Giant Talk: The World‘s First OKR Podcast

Exploring the battle between waterfall and agile methodologies in project management, discussing the need for a hybrid approach. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez's insights on combining OKRs with project management for success. The challenges of managing modern projects and the importance of collaboration between different methodologies. Antonio's research on hybrid project management and ways to contribute to the study.

OKR teams rarely find themselves based in the same location, so forming and working together brings all the challenges of hybrid working in today's contemporary organisations. This is why we was particularly interested in having a chat with Alexandra Samuel, after reading her HBR article “3 Project Management Strategies for a Hybrid Workplace”.  In our 30-minute+ conversation, we discuss all aspects of hybrid team forming and ongoing management, with Alex sharing insights and advice from her 25+ years of experience of working within and researching this aspect of work.  Alexandra has also contributed to the WSJ, and she is co-author of “Remote Inc. – How to thrive at work wherever you are”  You can connect with Alex at https://www.alexandrasamuel.com/  Enjoy the episode! 

Welcome back to Giant Talk, the world’s first OKR podcast.   In this episode, Roger chats to Jacob Morgan author, futurist, & keynote Speaker on leadership, employee experience, & the future of work. In this discussion, Jacob talks about the topic of leading with vulnerability. How do you as a leader share a vulnerable side, share any gaps you have and open up about what you’ve learned to close any gaps. How can you as a leader feel safe enough to share this side? Fascinating conversation with an expert in this field.     Enjoy the episode!  You can purchase Jacob’s book leading with vulnerability here. 

Ryan Lowdermilk, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, discusses the implementation and transformation of OKRs at Microsoft, emphasizing the importance of organizations working together and the benefits of organic sharing of Key Results. He also explores psychological safety, accountability, underperformance, and scaling OKRs in a large organization like Microsoft.

Welcome back to Giant Talk, the world’s first OKR podcast.   In this episode, Roger catches up with Tracey Boylin, CEO of Organisational Genetics. Organisational Genetics was born out of the real life experiences of the founders to address the challenge of nurturing a more open reporting culture in the NHS and other organisations.  Tracey chats to Roger about her work in Ukraine in preventing corruption and fraud, all whilst in the middle of a war.    Enjoy the episode!   

Welcome back to Giant Talk, the world’s longest running OKR podcast.   In this episode, Roger chats with Behnam Tabrizi, of Stanford University. Behnam - a 3X award-winning scholar and educator - has been teaching “Leading Organisational Transformation” at Stanford University's Department of Management Science & Engineering and executive programs for over 25 years. An expert in organisational and leadership transformation, he has helped thousands of CEOs and leaders plan, mobilise and implement innovative transformational initiatives.  Behnam has written ten books, most recently Going on Offense: A Leader’s Playbook for Perpetual Innovation. Going on Offense is a powerful resource for anyone looking to transform their organisation and their people into a perpetual innovator. Based on a comprehensive seven-year study from Stanford University, Going on Offense provides an insider view into the drivers of success and challenges in 26 organisations.  Behnam chats to Roger about the fear some leaders have around AI, and how they can leverage AI to gain competitive advantage. Enjoy the episode!    Links Going on Offense: A Leader’s Playbook for Perpetual Innovation - Pre-order Companies that replace people with AI will get left behind

Welcome back to Giant Talk, the world’s first OKR podcast.   In this episode, Roger catches up with Patrick Jocelyn, Chief Executive Officer at Omniplex Learning, a client of TBG. Omniplex Learning is the complete learning and development solution. Award-winning authoring tools, market-leading learning management systems, bespoke digital learning creation and systems and skills training – all in one place. Patrick talks to Roger about their OKR journey and what impact they’ve had on the business.    Enjoy the episode! 

There are countless things we love today that began as a single idea that developed into something spectacular after partnering with another.   A key question, therefore, needs to be: how can we work smarter, not harder, whilst adapting to ongoing changes and improving organisational performance? We teamed up with HR Fusion to conduct some of our own research and dig into existing research, to investigate how essential cross-functional working is in promoting collaboration and if it might be the key to transformational performance for individuals, teams and organisations in our constantly evolving world.   Roger chats to Rachel Bennett from HR Fusion to dig into the findings..   Enjoy the episode...   Download our paper 

Join us to spend a fascinating hour digging into the often-misunderstood concept of “alignment” with Jonathon Hensley – CEO, board member of multiple silicon valley businesses and author of the book called, yes, you guessed it: “Alignment.” Jonathon has long been curious about why some businesses manage to align really well, and others don’t.  What is it the good ones are doing that the others are not?  This is exactly where we start, and then go on to look at the different types of alignment, some practical tips leaders can start doing right now and even the biological drivers we all have which make us want to connect and align. If anything, the key takeaway from our conversation is that alignment is far more than just writing your goals as OKRs.  Managing the change and cultivating the right culture is essential to build great alignment. You can find Jonathon's book in your chosen bookstore – just search for “Alignment Jonathon Hensley”   Enjoy!

Welcome back to Giant Talk, the world’s longest running OKR podcast. Join us for a series of special episodes in conversation with long-standing organisational performance expert, Brett Knowles.   In this episode, we take a deeper dive into AI and the five major components of being able to use AI.     Enjoy the episode!