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The Beautiful Mess
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TBM 309: Zombie Practices and Processes
- Despite the theoretically simple nature of using objectives and key results (OKRs), larger companies tend to treat them as a zombie process that no one takes seriously, something that is demonstrated by the fact that many seemingly 'easy and common-sense' practices become redundant and lose their potential utility when they are baked into an operating system. While using OKRs might work for a five-person start-up, the process becomes an institutionalised, entrenched practice for larger companies that can be difficult to pivot or discard even when it no longer serves its intended purpose.
- Moreover, if a start-up team uses OKRs that fail to help focus and reflect, they can stop using them or make changes, but larger companies are more reluctant to admit to learning difficulties and may avoid making visible incoherence, as some things, such as targets, may not be considered particularly meaningful to the team internally.
- As a result, a situation can arise whereby teams are focused on too many priorities with too little strategic focus, too many dependencies and too much cognitive load, while too little weight is given to the OKRs. Companies may have staff who regard certain practices as totally wasteful but who conform regardless, simply because 'that's the way things work around here.'
- To fight the downward spiral of 'zombie processes', companies should avoid enforcing rules that make the process mono-functional and create more opportunities to challenge the process. Leaders also need to revisit the original purpose of a process regularly. There is no quick fix, but it is up to companies to be more self-aware and to do more to create a culture that challenges practices regularly.
- Companies often see learning or training challenges where none exist and do not address the factors that can inhibit new behaviours. Feedback and goal clarity are critical to the success of OKRs in larger companies, and meaningful feedback must be seen as an essential component of any management process.
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