 consultation, check us out at ForthRight-Business.com And as always, if you need Strategic Counsel, don't hesitate to reach out to us at: ForthRight-People.com FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/forthrightpeople.marketingagency INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/forthrightpeople/ LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/company/forthright-people/ RESOURCES https://www.forthright-people.com/resources VIRTUAL CONSULTANCY https://www.forthright-people.com/shop

In this episode of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani explores why New Year's resolutions fail inside advisory firms and what high-performing advisory teams do differently when designing kickoff meetings. Drawing on behavioral research and real-world coaching experience, Ray explains that the early breakdown of resolutions is not a motivation problem, it is a design problem.Ray introduces the concept of positive intent, a practical leadership approach that replaces vague resolutions with clear statements of what a team will do, how it will do it, and why it matters. He emphasizes that effective kickoff meetings begin before the meeting itself, with leaders building trust through one-on-one conversations that connect personal goals to professional alignment.The Five-Part Kickoff Meeting Framework for High-Performing Advisory TeamsRefine Annual OKRs to Align Advisory Team Outcomes Define clear objectives and measurable key results that improve client experience, advisory firm performance, and team effectiveness—starting with outcomes, not activity.Set Clear Advisory Firm Priorities With a Strong “Why” Identify the top priorities for the year and state each with positive intent, linking daily decisions to client value and long-term advisory firm strategy.Celebrate the Prior Year to Reinforce Team Performance Recognize wins, reflect on lessons learned, and reinforce behaviors that contributed to advisory team success and sustainable growth.Reinforce Advisory Firm Values Through Shared Team Experiences Bring firm values to life by highlighting real behaviors and building trust through meaningful shared experiences that strengthen advisory team culture.Align Individual Growth and Development With Team Objectives Encourage team members to state clear personal and professional growth intentions that directly support advisory firm priorities and client outcomes.Key TakeawaysMost New Year's resolutions fail within the first six to eight weeksPositive intent provides operational clarity around what will be done, how, and whyLeaders strengthen teams by connecting personally before aligning professionallyKickoff meetings should start with outcomes, not activitiesTeams grow sustainably when individual development aligns with team goalsQuestions Financial Advisors Often AskQ: Why do New Year's resolutions fail in advisory firms?A: Resolutions tend to fail early because they are often vague, reactive, and focused on avoidance rather than progress. According to research referenced in the episode, most resolutions break down within the first six to eight weeks, indicating a design problem rather than a lack of motivation.Q: What is “positive intent” in a kickoff meeting?A: Positive intent is a clear statement of what the team will do, how it will do it, and why it matters. Unlike resolutions, positive intent provides operational clarity and helps teams sustain momentum throughout the year.Q: What should be included in an advisory firm kickoff meeting?A: High-performing advisory teams include five parts: refining OKRs, setting clear priorities with a clear why, celebrating the previous year, reinforcing values through shared experiences, and aligning individual growth with team objectives.Q: Why is celebrating the previous year important?A: Recognition reinforces effective behavior, and reflection turns experience into learning. High-performing teams take time to acknowledge what worked and what did not before moving forward.Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeTo join one of the largest digital communities of financial advisors, visit exchange.clientwise.com.

I met Albino Sanchez in the bleachers at a high school JV football game. While our sons battled it out on the field for Palo Alto High School, we found ourselves deep in conversation about something far removed from touchdowns and tackles: why some product leaders thrive while others crash and burn in seemingly similar companies.Albino doesn't fit the typical Silicon Valley mold. Born and raised in Mexico City, he spent his early career as a strategy consultant helping large companies implement frameworks like Balanced Scorecard and OKRs. But unlike most consultants who move on to the next engagement, Albino couldn't stop thinking about his former clients. Some organizations flourished with these frameworks. Others abandoned them within months. The strategic tools were identical. The execution was completely different.What he discovered would fundamentally change how I think about my own career moves—and it should change how you think about yours too.The Pattern That Changes EverythingAfter years of looking back at his consulting clients, Albino noticed something remarkable: “Those organizations that were really thriving with these frameworks and really growing, they had a special type of leader. And that leader was usually a people-centered leader, a leader that was humble, that was a servant leader, and that this leader cared about their people, listened to them, and really wanted collaboration.”This wasn't just about nice leadership. It was about creating what he calls “the atmosphere for people to thrive.”The insight hit him hard enough that he completely pivoted his career. He became an executive coach, spending the last 15 years working with leaders to shape healthier, more productive cultures. He moved his family from Mexico City to Palo Alto four years ago and recently founded Aha! Impact, a company focused on helping organizations achieve the right culture so both the business and employees can thrive.But here's what matters for you as a PM: Albino's journey revealed something most of us learn the hard way. Culture doesn't just influence whether a strategy succeeds. Culture IS the strategy.Why “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast” Isn't Just a Poster on the WallYou've probably seen this quote attributed to Peter Drucker plastered on every startup's office wall. But do you actually believe it?Albino puts it this way: “We need to have the right environment so people can thrive and then implement and then be successful in business.” Without that environment, even the most brilliant product strategy becomes a document that sits in a Google Drive folder, gathering digital dust.The Culture Paradox: Why Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft All Win DifferentlyDuring our conversation, I pushed Albino on something that had been bothering me. If culture is so critical, how do companies with wildly different cultures all succeed? Amazon's frugality and bias for action looks nothing like Google's innovative freedom and psychological safety. Microsoft's collaborative enterprise focus differs dramatically from Meta's move-fast-and-break-things mentality.His answer surprised me.While different cultures can succeed, Albino sees clear patterns in what works today: “Innovation is one of them. We need to have nowadays with so many changes with AI, technology, globalization, communications. We need to be innovative. We need to be adaptive. We need to embrace change as something that's part of our day to day.”The successful organizations aren't choosing between being people-centered OR innovative OR efficiency-driven. They're becoming all three simultaneously. The old archetypes (pick your culture and stick with it) no longer apply in our rapidly evolving landscape.But here's the critical insight for PMs: You need to understand which cultural attributes matter most to you personally. Because while multiple cultures can succeed, not every culture will allow YOU to succeed.The Real Reason You're Miserable at WorkAlbino shared something that hits close to home for many experienced PM's: “People join organizations because of the company and they leave the organization most likely because of the boss.”This tracks with every conversation I've had as an executive coach. The PMs who come to me aren't struggling with their OKRs or roadmaps. They're struggling with leadership dynamics, unclear values, and cultural misalignment.Think about your own career. When you've been most energized, most productive, most creative. Was it because of the company mission statement? Or was it because you had a leader who created space for you to do your best work?When you've been most miserable, was it really about the compensation or the commute? Or was it about a leader who micromanaged, who didn't value collaboration, who created an atmosphere of fear rather than trust?Culture doesn't just make work more pleasant. It fundamentally determines whether you can bring your best self to the job.The Leadership Styles That Shape Product CulturesHere's where Albino's work gets really practical. He identifies four primary leadership archetypes that shape organizational culture, and understanding these can help you decode any company you're considering:1. The Controlling Leader This leader centralizes decision-making, micromanages execution, and views team members as resources rather than collaborators. They might get short-term results, but they create cultures where PMs become order-takers rather than strategic partners. Innovation dies because risk-taking gets punished.2. The Competitive Leader Everything is a zero-sum game. Teams compete internally for resources, recognition, and rewards. This can drive individual performance but often at the expense of collaboration. For PMs, this means product launches succeed but platform thinking fails. You win your battle but lose the war.3. The Collaborative Leader This is Albino's people-centered leader. They invest in relationships, foster psychological safety, and view success as collective rather than individual. In product organizations, this looks like cross-functional partnerships that actually work, user research that influences decisions, and retrospectives that drive real improvement.4. The Creative Leader These leaders embrace experimentation, tolerate failure, and push for innovation. They create cultures where PMs can propose bold ideas without fear. But without enough structure, these cultures can become chaotic.The best leaders, and the best cultures, combine elements of all four, calibrated to the organization's specific needs. As a PM evaluating a new role, you need to assess not just the stated values but the actual leadership style you'll experience day-to-day.The Questions You're Not Asking in Interviews Most PMs treat interviews as one-way evaluations. The company assesses you; you try to impress them. Albino argues this is backwards.“This is a two-way assessment,” he told me. “You are also interviewing them.”I know what you're thinking: “Tom, that's easy to say when you have options. When you're desperate for a job, you can't afford to be picky.”I get it. But here's the truth Albino helped me see: accepting a role at a company with cultural misalignment doesn't solve your job search problem. It delays your job search problem by six months while making you miserable.Your objective isn't to get as many offers as possible. Your objective is to get offers from places where you'll thrive.So what questions should you actually ask?On Work-Life Integration: “How do you manage team collaboration across different locations and time zones?”These aren't just logistics questions. They reveal whether the company trusts employees or requires surveillance. They show whether leadership believes productivity comes from presence or output.On Decision-Making: “Tell me about a recent product decision where you had significant disagreement among stakeholders. How did you resolve it?”This behavioral question (turned around on the company) reveals their true decision-making process. Do they rely on data, authority, consensus, or customer feedback? Do they value PM input or just expect execution?On Failure and Learning: “Describe a recent product launch that didn't meet expectations. What happened, and how did the team respond?”The answer tells you everything about psychological safety. Do they blame individuals or examine systems? Do they learn from failures or hide them?On Growth and Development: “How do PMs typically grow in their careers here? Can you share specific examples of PMs who've advanced and what enabled their growth?”This reveals whether the culture actually invests in development or just talks about it in the handbook.But here's Albino's most important advice: “It's very important that you are authentic, you are yourself. Don't try to make an act there. It's very common to do that just to cover the expectations of the potential employer. But you know what? Try to get rid of that fear and try to be yourself.”This is counterintuitive in a competitive job market. Every instinct tells you to mold yourself to what they want. But cultural misalignment has costs. Stress. Burnout. Short tenure. Another job search in six months.Better to be yourself, assess fit honestly, and find a place where you can actually thrive.How AI Is Changing Culture Assessment Here's where Albino's work gets really interesting for those of us in tech. He's building an AI-powered tool to help companies assess cultural fit during hiring.Traditional culture fit assessment is notoriously unreliable. It often means “do I want to get a beer with this person,” which perpetuates homogeneity and bias. Or it gets delegated to a single interviewer who may not accurately represent the actual culture.Albino's approach is different. His tool analyzes the organization's stated values, actual behaviors, and cultural attributes. Then it evaluates candidates against these dimensions through structured assessment.“It's going to analyze your organization, what are the values, and depending on your stage, your size, your location, what type of company you are, it's going to analyze all this information and it's going to recommend which are the key cultural factors or cultural behaviors that you need to assess when you interview a candidate,” he explained.The tool is currently in beta testing, launching in January. But the concept matters even if you never use it: Culture fit should be systematic, not subjective. It should be measured, not assumed.For PMs, this has implications beyond hiring. If companies can systematically assess culture, you can systematically evaluate it too. The questions you ask, the observations you make, the research you do before accepting an offer—these aren't nice-to-haves. They're essential.The Framework: How to Evaluate Culture Before You Accept the OfferBased on Albino's expertise and my own painful lessons, here's a practical framework for assessing culture fit:Step 1: Define Your Non-NegotiablesBefore you start interviewing, get clear on what cultural attributes you need to thrive. Not what sounds good in theory, but what you've actually needed in roles where you've done your best work.For me, that includes:* Collaborative decision-making where PM insights influence strategy* Data-informed but not data-servant culture that values research * Psychological safety to propose bold ideas and learn from failures* Work-life integration that respects boundariesYour list will be different. Maybe you thrive in competitive environments. Maybe you need more structure. Maybe remote work is essential. Be honest with yourself.Step 2: Research Before You ApplyDon't just apply to every open PM role. Albino recommends something smarter: “Make a list of those companies that you have learned about a little bit about their culture. Maybe you have a friend that worked at a company and they told you that it was an amazing place to work. So make a list of those companies and ask people about their companies they work for.”Use LinkedIn to find people who've worked at target companies. Look for patterns in how long people stay. Read Glassdoor reviews not for specific complaints but for themes. Check whether executives walk the talk on platforms like Twitter or in company blog posts.This front-loaded research saves you from wasting time in processes with companies where you'll never fit.Step 3: Interview Your InterviewersDuring the interview process, systematically assess culture through:* How they respond to your questions (defensive vs. open)* Whether they can articulate values with specific examples* How they talk about past failures and learning* Whether individual contributors speak freely or defer to managers* How they describe decision-making processes* What they emphasize in describing the role (impact vs. tasks)Step 4: Talk to Your Future BossAlbino is adamant about this: “What's really important is to get to talk to the hiring manager. Usually if you get to the final stages you get to talk, but if they are not planning on doing that, that's critical because people join organizations because of the company and they leave the organization most likely because of the boss.”Don't accept an offer without substantive conversation with your direct manager. If the company won't arrange it, that tells you something about the culture. I'd argue talking to the skip level is also really important if available.Step 5: Trust Your Gut, But VerifyPay attention to how you feel during the process. Are you energized or drained? Do you find yourself trying to be someone you're not? Do the people you meet seem genuinely engaged or going through the motions?But don't rely only on feelings. Look for concrete evidence. Ask for examples. Request to speak with current team members. If they're not willing to arrange it, that's a red flag.Choosing Culture Over BrandOne of Albino's most powerful points challenges the default Silicon Valley career path: “You need to be intentional. You need to be really clear on what you want in your next job and not just go for the brand, not just go for the open position. Look for the environment, the leadership, and ask people that have worked there.”This is hard advice to follow. The brand matters. The comp matters. The resume line matters.But I've watched too many talented PMs burn out, get fired, or quietly quit because they optimized for the wrong variables. They went for the FAANG or unicorn prestige without assessing whether they could actually thrive there. They took the higher offer without asking about the leadership style. They joined the hot startup without understanding the culture they were stepping into.The intentional career path looks different:* Define success for yourself (not what TechCrunch or your parents think success looks like)* Identify companies whose cultures align with your needs* Pursue those companies specifically, even if they don't have posted openings* Assess fit rigorously during the interview process* Choose the role where you can do your best work, even if it's not the highest offerThis approach requires confidence. It requires clarity. It requires believing that your best work in the right culture is worth more than mediocre work in a prestigious culture.What This Means for Your Next Career MoveIf you're currently employed and happy, use this framework to understand WHY you're happy. What cultural attributes are enabling your success? How can you protect and expand them?If you're currently employed and miserable, stop trying to fix yourself. The problem might not be you, it might be cultural misalignment. Start researching cultures where your strengths would be assets, not liabilities.If you're searching for your next role, resist the temptation to spray and pray. Be intentional. Research culture. Ask hard questions. Be authentic in the process. The goal isn't to get the most offers. The goal is to get the right offer.And if you're a hiring manager or product leader, recognize that culture isn't something HR handles. Culture is shaped by your leadership every single day. The questions you ask, the behaviors you model, the decisions you make—these create the environment where your team either thrives or survives.The Future of Culture and Product ManagementAlbino's work on AI-powered culture assessment points to something bigger: culture is becoming quantifiable. We're moving from vague values statements to measured behaviors. From gut-feel assessments to systematic evaluation.For PMs, this is good news. It means you can make more informed decisions. It means companies can be more honest about their cultures instead of pretending to be something they're not. It means better matches, longer tenure, and more impact.But it also means you need to get serious about understanding culture. It's no longer enough to read the values page on the careers site and hope for the best.You need to research. You need to ask questions. You need to assess fit as rigorously as the company assesses your product skills.Your Next StepsHere's what I'm taking away from my conversation with Albino, and what I recommend you do too:This Week:* Write down the cultural attributes of every job you've had where you thrived* Identify patterns: what conditions enable your best work?* Make a list of companies you've heard have cultures aligned with your needsThis Month:* Reach out to three people who work at companies on your list* Ask them specific questions about leadership, decision-making, and day-to-day culture* Update your interview preparation to include questions that assess cultureThis Quarter:* If you're searching, be more selective about where you apply* If you're employed, have an honest conversation with your manager about cultural alignment* If you're a leader, audit your own behaviors—are you creating the culture you claim to value?Culture isn't soft. Culture isn't secondary. Culture is the environment where your product skills either flourish or wither.Choose wisely.If you're navigating a career transition or want to develop a more intentional approach to your product leadership journey, I offer 1:1 executive, career, and product coaching. Learn more at tomleungcoaching.com.And if you're interested in being a beta tester for Albino's culture fit assessment tool, reach out to him at albino@ahaimpact.com or visit ahaimpact.com. He's looking for a few more organizations to participate in January testing at a significantly discounted rate.OK. Let's ship greatness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit firesidepm.substack.com

Molly Graham has worked for some of tech's most effective leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Chamath Palihapitiya, and Bret Taylor. Today she leads Glue Club, a community for leaders navigating rapid scale, growth, and change. She's best known for her “Give away your Legos” framework and her collection of practical mental models for leading through hypergrowth.We discuss:1. “Give away your Legos”: a framework for scaling yourself as a leader2. “J-curves vs. stairs”: the two paths of career growth, and why you should pick the scarier path3. “The waterline model” for diagnosing team problems (and why you should “snorkel before you scuba”)4. Six rules for creating effective goals (and aligning everyone around them)5. Rules of thumb for leading through rapid scale and change6. Her biggest leadership lessons from Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Sheryl Sandberg, and Bret Taylor—Brought to you by:DX—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchersBrex—The banking solution for startupsGoFundMe Giving Funds—Make helping a habit—Transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-high-growth-handbook-molly-graham—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/182877855/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation—Where to find Molly Graham:• X: https://x.com/molly_g• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mograham• Substack: https://mollyg.substack.com• Website: https://glueclub.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Molly Graham(04:28) Molly's background at Google, Facebook, Quip, and CZI(11:29) The “Give away your Legos” framework(16:44) Managing your inner monster(19:49) When not to give away your Legos(21:28) Embracing a long career(23:25) The J-curve vs. stairs approach to career growth(32:00) The gift of knowing yourself(34:28) Learning to be a professional idiot(38:30) The waterline model: snorkel before you scuba(47:16) Six rules for creating strong alignment around goals(57:15) Rules of thumb for leading through rapid scale(01:07:49) Investing in high performers vs. low performers(01:10:54) Lessons from Zuckerberg, Sandberg, and Bret Taylor(1:21:15) Pivoting from ambition to purpose(1:26:32) Finding stability in instability(01:29:44) Final thoughts—Referenced:• Making an impact through authenticity and curiosity | Ami Vora (CPO at Faire, ex-WhatsApp, FB, IG): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/authenticity-and-curiosity-ami-vora• Sheryl Sandberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652• Elliot Schrage on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliotschrage• Quip: https://quip.com• He saved OpenAI, invented the “Like” button, and built Google Maps: Bret Taylor on the future of careers, coding, agents, and more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/he-saved-openai-bret-taylor• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: https://chanzuckerberg.com• 10 contrarian leadership truths every leader needs to hear | Matt MacInnis (Rippling): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-contrarian-leadership-truths• ‘Give Away Your Legos' and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups: https://review.firstround.com/give-away-your-legos-and-other-commandments-for-scaling-startups• The Muppets: https://muppets.disney.com• Sara Caldwell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saramcaldwell• J-Curves vs. Stairs: Two Approaches to Career Growth: https://mollyg.substack.com/p/j-curve• Forget the corporate ladder—winners take risks: https://www.ted.com/talks/molly_graham_forget_the_corporate_ladder_winners_take_risks• Chamath Palihapitiya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chamath• Lori Goler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-goler-6b96921• Joseph Campbell's quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/192665-the-cave-you-fear-to-enter-holds-the-treasure-you• Zevi Arnovitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zev-arnovitz• Peopling 101: The Waterline Model: https://christinehaskell.com/blog/peopling-101-the-waterline-model• Introduction to NVC: https://www.cnvc.org/learn/what-is-nvc• I hate OKRs... and other thoughts about goal setting: https://mollyg.substack.com/p/i-hate-okrs-and-other-thoughts-about• Lessons from scaling Stripe | Claire Hughes Johnson (former COO of Stripe): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-stripe-tactics• James Clear's quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9614600-problem-1-winners-and-losers-have-the-same-goals• Founder mode: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html• Stripe: https://stripe.com• Patrick Collison on X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison• John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision• Seth Godin's best tactics for building remarkable products, strategies, brands and more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/seth-godins-tactics-for-building-remarkable-products• Eric Antonow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonow—Recommended books:• The Artist's Way: https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary/dp/0143129252• Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-People-Tactics-Management-Building/dp/1953953212• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Steve Martin: Making Scrum Master Success Visible with OKRs That Actually Work Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "It is not the retrospective that is the success of the retrospective. It is the ownership and accountability where you take improvements after the session." - Steve Martin   The biggest problem for Scrum Masters isn't just defining success—it's being able to shout it from the rooftops with tangible evidence. Steve champions OKRs as an amazing way to define and measure success, but with a critical caveat: they've historically been poorly written and implemented in dark rooms by executives, then cascaded down to teams who never bought in. Steve's approach is radically different. Create OKRs collectively with the team, stakeholders, and end users. Start by focusing on the pain—what problems or pain points do customers, users, and stakeholders actually experience? Make the objective the goal to solve that problem, then define how to measure progress with key results. When everyone is bought in—Scrum Master, engineers, Product Owner, stakeholders, leaders—all pulling in the same direction, magic happens. Make progress visible on the wall like a speedometer, showing exactly where you are at any moment. For an e-commerce checkout, the problem might be too many steps. The objective: reduce pain for users checking out quickly. The baseline: 15 steps today. The target: 5 clicks in three months. Everyone can see the dial moving. Everything should focus on the customer as the endpoint. The challenge is distinguishing between targets imposed from above ("increase sales by 10%") and objectives created collaboratively based on factors the team can actually control. Find what you can control first, work with customers to understand their pain, and start from there.   Self-reflection Question: Can you articulate your team's success with specific, measurable outcomes that everyone—from developers to executives—understands and owns? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Post-Retro Actions and Ownership The success of a retrospective isn't the retrospective itself—it's what happens after. Steve emphasizes that ownership and accountability matter more than the format of the session. Take improvements from the retrospective and bring them into the sprint as user stories with clear structure: this is the problem, how we'll solve it, and how we'll measure impact. Assign collective ownership—not just a single person, but the whole team owns the improvement. Then bring improvements into the demo so the team showcases what changed. This creates cultural transformation: the team themselves want to bring improvements, not just because the Scrum Master pushed them. For ongoing impediments, conduct root cause analysis. Create a system to escalate issues beyond the team's control—make these visible on another board or with the leadership team. Find peers in pain: teams with the same problems can work together collectively. The retrospective format matters less than this system of ownership, action, measurement, and visibility. Stop retrospective theatre—going through the motions without taking action. Make improvements real by treating them like any other work: visible, measured, owned, and demonstrated.   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Most people think money fixes everything. It doesn't. It just exposes what you never defined in the first place. My recent conversation with Sharran Srivatsaa (Acquisition.com President) starts with a quiet tension: building something big while trying not to lose the people who matter most. Fatherhood. Money. Ambition. Guilt. All colliding at once. The truth is this: More income without a framework doesn't buy freedom. It buys anxiety with better branding. In this episode, we go deep on what actually works: • Why freezing your lifestyle is the real cheat code • The exact definition of financial freedom (no vibes, just math) • How to run a family P&L like a real business • Why most entrepreneurs are chasing income instead of equity • The parenting framework that removes guilt without quitting the mission • How to stop "working harder" and start diagnosing what's broken • The difference between growth and scale (and why confusing them keeps you stuck) Not with SMART goals. Not with KPIs. Not with OKRs or any of that MBA bullshit. But with simple rules, clear scoreboards, and decisions you can actually live with. One line hit hard: "If you don't know what 'enough' is, you'll never feel like you're winning." This isn't theory. It's lived experience. Five exits. 20+ years. Millions made (and millions lost). And a framework that now runs: the business the money and the family (without everything bleeding into everything else). If you're building fast but feeling off… If money keeps increasing but peace doesn't… If you're winning on paper but questioning the cost… This episode is for you. Watch it slowly, and take notes. Then decide what enough actually means for you.

EP 2737 สวัสดีปีใหม่ปี 2026 ตอนนี้จะเล่าถึงเป้าหมายที่ผมใช้ระบบ OKRs สำหรับปี 2026 ทั้งปี และสำหรับของไตรมาสที่ 1 ของปี 2026 และขอสวัสดีปีใหม่ 2026 กับทุกท่าน ขอให้ทุกท่านพบเจอแต่สิ่งดี ๆ ในปี 2026 และปีต่อ ๆ ไปนะครับ

EP 2736 ส่งท้ายปีเก่า 2025 ตอนนี้จะมาสรุป OKRs ไตรมาสที่ 4 ปี 2025 และ OKRs ของทั้งปี 2025 รวมทั้ง Highlight ในเรื่องงานและเรื่องชีวิตในปี 2025 ที่ผ่านมาครับ

[Original air date: May 8, 2025]When it comes to investor relations, an organization's communication strategy should be a key instrument to support its business strategy. While this may seem obvious, so often we get this wrong. In this episode, CJ hosts a masterclass on investor relations with Samuel Levenson of the Arbor Advisory Group and Jon Neitzell of Andruil Partners, focusing on the strategic role of IR in driving company valuation. They cover what “audience opportunity” really means and what to do when you've attracted the wrong investors. They talk about metrics, KPIs, and OKRs, plus why management credibility and conveying conviction can make or break your IR strategy. They also discuss what has changed in the IR profession over time and what hasn't (but probably should) before suggesting changes you can make to drive impact immediately.—LINKS:Samuel Levenson on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/samlevenson/Jon Neitzell on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-neitzell/Arbor Advisory Group: www.arboradvisorygroup.com/Anduril Partners: https://www.andurilpartners.ai/CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:Investor Relations as a Strategic Weapon: A Masterclasshttps://youtu.be/ac9xmURhAqE—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:02:22 Welcome to Sam and Jon00:03:12 Linking Business Strategy and Communication00:05:01 Proactive vs. Reactive Investor Relations00:06:39 Tailoring the Message by Investor Type00:08:05 Audience Opportunity and Ideal Shareholders00:11:05 When the Investor Base No Longer Fits00:12:21 Shifting Investors as Industries Change00:13:16 Optionality Comes From Patient Shareholders00:14:40 Conveying Conviction Through Credibility00:17:03 Why Investor Days Build Trust00:18:02 Metrics Versus Storytelling in IR00:19:10 Choosing Metrics the Market Actually Rewards00:22:30 Valuation Disconnects and Investor Confusion00:23:17 Finding Metrics That Truly Drive Value00:25:33 Avoiding Bad Capital Allocation Decisions00:26:20 Disclose Versus Guide: Confidence Intervals00:27:35 Knowing What You Don't Know00:29:33 Science Versus Art in Storytelling00:33:11 When Algorithms Become Your Audience00:33:56 Passive Investing Now Dominates Markets00:35:16 Linking OKRs to Value-Driving KPIs00:36:42 Closing the Strategy-Metrics Feedback Loop00:38:07 When Investors Sense Operational Confidence00:39:47 Why IR Becomes Strategy Consulting00:41:28 Why IR Teams Stay Undersized00:43:23 Sam's Accidental Entry Into Investor Relations00:44:34 Mentorship Over Formal IR Training00:46:18 How Markets Outpaced IR Practices00:47:01 Investor Days Go Virtual00:49:34 Designing a High-Quality Earnings Call00:50:41 Investor Days as High-ROI Investments00:51:45 IR Websites as Investor Onramps00:53:42 World-Class Investor Day Examples00:54:20 Using AI to Prepare Investor Communications00:56:19 Building a Proactive IR 2.0 Strategy00:58:33 Why IR Requires Full Executive Buy-In01:00:51 Data Transfers Conviction to Investors01:03:31 Closing Reflections on Trust and Valuation#RunTheNumbersPodcast #InvestorRelations #CapitalMarkets #ValuationStrategy #CFOInsights This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Chandan Lodha, Co-founder at CoinTracker, joins Amir Bormand to unpack the real shift from big tech to building your own company. From Harvard to Google to Y Combinator, Chandan shares what pushed him to take the leap, how he found the right idea, and what he had to unlearn to lead at startup speed.This conversation is for builders and leaders who want to grow faster, ship faster, and build teams that can actually execute.Key Takeaways• The early career advantage is learning velocity, optimize for environments that stretch you fast• Managing the business is rarely the hardest part, people problems scale with headcount• Big company habits can break you at a startup, especially around distribution, speed, and getting your first users• YC helped most through peer proximity, being surrounded by real users and founders who move quickly• Founder growth is a system, use feedback loops like reviews, 360 input, and personal goal trackingTimestamped Highlights00:00 From Harvard and Google to founder mode, what made him leave the safe path00:35 CoinTracker in plain English, crypto taxes and accounting for individuals and businesses03:32 Leap first, think later, the messy six month search for a real idea05:00 Runway reality, setting a 12 to 18 month window to figure it out06:09 Crypto skepticism to conviction, reading the Bitcoin white paper changed his frame10:05 Leadership lessons at 100 people, why people issues become the main work14:43 Y Combinator benefits, users everywhere and a practical playbook for early company building17:55 Personal growth systems, performance feedback and personal OKRs, plus changing your mind on three issues each year21:04 Becoming a new parent, structure, efficiency, and cutting non essentials23:24 The two skills to build before you leap, building and sellingA line worth keepingManaging the business is easy, managing people is hard.Pro Tips• Set a real runway window, then use it to iterate hard with users every week• Expect to unlearn big company instincts, distribution and speed do not come for free• Build a feedback cadence for yourself, not just your team, reviews and 360 input can surface blind spots• Practice building and selling in small side projects now, those skills compound in any startupCall to ActionIf this episode helped you think differently about leadership and the founder path, follow The Tech Trek on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share it with one person who is building or thinking about making the leap.

Bill Saltmarsh joins me to discuss where a modern CDO gets the inspiration to “operate in the producty way” in his domain, which is healthcare. Now Vice President of Enterprise Data and Transformation and the Chief Data Officer at Children's Mercy Kansas City, his early days as an analyst revealed a gap between what stakeholders asked for vs. the outcomes they sought. This convinced him that data teams need to pause, ask better questions, and prioritize meaningful outcomes over quickly churning out dashboards and reports. Bill and I discuss how a producty mindset can be embedded across an organization. He also talks about why data leaders must set firm expectations. We explore the personal and cultural shifts needed for analysts and data scientists to embrace design, facilitation, and deeper discovery, even when it initially seems to slow things down. We also examine how to define value and ROI in healthcare, where a data team's impact is often indirect.  By tying data efforts to organizational OKRs and investing in governance, strong data foundations, and data literacy, he argues that analytics, data, and AI can drive better decisions, enhance patient care, and create durable organizational value. Highlights/ Skip to: What led Bill Saltmarsh to run his team at Children's Mercy “the producty way” (1:42)  The kinds of environments Bill worked in prior that influenced his current management philosophy (4:36) Why data teams shouldn't be report factories (6:37)  Setting the standard at the leadership level vs the everyday work (10:53) How Bill is skilling and hiring for non-technical skills (i.e. product, design, etc) (13:51)  Patterns that data professionals go through to know if they're guiding stakeholders correctly (20:54)  The point when Bill has to think about the financial side of the hospital (26:30) How Bill thinks about measuring the data team's  contributions to the hospital's success (30:28) Bill's philosophy on generative AI (36:00) Links Bill Saltmarsh on LinkedIn

In this episode of The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast, Brad shows you how to build a strategic plan that can actually take your business to one hundred million. He explains why most owners fail before they even start. Their goals are too small, too safe, and not nearly bold enough to create real change. Brad shares how setting crazy goals early in his life pushed him to learn faster, think bigger, and take action long before he felt ready.He then breaks down the core planning elements you need. A three to five year target that creates urgency, 90 day sprints that keep everyone accountable, and leading indicators that show whether you are on track long before profit appears. Brad also covers OKRs, planning rhythm, and why your systems and leadership must evolve as you scale.If you are ready to stop playing small and build a plan that forces growth, this episode gives you the clarity and structure to start your journey to one hundred million.About Brad SugarsInternationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That's why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone.Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free:The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Busy isn't the same as better.We sat down with product strategist, coach and consultant, and now a pubslihed author Tim Herbig to unpack a simple truth: real progress with impact that matters happens when strategy, metrics, and discovery align.If you lead change across a product, a platform team, culture or your own habits - you'll leave with a clearer way to choose what to focus on, what to measure, and what to learn.Say no with confidence. Retire progress theater. And build momentum you can be proud of.Key Insights:Context beats templates every time - "better practices" for your situation matter more than copying what worked for someone elseStrategy's real job is helping people say yes and no fastThe "why" question is ruthlessly effective - if you can't explain why you're doing something, you're probably just checking boxesAI helps you reach hard problems faster but only if you're ready to actually solve them instead of automating busyworkHow to spot progress theater before it drains your energy and budget ... also how to choose a better strategy for your beach body in 2026 and a lot more!___________TIM'S BIOTim Herbig is a product management coach, consultant, and author who helps teams make evidence-informed decisions by connecting strategy, OKRs, and discovery. For over a decade, he worked in various in-house and consulting roles across publishing, professional networking, and enterprise B2B SaaS. Tim's work has helped organizations from Lufthansa Group Digital Hangar to early-stage startups move from following "best practices" to developing better practices suited to their context that led to desired impact. Tim writes a popular weekly newsletter and is the author of "Real Progress: How to Connect the Dots of Product Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery." He lives by 3 core values: integrity (doing what you say), curiosity (going down rabbit holes), and sincerity (being honest even when it's hard).5) CALL TO ACTION & RESOURCESReady to move from alibi progress to real progress?Connect with Tim's work:Newsletter: https://herbig.co/newsletter (Weekly insights on strategy, OKRs, and discovery)Book: "Real Progress: How to Connect the Dots of Product Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery"Website: https://herbig.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbigtMentioned in the episode:Petra Willa's PM Wheel conceptJames Clear's quote on context-dependent adviceRavi Mehta's concept of "market interrupt moments"Gibson Biddle's Strategy/Metric/Tactic frameworkTim's homework for you:Start by asking one question this week: "Why are we doing this?" Then see if you can connect your answer to actual measurements and learning. That's where real progress begins.  _________Enjoyed this conversation?  Don't forget to subscribe to never miss an insight! Rate, and share the show with someone who needs a better way to make progress.  Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

GenAI now sits inside content workflows, SDR outreach, and competitive intelligence. Marketing teams are seeing real wins and real growing pains, and the open question is where to focus next. To answer that, Drew brings together Kelly Hopping, John McKinney (Cornerstone Licensing), and Brian Hankin (Altium Packaging) to share the AI plays they are running right now and how they're leading the charge. Here's how: In this episode: Kelly shows how AI weaves through content, SDR workflows, web chat, product work, and SEO, plus how OKRs and certifications lift AI fluency across the team. John uses AI agents for competitor tracking, outbound support, and coding, and treats AI as a sparring partner for strategy before it reaches the C suite. Brian runs an AI campaign engine that builds multi-touch programs in minutes and tracks lifts in engagement, qualified leads, proposals, and wins. Plus: How AEO connects to SEO and what needs to shift for LLM-driven discovery How leaders model AI use with internal knowledge bases and cross-functional pilots How to structure AI readiness Where CMOs can start Tune in if you want AI use cases you can put to work now and a clearer view of where to point your team next. For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

In this episode of the Balancing Act podcast, Andy interviews Radhika Dutt about product management and operational measurement tools like KPIs and OKRs. Radhika shares her insights on product diseases, the role of a product manager, challenges faced in product management, and the importance of prioritization and alignment. She introduces puzzle solving as a more effective approach than traditional goal setting, emphasizing the need for reflection and curiosity in product management.  Radhika is an entrepreneur and product leader that advises organizations on building products that create fundamental change. She's the author of Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter. Tune into episode 224 to hear Radhika's story, her career rocket-booster moment, and her innovative thoughts on product management and operational measurement.

Send us a textAre you scaling the wrong thing... successfully?If your 2025 planning feels heavy, misaligned, or nonexistent — it's not because you're lazy. It's because you're still using a corporate operating system for a boutique business. In this episode, Dawn Andrews drops the velvet boot of truth to show you why most female founders sabotage their year-end planning and how AI can help you get radically honest, strategic, and aligned.Download The Feedback Fix — because planning means nothing if your team can't run with the ball. Get the free guide to giving feedback that actually lands and drives accountability. Key TakeawaysStop planning like you have a CFO — Your three-person team doesn't need quarterly OKRs and a content calendar that takes 30 people to execute.AI is your honesty coach — Use it to uncover revenue patterns, energy drains, and strategic misalignment.Only 3 things matter: What made money, did you enjoy it, and did it make a difference?Decisions create constraints — It's not about setting goals, it's about choosing what you'll stop, amplify, and build.Your dream business won't come from a LinkedIn-optimized strategy. It comes from truth, clarity, and alignment.Resources & Links:Freebie: The Feedback FixJoin the Community: AI for Founders Free GroupRelated Episodes:110 | 3 Custom GPTs That Save Female Founders 16 Hours a Week102 | 3 SOPs Every Founder Should Build in 30 Minutes (Using AI)Want to increase revenue and impact? Listen to “She's That Founder” for insights on business strategy and female leadership to scale your business. Each episode offers advice on effective communication, team building, and management. Learn to master routines and systems to boost productivity and prevent burnout. Our delegation tips and business consulting will advance your executive leadership skills and presence.

Recruiting great marketers is tough work. Sustaining performance, growth, and energy over time demands deliberate choices. Those choices shape the culture, the pace, and the results your team can sustain through whatever comes next. To see how this plays out across very different orgs, Drew talks with Dan Lowden (Blackbird.AI), Marni Puente (SAIC), and Amy King (Relias) about the teams they've built and the systems that keep them performing. They break down who they hire first, how they set structure and expectations, and how coaching, intelligent failure, and AI-supported workflows help people grow and stay motivated. In this episode:  Dan builds a lean, senior, hands-on startup team and fosters a test-and-learn culture where people move fast, try new things, and learn together.  Marni reshapes a communications-heavy function into a modern marketing org, adding commercial and demand capabilities and aligning work to OKRs and transparent dashboards.  Amy leads a marketing reset at Relias, rebuilding leadership and structure, positioning marketing with sales and client care, and modeling vulnerability and continuous learning through change. Plus:  Why AI committees, battle buddies, and shared learning loops turn hesitation into confident adoption  How OKRs, scorecards, and focused dashboards clarify priorities and tie marketing to revenue outcomes  Where intelligent failure helps teams stop low-value work, share lessons, and build trust  How competency assessments, surveys, and development plans nurture top performers and future leaders If you're building, inheriting, or leveling up a marketing team, this episode gives you a ton of moves to help it perform, grow, and stay together.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

Hi! Ever felt like you're on a Disney ride through every big-company headache imaginable? Think lawyers, bankers, finance goons, stale conference rooms, staid conversations and the creeping sense that the machine is running you, not the other way around.Big companies exist for good reason. They build real things - consistently. They deliver at scale. But they also can suffocate the people who want to tinker, experiment, break stuff, and dream. The renegades. The builders. The ones who get hives at the prospect of OKRs, KPIs and strategery. On this episode of Unsolicited Advice, we get into what it actually takes to keep creativity alive when the machine takes over. How small groups can save big companies. How to protect the spark from the process. How to build something real without getting crushed by the weight of everyone else's need for control, accuracy and uniformity. If you've ever felt yourself wither in a big org or wondered why your best ideas show up in small rooms, this one is for you.This is WORK: Unsolicited Advice! Watch full episode on YouTube. Get full access to WORK at erikaayersbadan.substack.com/subscribe

Anil Varanasi is the co-founder and CEO of Meter, which provides full-stack networking infrastructure as a service for businesses. Since founding Meter with his brother Sunil in 2015, Anil has been playing a distinctly long game in one of the most entrenched markets in technology, betting on vertical integration, business model innovation, and a multi-decade time horizon. In this conversation, he unpacks Meter's origin story, from four-plus years of heads-down R&D, and shares how his unconventional approach to planning, management, and pace keeps him excited to run the company for decades. In today's episode, we discuss: Why Anil thinks in 25-year horizons How operating in a monopolistic market shaped Meter's approach Why Meter scrapped a year of OS work during the R&D phase How Meter is rethinking networking's business model Surviving COVID, Apple's M1 transition, and “a thousand bad days” Anil's contrarian views on planning, OKRs, and management How founders can build companies they'll want to run for decades Where to find Anil: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anilcv/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/acv Where to find Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast References: ADT: ⁠https://www.adt.com⁠ Alex Honnold: ⁠https://www.alexhonnold.com⁠ Alex Tabarrok: ⁠https://x.com/ATabarrok⁠ ⁠alarm.com⁠: ⁠https://www.alarm.com⁠ Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): ⁠https://a16z.com⁠ Apple: ⁠https://www.apple.com⁠ Bloomberg: ⁠https://www.bloomberg.com⁠ Bryan Caplan: ⁠http://www.bcaplan.com/⁠ Cisco: ⁠https://www.cisco.com⁠ Coca-Cola: ⁠https://www.coca-colacompany.com⁠ George Mason University (GMU): ⁠https://www.gmu.edu⁠ Intel: ⁠https://www.intel.com⁠ Julia Galef: ⁠https://x.com/juliagalef⁠ Martin Casado: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincasado/⁠ Meraki: ⁠https://meraki.cisco.com⁠ Meter: ⁠https://www.meter.com⁠ Michela Giorcelli: ⁠https://x.com/M_Giorcelli⁠ Nicholas Bloom: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-bloom-stanford/⁠ Raffaella Sadun: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/raffaella-sadun-3a182225/⁠ Sanjit Biswas: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjitbiswas/⁠ Sunil Varanasi: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunil-varanasi-662a01253/⁠ Tyler Cowen: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-cowen-166718/⁠ Twitch: ⁠https://www.twitch.tv⁠ Timestamps: (01:27) Meter's unusual timeframes (04:06) “We don't do OKRs” (06:32) How to plan without planning (08:31) Track your unhappy customers (11:43) How Meter's journey began (15:02) Dissecting the 2010s SaaS boom (17:06) The networking industry trap (21:44) Meter's first roadblock (22:07) Why Shenzhen accelerated Meter's progress (26:29) The process to get a sales-ready product (31:02) Why you should own the full stack (32:45) The surprising thing you should innovate (35:03) Avoiding the one-trick pony trap (37:39) The secret to finding an excellent market (43:48) How COVID's constraints propelled growth (48:25) Why founders need to know their customers (49:34) Why Meter didn't sell via traditional channels (51:44) You need “seller-market fit” (54:51) The danger of meta-work (56:25) Decoupling management from authority (1:02:17) When the person is the problem (1:05:05) The inherent value of going slowly (1:09:41) Running a company for as long as possible

Most companies hire. The best ones recruit. In this episode of The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast, Brad Sugars, founder and chairman of Action Coach, explains why relying on job posts keeps businesses stuck — and why real scale comes from actively finding, attracting, and keeping A-players. He breaks down the true difference between hiring and recruiting, the principle behind A's hiring A's, and how a single great person can completely transform a company's trajectory. Brad shares real examples from his own businesses — recruiting a competitor's top salesperson, bringing in a server who boosted dessert sales overnight, and building teams that multiply results instead of divide them. He also lays out the simple three-page process he uses before filling any role: getting clear on who he wants, what the job truly is, and how success will be measured.Brad then breaks down the leadership framework that turns talent into real performance — vision, mission, values, and OKRs to set direction, along with strong communication, decision-making, and feedback to drive execution. He explains why culture isn't a slogan; culture is strategy, and it's the strongest magnet for A-players.He also shares a simple method for evaluating your team across competency, productivity, passion, and focus, giving you a clear picture of who's driving growth and where improvements matter most.If you're ready to recruit like the pros, elevate your leadership, and build a team that builds the company, hit play.About Brad SugarsInternationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That's why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone.Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free:The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Ever wonder why most companies struggle to scale real culture as fast as they grow? What if the right blend of purpose, freedom, and radical alignment could make your team unstoppable?In this Fan Favorite episode, Cameron Herold sits down with Kshitij Minglani, co-founder of Mindvalley Quests and serial entrepreneur, to unpack the proven playbook behind building a revolutionary “cult-like” workplace where high-performers thrive, politics die, and radical innovation flourishes. They explore OKRs that spark action, mantras that force clarity, remote team magic, and how Gen Y talent fuels explosive, sticky growth. You'll hear mind-blowing lessons on hiring, self-driven learning, and operational rhythm that you won't get in any MBA.Listen now, because the pain of missing these atomic insights is real: most companies will burn out, fragment, or plateau if they skip what you'll learn here. This is your exclusive shortcut to building a thriving team before you get left behind.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] – The real secret to “Second in Command” chemistry and why skillset complement matters more than ego[00:03:33] – How Mindvalley went from selling meditation courses to teaching 10 million people a year[00:07:00] – Proven tactics to attract Gen Y talent from 54 countries—bootstrapped, not VC-fueled[00:09:45] – Why career pages, values, and strategic interviews pull “cult-like” high performers (and kill politics)[00:12:16] – The radical power of OKRs, failing 50%, and how competition keeps teams sharp[00:16:14] – Outward thinking and self-driven learning: fueling growth with global hackathons and TED talks[00:18:05] – How “OODA Loops” from the military weaponize CEO-COO alignment[00:21:05] – The epic failures: when Mindvalley ignored customers and missed the subscription revolution[00:29:09] – Minimum Viable Product mentality—shipping fast, fighting perfection, and keeping teams hungry[00:35:08] – How Lifebook and conscious parenting keep remote teams human, connected, and loyalAbout the GuestKshitij Minglani is the Co-Founder of Mindvalley Quests, a global leader in education and personal growth, serving millions from 54 countries. Known for his mastery in scaling startups, building culture-first organizations, and strategic innovation, he's been behind some of Mindvalley's most explosive pivots. Kshitij specializes in operations, growth, and high-velocity hiring, giving him unique authority for COOs and aspiring leaders alike.

BONUS: Continuous Strategy Engineering—Beyond Waterfall Planning With Tom Gilb and Simon Holzapfel Strategy Professors Are Decades Behind "The professors of strategy have no clue as to what Evo is. They are locked in decades ago, waterfall mode."   Tom's analysis is stark: the people teaching strategy in business schools haven't undergone the same agile transformation that software development experienced. They still think in terms of 5-year plans that get tested at the end—a guaranteed recipe for discovering failure too late. The alternative? Decompose any large strategy into weekly value delivery steps. And if you think that's impossible, ask any AI to do it for you—it will produce 52 reasonable weekly increments in about a minute. Why OKRs Aren't Enough for Complex Systems "If you're doing small-scale stuff that OKRs were designed for, like planning your personal work 14 days hence, OKRs are wonderful. If you're designing the air traffic control system for Europe, they're just too simple."   Tom distinguishes between tools appropriate for personal productivity and those needed for complex organizational strategy. OKRs force some thinking, which is good, but they weren't designed for—and have never been adapted to—large-scale systems engineering. His paper "What is Wrong with OKRs?" documents roughly 100 gaps between simple OKRs and what robust value requirements actually require. Check out Tom Gilb's paper on what's wrong with OKR's and how to fix it.  The Missing Alignment Layer "We have no mental model for most of leadership about how you actually align people around clear vision."   Simon introduces the concept of a Hoshin-Kanri "sprinkler" system—imagine strategic clarity flowing from the top and misting over everyone's desk as alignment. Most organizations lack anything resembling this. They have Moses descending from expensive consultant retreats with tablets, but no continuous two-way flow of strategic information. The result? Teams work hard on things that don't matter while critical values go unaddressed. About Tom Gilb and Simon Holzapfel   Tom Gilb, born in the US, lived in London, and then moved to Norway in 1958. An independent teacher, consultant, and writer, he has worked in software engineering, corporate top management, and large-scale systems engineering. As the saying goes, Tom was writing about Agile before Agile was named. In 1976, Tom introduced the term "evolutionary" in his book Software Metrics, advocating for development in small, measurable steps. Today, we talk about Evo, the name Tom uses to describe his approach. Tom has worked with Dr. Deming and holds a certificate personally signed by him. You can listen to Tom Gilb's previous episodes here.    You can link with Tom Gilb on LinkedIn    Simon Holzapfel is an educator, coach, and learning innovator who helps teams work with greater clarity, speed, and purpose. He specializes in separating strategy from tactics, enabling short-cycle decision-making and higher-value workflows. Simon has spent his career coaching individuals and teams to achieve performance with deeper meaning and joy. Simon is also the author of the Equonomist newsletter on Substack. And you can listen to Simon's previous episodes on the podcast here.    You can link with Simon Holzapfel on LinkedIn.

If you've ever felt confused about OKRs—or wondered why they seem helpful in theory but clunky in practice—this episode is for you. I break down what OKRs were supposed to do, why the language trips people up, and a clearer way to plan your goals by separating what you can control from what you can't. You'll walk away with a simple, practical framework for setting outcomes, actions, and metrics that actually move your mission forward. Episode Highlights 01:16 Introduction to OKRs 01:44 Understanding OKRs 04:35 Critique of OKRs 06:04 Improving OKRs Resource The Board Clarity Club A monthly membership for boards that provides training and live expert support to help your board have total clarity on how to be the best board possible. Learn More >> About Your Host Have you seen Casino Royale? That moment when Vespa slides in elegantly, opposite James, all charming smile, razor-sharp wit and mighty brainpower, and says, "I'm the money"? Well, your host, Sarah Olivieri has been likened to Vespa by one of her clients – not just because she's charming, beautiful and brainy– but because that bold statement "I'm the money" was, as it turned out, right ON the money. Sarah helps nonprofits transform their organizations from failing to thriving. And she's very, very good at it. She's brought nonprofits back from the brink of insolvency. She's averted major cash-flow crises, solved funding droughts, board conflicts and everything in between… and so she has literally become "the money" for many of the organizations she works with. As the former director of 3 nonprofits and founder of 5 for-profit businesses, she understands, deeply, the challenges and complexities facing organizations and she's created a framework, called The Impact Method®️, which can help you simplify operations, build aligned teams and make a bigger impact without getting overwhelmed or burning out – and Every. Single. One. Of her clients that have implemented her methodologies have achieved the most incredible results. Sarah is also a #1 international bestselling author, holds a BA from the University of Chicago with a focus on globalization and its effect on marginalized cultures, and a master's degree in Humanistic and Multicultural Education from SUNY New Paltz. Access additional training at www.pivotground.com/funding-secrets or apply for the THRiVE Program for personalized support at www.pivotground.com/application Be sure to subscribe to Inspired Nonprofit Leadership so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! Let us know the topics or questions you would like to hear about in a future episode. You can do that and follow us on LinkedIn.

A labor and delivery nurse who ran Senate healthcare policy now manages $1.7 trillion in federal health spending—and she runs her team like a startup.Steph Carlton, Chief of Staff and Deputy Administrator at CMS, reveals the OKRs driving Medicare and Medicaid, why they're killing social determinants funding while building consumer health apps at scale, and how real-time provider data could collapse the 18-month lag between care delivery and payment. The team mixing founders with policy veterans is rewriting quality measures around VO2 max and app engagement, not just disease management—because preventing illness years before it happens might finally be worth more than treating it after. Stay Updated:If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zListen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYXListen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jessica Swank, Chief People Officer at Box, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about building an "org brain", preparing managers to lead teams of humans plus agents, avoiding agent sprawl and tech debt, and why every people leader needs to start experimenting with AI personally to stay ahead.----  Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode269Sponsor Links:

What if your company stopped chasing quarterly goals and spent an entire month training every employee on AI? That's exactly what AppsFlyer did, and it completely transformed how they approach innovation.In this episode, AppsFlyer down with Barak Witkovsky, Chief Product Officer of AppsFlyer, to discuss one of the boldest AI transformation experiments I've ever heard of. For four weeks, they paused regular business objectives and put all 1,300 employees through an AI builder course. Not on top of their work. AS their work.What We Cover:1. Why AppsFlyer stopped chasing OKRs to invest in AI education across the entire company2. How AppsFlyer's CEO and CPO learn about AI from their own employees (including marketers who know more than developers at other companies)3. How AppsFlyer evolved from a measurement platform into a modern marketing cloud with autonomous AI agents4. How do you get marketers to trust AI when they're deploying tens of millions in ad spend?5. Why AppsFlyer is betting on an open AI ecosystem with MCP and Agent Hub6. Are marketers becoming obsolete or are they about to become "bosses of agents"?7. Why executives are bullish on AI while directors and managers feel anxious (and what to do about it)Timestamps:00:00 AI Integration at AppsFlyer04:15 The ROI of AI Investments05:14 Evolution to a Modern Marketing Cloud16:30 Challenges of Omnichannel Measurement22:26 AI Agents in Marketing27:01 Becoming an AI-First Company31:29 The Role of AppsFlyer in the AI Ecosystem44:38 The Ultimate Growth Machine Vision47:18 Final Thoughts