Management cycle for startups
Quarterly, in Zuitt, we try to run this management cycle.
One months before every quarter starts, we start to set OKR to verbalize the gap between the status quo and the desirable status
- Analysis of your data, Insight from the previous initiatives
- Difference from the best practices
- Research of initiatives by benchmarked competitors
While setting OKR, we need to break down the OKR to KPI tree. For example, to improve students job landing, KPI of the coding bootcamp product can be designed as
- Attendance ratio (among students on the first day)
- Completion ratio (among students with necessary attendance)
- Developer job aspiring ratio (among completing students)
- Developer job landing ratio (among developer job aspiring students)
After deciding what figures in KPI tree to focus, it is turn to plan to achieve them by
- Brainstorming to generate idea list, that will be prioritized in the end
- Modify operation if needed (task list, time allocation etc.)
- Draft and fix project charters and operation plan
- (Bigger companies develop budgets, that specify costs incurred. But we don’t need now)
To delegate execution to your subordinates as much as possible, essentials are
- Setting projects as minimal size is important
- Simplify and quantify goals
- Let project leaders start to draft project charters
Then now you’re ready to start a new quarter. During a quarter, again, delegate execution of task or project should be delegated to your members as much as possible. If you’re leader, you need to give direction by gauging the progress at least weekly (Any delay? Any gap b/w planned v.s. actual)
- If any delay or gap, capturing issues in detail
- Take action to recover from it
This is our management cycle. Therefore, as homework for the quarterly offsite (half) day-long meeting to discuss quarter direction, managers (-OICs) are expected to draft
- OKR
- KPI tree with planned figure for the next at least 3 months
- Initial list of projects and operations
Participants of the off-site meeting are expected to do homework as below
- Data analysis results
- Bullet point summary of insight from the previous/ongoing initiatives
- Bullet point summary of suggestion based on difference from the best practices
- Bullet point summary of suggestion based on benchmark research
