Today, Giant Talk is delighted to have Dirk Schmellenkamp join us for a fascinating conversation.  Dirk is an OKR Coach with Flowy Team and he works with organisations to create high performing teams. German born but currently based in Malaysia, Dirk provides an insight into the business landscape in Asia and how implementing OKRs there can be a little different.  Enjoy the episode! 

Euvin Naidoo, speaking in his personal capacity Today (29th June 2021), Euvin Naidoo joins Giant Talk for a conversation with guest host Roger Longden. Euvin Naidoo has just been appointed the Distinguished Professor of Practice for Accounting, Risk and Agility at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, based in Phoenix Arizona in the USA. This coincides with the upcoming opening of Thunderbird’s new state of the art USD70m plus digital-first campus in downtown Phoenix that focuses on educating global leaders not only in terms of a management curriculum immersed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but within a physical and digital environment that aims to prepare participants to be at the forefront of management innovation. Prior to taking on his new role at Thunderbird in July 2021, Prof. Naidoo was a faculty member at the Harvard Business School in the Accounting and Management Unit, where he led the teaching of 2 sections (20%) of the Harvard Business School MBA class for the Financial Reporting and Control program, a core class for all MBA students. Prof. Naidoo’s focus is on making complex subjects accessible, exciting and engaging and to do this by basing teaching in both a core foundation of theory but also in practice. In 2021, he received the honour of attaining one of the highest teaching ratings (6.7/7 and 6.8/7), for his innovative teaching approaches with many of his students ranking accounting as one of their all-time favourite subjects. He is one of the leading thinkers in the development and application of agile and OKR principles to enterprise organisations in North America and piloted HBS's first short intensive program on agility called "From agile to OKRs", that aims to serve as a blueprint to leaders of large enterprises to drive the next step change in performance delivery. A financial services veteran from industry, having served on the senior leadership teams of several global financial services groups, Prof. Naidoo focuses on lessons in management drawn from practice. Most recently he has co-written and published a series of cases and powerful articles in the space of agility and innovation, partnering with some of the leading organizations in the world. With McKinsey, he examined how agile organisations outperform others in a crisis. At BCG, he looked at how non-digital incumbent leaders within the Fortune 500 can harness lessons from digital natives to increase the pace of innovation, drawing on their inherent strengths. He has long been a pioneer as both a practitioner, coach and C-Suite executive, including his opening speech at Ted Global more than a decade ago, per the invite of Ted Curator, Chris Anderson. Trendhunter has previously named Prof. Naidoo’s talk as one of the top 15 best business keynotes on investing alongside speeches by Warren Buffet, Kevin O’ Leary and Bill Ackman who are also on this list. Himself a graduate of the Harvard Business School, he was also selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, where he served 2 terms on the WEF’s United States Global Agenda Council. We are delighted to have him take time away from his busy schedule to share some of the latest thinking on agility, OKRs and future of management.

Giant Talk host Jenny is joined for today's episode by Folu Okunade of Hello Tractor.  Hello Tractor’s award-winning IoT platform helps farm equipment owners, dealers, banks, and farmers in need of services earn more. With the worlds largest farm equipment marketplace, they are unlocking value across the ecosystem.  Folu chats through why they chose OKRs, the benefits the framework has brought, the challenges the OKR implementation has created and some top tips for start ups who are considering OKRs.  A great discussion! 

Today, host Jenny is joined by Koan CEO Matt Tucker to chat all about the importance of purpose.  Are we seeing a shift in importance from the paycheque to purpose, especially for Gen Z. How can reflection, goals and ultimately OKRs help people drive a culture of purpose - we explore this in today's episode!  Enjoy! 

Today we bring you a special episode all about something new we're launching - The OKR Professionals' Community.  Georgia Parker joins host Jenny to chat through the community, the benefits and why as a user of OKRs, or a coach helping implement OKRs it's a great space to be.  Find out more - https://www.therebegiants.com/okr-professionals-community/ Keep your eyes peeled for the sign up link from the 1st July and a special discount for Giant Talk listeners. 

The past year has been chaos for many organisations and shifted perspectives for many leaders and employees. Managers have been challenged to navigate a remote work setting while maintaining productivity, leaving employees feeling disconnected, misaligned, and ultimately burnt out.  Matt Tucker, CEO of Koan, recently sat down with our very own Roger Longden and Georgia Parker of There Be Giants, and Tim Meinhardt of Atruity, for an in-depth discussion about key learnings from the pandemic and best practices on how to leverage OKRs for optimal productivity. This conversation was a great opportunity to hear from leading OKR experts around the world for some interesting perspectives about ways to create and maintain a positive goals culture within the organisation.  Enjoy the episode! 

In today's episode of Giant Talk host Jenny is joined by Harrison Kim of Pavestep to talk about all the importance of continuous feedback, especially when it comes to performance management and OKR success.  Enjoy the episode!    The OKR Professionals' Community - Bringing together like minded OKR professionals to share and learn from each other, and work to raise the bar of global OKR practice. Learn more.

Today, Georgia Parker joins host Jenny for an additional OKR Toolkit episode.  Georgia heads up the There Be Giants Culture Practice and is a global force in the realm of workplace culture and values. Here we discuss the importance of both and how the success of your OKR programme can be affected by an unhealthy culture.    In the episode we talk about the OKR Coach Academy, you can find out more here - https://www.therebegiants.com/what-we-do/okr-coach-academy-2/   The OKR Professionals' Community - Bringing together like minded OKR professionals to share and learn from each other, and work to raise the bar of global OKR practice. Learn more.

In this latest episode of the OKR Toolkit Roger joins host Jenny for a discussion all about OKRs by design, specifically in reference to the OKR playbook. We talk top tips when comes to creating your playbook and why it's essential to have one in place.  Enjoy the episode!    The OKR Professionals' Community - Bringing together like minded OKR professionals to share and learn from each other, and work to raise the bar of global OKR practice. Learn more.

Today, Giant Talk host Jenny is joined by Founding Giant Roger for another of our OKR Toolkit episodes. In this latest episode we talk all about OKR pitfalls and what you should be looking to avoid if you want OKR success.  Enjoy the Episode!    The OKR Professionals' Community - Bringing together like minded OKR professionals to share and learn from each other, and work to raise the bar of global OKR practice. Learn more.