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About me
My name is Mauro Bagnato and for over 15 years I have been leading tech organizations.
When I first stepped into leadership, I believed technical expertise was the key to being an effective leader. However, I quickly learned that organizations are living and complex systems and that leading them demands much more than just technical know-how. I believe that curiosity is at the heart of effective leadership. This is what fuels learning and experimentation, both crucial for continuous improvement. This blog aims to explore engineering leadership in all its aspects and to provide insights in a tangible and pragmatic manner. It will also be a space where I will share insights, reflections, and personal takeaways from books, podcasts, and articles that influenced and keep influencing my journey.
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Over the years, I have been working with OKRs several times and in different contexts.
I used to believe that cascading OKRs throughout the organization was the primary challenge, hence I focused on:
- aligning the organization
- creating the right structures, processes, and routines to drive collective progress
- improving information sharing to communicate progress, blockers, and risks
While I still think that these aspects are crucial, I realized that I had forgotten the GIGO theory:
Garbage in, garbage out
No matter how good your “cascading process” is, crappy objectives always lead to crappy outcomes!
So, I shifted my focus toward the OKR definition, trying to spot crappy objectives before it was too late.
Based on my experience, here are the top three smells of ineffective Objectives:
- Abstract or generic objectives.
Effective objectives mirror the company’s strategy, providing clear direction for the entire organization. Abstract or generic goals often indicate either a lack of strategy or alignment around the strategy. - Objectives defined in terms of financial goals.
While financial targets are important, framing objectives exclusively in these terms can be uninspiring and disconnected from employees' daily work. Effective objectives tell a compelling story that connects people to a purpose beyond numbers, clarifying why achieving certain targets matters. - Narrow-focused objectives
The most ambitious goals are typically achieved through a collaborative effort. Objectives should be structured to foster cross-functional cooperation. For instance, a company-wide objective should require contributions from all functions, rather than relying on just one.
Takeaway.
The success of OKRs starts with well-defined objectives. Watch for vague goals, purely financial targets, and objectives that lack cross-functional collaboration.
