We're sure you've heard the acronym: OKRs - Objectives and Key Results. But somewhere along the way, the simplicity got lost in translation.

In this episode, we ask: What if we stopped calling them OKRs altogether?

Roger Longden, TBG Founder and Marc Applebaum PM2 OKR Consultant at PM2 discuss how goal-setting became over engineered, why rhythms matter more than rituals, and the power of intention over jargon.

If you’re over hearing acronym over acronym but love what OKRs are all about, or if you've ever wondered why your team’s goals feel disconnected—this one’s for you.

Enjoy the episode!

In this insightful episode of Giant Talk, Roger sits down with Sonia, an experienced HR professional and coach, to explore the critical challenge of organisational alignment. They dive deep into why strategic goals often get lost or diluted as they cascade through different levels of an organisation.

Drawing from decades of experience at the board level, Sonia shares sharp insights into the disconnect between strategic goals and frontline execution. From her own journey leading blue-collar teams through transformation, to her mission to democratise coaching in business, this conversation uncovers the human side of alignment—trust, communication, confidence, and the critical role of first-line managers.

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In this episode, we sit down with our long-time friend Henrik-Jan Van Der Pol, Founder of Perdoo, to dig into the evolving world of OKRs. As the market shifts, with consultancies and software providers consolidating or shutting down, what’s really going on?

Henrik-Jan shares his insights on these changes, the lessons learned over the past 4–5 years, and what Microsoft’s decision to retire Viva Goals means for the future of OKRs.

Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation.

Enjoy the episode!

Visit Perdoo

In this episode, we’re joined by Sten, founder of Tability, an OKR platform designed to make accountability seamless and help teams achieve their goals faster.

We chat about how accountability fits into the OKR framework and why this is so crucial. Sten explains that while teams often excel at setting goals during workshops, they frequently “drop the ball” when it comes to staying on track.

Tability bridges this gap by making goals part of your weekly routine instead of something that gets revisited only at the end of the quarter.

Here are some of the key takeaways from our conversation:

If your team has ever struggled to stay accountable to your goals or wants to achieve faster execution with fewer bottlenecks, this episode is sure to arm you with lots of insights.

Enjoy the episode!

Welcome back to another episode of Giant Talk.

In this episode, we sit down with Jonathan Elliot, a seasoned CEO with a career spanning commercial sales & marketing, strategy consulting, and leadership. Jonathan shares his expertise on implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in large, complex organisations and the unique challenges that come with it.

We discuss:

Jonathan also highlights the universal value of OKRs for organisations of all sizes and the top benefits of implementing this framework effectively.

If you're ready to align your teams and drive meaningful outcomes, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.

Enjoy the episode!

In this episode, we explore the power of communication with James Milsom, Head of Marketing at Hunter.AI. With extensive experience across tech start-ups and large SMBs, James shares his perspective on why communication serves as the bedrock of both success and failure within organisations.

From enhancing collaboration to avoiding costly missteps, James highlights actionable strategies for leaders and teams to drive meaningful change.

Enjoy the episode!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In this podcast episode we sit down with James Church, COO and Co-Founder of investment readiness agency Robot Mascot.

We dive into (from a founders perspective) the good, the bad and the ugly of becoming investable.

What are the top 3 things that make a Founder (and their business) investable? How important is it to investors to be confident that Founders are evolving their approach to defining and delivering results, as their business grows in size and scale?

Listen to this exciting episode to find out more.

Links

Connect with James on LinkedIn

Find out more about Robot Mascot 

In this episode Roger sits down with a Chief Elephant Spotter (curious, listen to find out what this entails). James Pels is founder of Proven EA, a consultancy specialising in providing business transformation, agile coaching and digital transformation services to a wide range of industries in the public and private sectors.

Roger and James dive into how to not waste time on things that you shouldn't be doing and discuss some common issues faced in workplaces that are a result of this. 

No matter how well teams are working, if they're not working on the right things then time is wasted...

Enjoy the episode!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

Find out more about Proven EA

Proven EA Toolkit Toolkit

Lean Agile Manchester 

Welcome back to Giant Talk!

In this episode Roger has an interesting conversation with Luke Fisher, CEO of Mo. Luke shares his journey from a fintech company undergoing cultural transformation to founding Mo, a platform designed to help managers and leaders sustainably invest in organisational culture.

We dive into the significance of high-performing teams, the critical role of bottom-up change, and how small, marginal changes can drive transformational impact. 

Whether you're looking to build a high-performance culture or engage your employees more effectively, this episode is packed with actionable insights and expert advice. 

Link to Mo - https://mo.work/

Connect with Luke - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lsfisher/

Like any military organisation, command and control is necessary, especially in battle.  When the stakes are this high, how can the time and space be made for testing new ideas, and challenging the status quo?

So how does an organisation like the UK’s Royal Air Force learn, adapt and grow when hierarchy and orders are commonplace?  Flight Lieutenant Nic Corrigan joins us to share how time is consciously made for reflection and analysis so that the RAF can always be certain it’s improving and evolving its capacity and capabilities. Nic brings with him a critical perspective on this given his unit is responsible for human performance.

This is a fascinating insight into not just the processes the RAF follows, but also how they have developed and sustained the culture to support this.

Enjoy the episode!