Technical Leadership — Blog — Moving the Needle

Lean OKRs in DevOps: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities for Growth

Discover the transformative power of Lean OKRs in the world of DevOps. This approach not only aligns big goals with tangible results but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and efficiency. Learn how setting clear objectives and measurable key results can streamline your DevOps processes, focusing on creating value and eliminating waste. Perfectly suited for the fast-paced, customer-centric world of DevOps, Lean OKRs are your key to unlocking higher efficiency, better team alignment, and more effective software development.

Culture, DevOps, Technical LeadershipBart den HaakNovember 29, 2023Leadership, DevOps

From Average to Exceptional: The Journey of One Development Team to Increase Productivity and Business Outcomes

This is the story of an average, low-performing software development team that wasn’t even aware they had fallen into the rut of the daily grind, faced a huge backlog of deliverables and hadn’t released any new software to production for more than six months. Yet with the application of behavioral science techniques, and even a game on a wintery Friday afternoon, they learned that changing their behavior would be their “trump card”. But behavior changes are not without their own challenges. With their team lead, they apply their newly honed soft skills and see extraordinary results.

HR, Culture, DevOps, Technical LeadershipBart den HaakMarch 14, 2023Leadership, TDD, Behaviour

The 10 most used KPIs that every CTOs in FinTech need to monitor and influence

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) often function as the main framework for the many measurables that your organisation collects or otherwise keeps track of. But which KPIs will actually help you answer the critical questions that will help your company increase revenue and reduce costs?

KPIs, OKRs, Technical Leadership, StrategyBart den HaakAugust 27, 2021KPIs

OKR Software is a scam!

You don’t need dedicated OKR Software, so don’t fall into this trap. Organising your goals into Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is supposed to be simple. Very simple, that’s why it works. If you make OKRs too complicated by having too many, or when you have too many layers in your organisation, you might think you need software to “manage” all these goals. Don’t “manage” OKRs; trust your teams instead to do the right thing.

OKRs, Technical LeadershipBart den HaakSeptember 20, 2020OKRs, Software

Mission Impossible? OKRs to the Rescue

Many organizations that make the decision to start with OKRs make the same mistake: too many OKRs at the executive level.

OKRs, Technical LeadershipBart den HaakMarch 5, 2020OKRs, BAU, Focus

Barriers to growth

You want your company to grow. That desire could be driven by shareholders and investors, your own ambition or your exit strategy. So what do you do? You hire a bunch of growth hackers to get your inbound and outbound marketing up to speed, hire some killer sales reps and do some pricing tricks. This is a nice recipe if you want to grow your SaaS fast in its early days. After you have overcome some of the growth crises, you’re now a mature mid-sized SaaS company. Then something happens.

OKRs, Technical Leadership, GrowthBart den HaakJanuary 8, 2020OKRs, Growth, Complexity

Pragmatic Goals Need Innovation

In the pursuit of your mission and vision, in life as well as in business, the individuals that see the best return on their efforts are those that have laid the framework from getting from point A to point B with pragmatic goals.

Innovation, Technical LeadershipBart den HaakDecember 4, 2019Innovation, OKRs

OKR Check-In Learning Curve - What to Expect in the First Year (Quarterly Cadence)

You’ve recently started with OKRs, defined company-level OKRs and your teams already have linked OKRs. You are ready to start your first OKR cycle. What things can you expect when you perform your OKR check-ins? Let’s look at different stages of your OKR implementation.

OKRs, Technical Leadership, StrategyBart den HaakNovember 28, 2019OKRs, Learning, Roadmap

What To Do When Every Priority is Critical

I often come across companies where everything is a top priority. Let’s take a look at a fictional corporation, Acme Bank, where revenue was low last quarter. Like many, their natural response is to cut expenses.

Strategy, Technical Leadership, OKRsBart den HaakNovember 21, 2019OKRs, Priorities

Eight tips to Improving Accountability with Weekly OKR Check-ins

You find yourself sitting at your desk, scratching your head. What is going on? You thought you were clear and fair. You repeated it so many times. How is it possible that your teams still don’t do what you expect of them?

Technical Leadership, OKRsBart den HaakNovember 14, 2019OKRs, Accountability

OKR Check-ins: Making Consistent, Meaningful Progress

People hate uncertainty. Research has proven that people can experience stress and illness when dealing with ambiguity and obscurity. Our brain appreciates certainty the same as food, sex, and social connections. We humans are rather predictable creatures, ruled by genetics and time-honoured survival mechanisms. There are few things that give us more satisfaction than having a firm sense of control over our environment, safety, and working towards a goal (acting with purpose).

Technical Leadership, Strategy, OKRsBart den HaakNovember 6, 2019OKRs, Progress

Organisational Culture Shock - Introducing OKRs

So, you have recently heard about this new management goal-setting method called OKRs and you are really eager to implement them within your organization. If Google and all of the other big tech giants are using them, then they need to be good right? So, what do you do next?

Technical Leadership, CultureBart den HaakOctober 30, 2019OKRs, Culture

Getting the Grade: Tracking OKR & Confidence Levels

Time Travel Travel back in time with me for a moment. It’s New Year’s Eve and you are watching the fireworks in the sky with your friends. You are holding a glass of champagne in your hand and making some promises to your friends. “This year I’ll quit smoking”, one friend says. Another promise aloud: […]

OKRs, Technical LeadershipBart den HaakOctober 17, 2019Tracking

Clarity with a single OKR

“Focus is the thing that makes the difference between excelling and flailing about in mediocrity” ~ Christina Wodtke.

Strategy, Technical Leadership, OKRsBart den HaakJune 4, 2019OKRs, Strategy, Focus