Nikhil Maini is CEO and Managing Director of Synergogy, a consulting and research company dedicated to building future workplaces.
“Boiled frog syndrome” is an unusual name for a not-so-unusual concept. It’s basically a metaphor used to describe how gradual changes can sometimes go unnoticed until it’s too late. You may have heard that if you put a frog in boiling water, it’ll jump out immediately—but if you put the frog in cool water and heat it up slowly, it won’t realize the temperature change until it’s boiled alive. As morbid as it may sound, that’s basically boiled frog syndrome.
This metaphor is often used to describe how organizations, communities or even entire societies can slowly decline over time without anyone really noticing. It happens when people become complacent and fail to pay attention to the gradual changes happening around them. Eventually, the situation reaches a critical point, and it’s much harder to recover.
This can happen to businesses when they fail to keep up with changing market conditions. They might be doing really well in a particular market, but if they become too complacent and don’t adapt to changes, they’ll eventually fall behind. By the time they realize they need to change, it might be too late to recover.
How does boiled frog syndrome impact organizations?
Boiled frog syndrome can have a significant impact on organizations. Let’s take a look at some cases.
Several well-known companies from different industries, including Carillion, Blockbuster, Nokia, Sears, Hindustan Motors, Kingfisher Airlines and Polaroid, failed to adapt to changing market conditions and new competitors. These companies became complacent and failed to notice gradual changes until it was too late, resulting in their eventual decline and, in some cases, even bankruptcy.
The rise of new players and the shift toward new technologies has disrupted several companies that failed to adapt. Without conscious innovation, businesses today face significant challenges in remaining competitive and relevant in a VUCA world.
How do OKRs help companies avoid boiled frog syndrome?
Utilizing OKRs (objectives and key results) is a strategy execution framework that was popularized by Intel and later adopted by Google under the auspices of John Doerr. Over the years, several companies across industries have used and continue to use OKRs to achieve exponential growth and innovation.
OKRs provide a framework for setting clear objectives and key results that are aligned with the company’s overall strategy. Since OKRs are managed transparently, it encourages accountability, engagement and real-time improvements.
This helps to ensure that everyone in the organization is working toward the same goals and that their efforts are focused on achieving the most important outcomes. It also helps companies avoid becoming too comfortable with their current state and not adapting to changing conditions.
Consistently reviewing progress against OKRs allows companies to detect areas that need improvement and take corrective measures before they become problematic. To accomplish this, companies use a range of practices such as check-ins, cadence reviews, quarterly OKR retrospectives and other rituals.
By regularly looking outward for any macro or micro changes, companies can bring that information to pivot frequently and proactively in order to stay relevant. OKRs also encourage companies to look equally inward to account for any internal changes in order to recalibrate their priorities. These include new strategies, new products, new markets, change in leadership, loss of key talent, poor culture or employee engagement.
What I find great about OKRs is that they are iterative in nature. As companies achieve their objectives and key results, they can set new ones based on how their products, customers, market conditions and technology keep evolving. This helps to ensure that the company is always evolving and adapting to changing conditions, rather than becoming complacent and stagnant.
What is the dark side of OKRs?
OKRs can be very helpful in setting goals and managing performance, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Ensuring alignment across teams and departments can be challenging, especially if the leadership does not plow the line well. Furthermore, the process of setting and tracking OKRs can be time-consuming, leading to pushback from people on the perceived time away from actual work.
Measuring progress toward OKRs may also be problematic regarding the discipline and availability of people deploying them. Recognizing these limitations and working to address them is essential to maximize the benefits of the OKR framework. In a recent year-long study conducted by my company, it was found that dogmatic leadership and poor culture are the biggest roadblocks to OKR implementation (pg. 30).
Are OKRs the only solution?
So, are OKRs the one and only way to go about setting goals and managing performance? Well, the good news is that there are other options out there that work just as well. Let me introduce you to three popular alternatives. While each of these frameworks possesses its boons and banes, one needs to be careful in choosing which one to use based on the organization, its industry, its lifecycle and so on.
• Balanced Scorecard: The BSC evaluates performance via four perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes and learning and growth. Suitable for relatively stable organizations, it aligns activities with visions and strategies.
• Management By Objectives (MBO): This framework sets clear, specific objectives, with managers and employees collaborating. MBO fosters engagement and aligns individual goals with the organization’s broader purpose. This is ideal for smaller organizations (fewer than 50 employees).
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): These measurements evaluate success in achieving specific objectives. KPIs can be standalone or complement other goal-setting frameworks, aiding in stability and growth-focused decision-making.
Conclusion
OKRs come with several superpowers that can be leveraged by companies to avoid boiled frog syndrome. It’s like having a roadmap to success that helps you keep your eye on the prize and stay accountable to your goals.
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