Developing a shared vision: strong teams have the power

he technological changes of the past decades have radically reshaped the global competitive environment. The increasing speed of change permeates companies’ operations with uncertainty regarding outcomes and development. Organizations must make sense of these changes to determine appropriate action. Organizations must frequently redefine their objectives and course of action to stay ahead in this competitive environment, developing ever-innovative ideas. This calls for a flexible organization where individuals and teams are autonomous in pursuing innovation. Robert Cooper, founding father of the Stage-Gate process, recognized in 2016 that even manufacturing firms are steering away from traditional and predominantly plan-based approaches to adopt more flexible working methods. Yet, a decentralized structure bears the risk that teams deviate from the organizational direction. While it is difficult to find single causes for innovation failure, alignment is undoubtedly crucial for its success. However, teams need support to stay aligned. A shared vision can align members of the organizations around a common direction to pursue. The shared vision acts as a glue that keeps the organization together. While many authors favor an organization-wide shared vision, how this should be developed is less clear. A novel goal-setting methodology took root over the past decades, which may provide an answer. Doerr (2018) presented objectives and key results (OKRs) as a goal-setting tool that adopts a highly interactive goal definition process, consisting of two components: objectives are aspirational and represent a long-term direction; key results are concrete and measurable. OKRs define what an organization should achieve and how to get there. Their successful adoption by Google, as narrated by Schimdt and Rosenberg (2014), paved the way for their diffusion among other silicon-valley firms first and digital companies later. Today, this method represents the preferred goal-setting tool for start-ups looking for growth and large enterprises aiming to increase engagement in a set direction. Companies need more than clarity and role division today – they need alignment and empowerment. We aim to explore whether and how OKRs can support even this challenge.