Further Reading
In this section, we direct you towards some of the best resources that can inform your understanding of the tools and techniques included in this Playbook. If you have any resources that you would like to recommend us to add, please don’t hesitate to let us know, either through the #ask-transformation channel in Slack or by dropping either Jon (jayre@equalexperts.com) or David (dcox@equalexperts.com) a line.
Background on OKRs
This short (167 pages) but effective exploration of OKRs as a method follows a fictional start-up through their painful early days until their enlightenment. Highly recommended.
Doerr’s book is less quirky and entertaining than Wodtke’s but provides a substantial commentary on the OKR process and comes endorsed by such luminaries as Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, and Al Gore.
This quick start guide to OKRs addresses the background, key characteristics, and common mistakes of the OKR process.
Key Strategic Advisory blog posts
In this blog post, Strategic Advisory practice lead Jon Ayre discusses the origins and applications of the PEACE process – the approach that underpins the ‘Disrupt’ offering.
In the first of two blog posts introducing Strategic Advisory’s unique perspective on agile transformation, Jon notes, “too many agile transformations set out to make everything and everyone agile as if everything they’ve done in their past is fundamentally wrong”. The post unpicks some common assumptions using our proprietary ‘incubate, industralise, improve’ model.
In Jon’s second blog post on agile transformation, there are discussions of such important topics as the best definition of ‘done’ and the value of multi-functional teams.
Mapping tools
This blog charts the evolution of the business landscape map, one of the most impactful, proprietary tools in the ‘Disrupt’ toolkit.
This introduction to Simon Wardley’s approach to mapping guides the uninitiated through the thinking required to accurately understand and map an organisational scenario.
Further listening
The ‘Disrupt’ offering has been shaped, directly and indirectly, by three highly recommended podcasts:
From the BBC, More or Less is a weekly podcast about the use of numbers and statistics in the news. This entertaining episode about artificial intelligence is a fine example and includes an interview with expert Janelle Shane about her experiments with AI.
From American Public Radio comes Hidden Brain, which takes an intelligent perspective on thought-provoking topics, such as this great episode on habits. Managing change successfully inevitably involves building new habits and breaking old ones, and the psychologist Wendy Wood shares what recent research findings on how to do this effectively.
TED Talks is a treasure trove of interesting ideas, and the episode “How to Disagree Productively and Find Common Ground” involves world debate champion Julia Dhar sharing techniques that help reshape difficult conversations in life and at work.
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