OKR Rescue: From Failed Implementation to Breakthrough Performance
60% of our clients come to us after failed OKR implementations.
We know exactly why they fail – and how to fix them.
If you’ve never used OKRs, our team of OKR Consultants and Trainers will implement them perfectly the first time.
Why Your OKR Implementation Failed
(And Why It Wasn't Your Fault)
You tried OKRs. Maybe twice. Leadership was excited. You hired consultants or bought software. You ran workshops.
We see this a lot
- Week 8: Middle managers started quietly ignoring them
- Week 12: The OKRs became a checkbox exercise, disconnected from real work
- Week 24: Leadership stopped talking about them in meetings
- 2 Quarters Later: Nobody achieved their objectives, and nobody cared
Sound familiar?
Here's what actually happened
We taught the OKR framework in a 2-day workshop and hoped it would stick.
Strategic clarity first – OKRs are the value streams to execute your strategy.
Leadership set OKRs, middle managers implemented them without buy-in.
Middle management challenge and co-create the strategy, or they’ll undermine it.
We focused on writing good OKRs using the correct format we were taught.
Capabilities like distinguishing strategic from non-strategic work, metric maturity.
"Most OKR implementations fail because they skip the hard work: strategic clarity, genuine cross-functional collaboration, and capability building that sticks. We don't teach OKRs. We build strategic thinking capability."
How it works
We’re so confident in our rescue methodology that we tie part of our fee to your results.
- Base fee covers the 6-month rescue programme
- Performance bonus earned only if you achieve breakthrough on your strategic OKRs OR measurable revenue growth
- Don't hit agreed targets → You don't pay the bonus
We’ve rescued dozens of failed OKR implementations. We know what works – and we’re willing to bet on it.
Just Some Of The Companies We've Helped Use OKRs To Unlock Growth
Technology Scale-up
“We’d tried OKRs twice before. Both times they fizzled after a few quarter. This time was different – our middle managers actually bought in because could see how it worked for them and their teams – it made sense. 9 months later, our OKRs actually shape decisions and growth is 12 points up.”
Old Established & Stuck
“We read the book and thought we were using OKRs. They were mostly a list of what we were doing in each team. This team taught us to think strategically. Our leadership team is finally aligned on what actually creates competitive advantage, and our OKRs now reflect that clarity than ever before.”
How Our OKR Consultants Rescue Failed OKR Implementations
28 days to relaunch. 6 months to breakthrough. Permanent capability.
Phase 1: Diagnosis & Strategic Reset
Before we touch OKRs, we diagnose what went wrong and rebuild strategic foundations.
What we do:
- Interviews with key stakeholders to understand the failure points
- Identify where strategic clarity broke down
- Rebuild consensus on what actually creates competitive advantage
- Define 3-5 strategic objectives that leadership genuinely owns
- Prepare to present strategy (not OKRs yet) to middle management
You get:
- Clear diagnosis of why the previous implementation failed
- Strategic clarity your leadership team actually believes in
- Confidence to present strategy without consultant jargon
- Foundation that makes OKRs meaningful instead of bureaucratic
Phase 2: Middle Management Buy-in
This is where previous implementations died. We don’t make that mistake.
What we do:
- Present strategy and invite genuine challenge (not rubber-stamping)
- Functional experts facilitate cross-functional alignment
- Middle managers develop OKRs that align with strategy
- Form cross-functional teams with clear ownership
- Train managers to lead OKRs with their teams (not just cascade them)
You get:
- Middle managers who own the strategy because they shaped it
- Cross-functional collaboration based on shared objectives
- Managers trained to coach their teams, not just assign tasks
- OKRs that connect daily work to strategic outcomes
Phase 3: Organisational Relaunch
This isn’t “here we go again with OKRs.” This is “here’s where we’re going and why it matters.”
What we do:
- Coach leadership to present strategy compellingly
- All-hands communication that energises instead of exhausts
- Activate learning platform
- Make it clear this time is different (and show them how)
You get:
- Strategic communication that actually lands
- Organisation-wide understanding of the strategy
- Self-serve learning system
- Renewed energy and belief that "this time it will work"
Phase 4: Relentless Execution Support
Previous consultants left after the workshop. We stay until it sticks.
What we do:
- Weekly check-ins via management platform
- Monthly strategic sessions to maintain momentum
- Quarterly retrospectives and OKR refresh cycles
- Expert intervention when teams hit obstacles
- Continuous coaching for managers leading OKRs
You get:
- Execution discipline that persists beyond launch excitement
- Course corrections before small problems become big failures
- Embedded capability so you don't need us after 6 months
- Proof that this time, OKRs actually work
Rescuing a Failed Implementation is Harder Than Starting From Zero
Your organisation has already learned that “OKRs don’t work here.”
We have to overcome that scepticism while fixing what went wrong.
Starting Fresh
- Clean slate, open minds
- No baggage from previous failures
- People willing to try something new
- Can take time to build foundations properly
Rescue Work (What We Do)
- Overcome cynicism and learned helplessness
- Diagnose and fix specific failure points
- Rebuild trust that "this time will be different"
- Move fast to show early wins before sceptics dismiss it
- Address the politics and scars from previous attempts
"60% of our clients are rescue engagements. We specialise in the hard cases - organisations that tried and failed, where scepticism is high and trust is low. That's our expertise."
The 7 Reasons OKR Implementations Fail
- Tick the ones that sound familiar:
Leadership couldn’t agree on what’s actually strategic, so OKRs became a list of everything
They were told to implement OKRs they didn’t help create, so they quietly ignored them
We wrote OKRs about collaboration but didn’t fix the silos and politics
OKRs weren’t integrated into how we actually operate – they were a separate reporting exercise
We obsessed over writing OKRs correctly instead of building strategic thinking capability
After the workshop, we had no ongoing support to maintain discipline and course-correct
When results didn’t come immediately, leadership moved on to the next initiative
If you ticked 3 or more, you need rescue work - not another OKR workshop.
Is An OKR Rescue Right For You?
- You've tried OKRs at least once before and they failed
- Your leadership team still believes in the potential but lost confidence in the current execution approach
- Middle managers are cynical about "another framework"
- You have 100-1,500 employees (large enough to need structure, small enough to move quickly)
- You’re stuck at 0–10% growth and know strategic execution is the real underlying bottleneck.
- You’re willing to do the hard work of real strategic clarity (not just better OKRs alone).
- You want consultants who stay with you through the transformation, not just the launch
- You want a quick fix or a different OKR template
- Leadership isn't willing to challenge their own thinking
- You're looking for software to solve an alignment problem
- You expect results without genuine commitment from leadership and middle management
- You want consultants to do the work instead of building your capability
What Happens If Your Try And Fail Again?
Every failed transformation attempt makes the next one harder:
After attempt #2:
- Middle managers roll their eyes at the next "strategic initiative"
- Your best people start looking elsewhere (they've seen this movie before)
- Leadership loses credibility with the organisation
- The organisation learns "change doesn't work here"
After attempt #3:
- Cultural scar tissue makes change nearly impossible
- Top talent has already left
- You're stuck with people who've learned helplessness
- Competitors who got it right are now unreachably ahead
"You don't get infinite attempts. Each failure makes the next attempt exponentially harder. If you're going to try again, do it right this time."
Frequently Asked Questions
Rescue-specific questions answered
Rescue work requires different expertise:
- We diagnose specific failure points from your previous attempt
- We address organisational scepticism and learned helplessness head-on
- We move faster to show early wins before cynics dismiss it
- We focus heavily on middle management buy-in (where most implementations die)
- We rebuild trust that "this time is different" through our shared-risk model
Fresh implementations have open minds. Rescues have scar tissue. We specialise in scar tissue.
We see this often. Big 4 firms are excellent at strategy development but often weak at capability building and execution support. They deliver beautiful PowerPoints, then leave.
We focus on exactly what they missed: building your capability to execute, not just plan. And we stay with you through two quarterly cycles to ensure it sticks.
Three ways:
- We acknowledge it directly: "Your previous attempt failed. That's not your fault. Here's exactly why it failed and what we'll do differently."
- We show, don't tell: Early wins in Week 1-3 demonstrate this isn't the same approach. Middle managers see their input actually shapes the strategy.
- We share the risk: Our performance-based fee structure signals we're genuinely confident, not just selling another framework.
Cynicism is healthy scepticism from people who've been burned before. We earn their trust through results, not cheerleading.
Often they are - but they usually don't realise it.
Week 1 is designed to surface and resolve leadership misalignment. We facilitate the hard conversations about what's actually strategic, where the real disagreements lie, and what creates competitive advantage for you.
If leadership isn't willing to challenge their own thinking, we'll tell you honestly that rescue won't work. We'd rather walk away than take your money for an engagement that's doomed.
Investment is scaled to organisational complexity:
- 200-500 employees: One tier
- 500-1,500 employees: Higher tier (more middle managers, more cross-functional complexity)
- 1,500+ employees: Custom rescue engagement
We discuss specific pricing during your rescue consultation once we understand what failed and why.
What we can tell you: clients typically achieve 3-5x ROI within 12 months through revenue growth, margin improvement, and talent retention. And we share the risk - part of our fee is contingent on your results.
Honest answer: If you fail with us, it means either:
- Leadership wasn't genuinely committed despite saying they were (we try to screen for this upfront)
- External factors made success impossible (market collapse, regulatory crisis, etc.)
- We misjudged the situation (rare, but possible - we're not infallible)
That's why we share the risk. If you don't achieve breakthrough on strategic OKRs or measurable revenue growth, you don't pay our performance bonus. We only win if you win.
No one can guarantee transformation - there are too many variables.
What we guarantee:
- Our methodology is research-backed and proven across dozens of rescue engagements
- We'll stay with you through two quarterly cycles, not disappear after launch
- We'll diagnose exactly what went wrong and fix those specific failure points
- We share the financial risk through contingent pricing
If you follow the process with genuine commitment, the odds of success are very high. But transformation requires your leadership and organisation to do hard work - we can't do it for you.
What Your Next Steps Can Look Like
Book Your Rescue Consultation
We’ll discuss:
- What happened in your OKR attempt?
- Where it broke down and why
- What breakthrough looks like
- Whether rescue is the right approach or if you need something else
- Specific investment based on complexity
No sales pitch. Honest diagnosis of whether we can help.
Pre-Work & Diagnosis
We’ll discuss:
- Interviews with leadership and managers
- Review of previous OKR materials and strategy documents
- Identify specific failure points and organisational scar tissue
- Develop rescue plan and strategic thesis
- Prepare for Week 1 leadership session
You’ll arrive at Week 1 with a clear diagnosis and rescue roadmap.
The Rescue Begins
We’ll discuss:
- Leadership offsite
- Strategic reset
- Real alignment
- The hard work starts
This is where real transformation begins – with your leadership team fully aligned.
Limited Rescue Capacity
Rescue work is more intensive than fresh implementations. We deliberately engage our team of OKR Consultants work on to ensure quality – we want to be invested and not clock watching.
If you’re going to try OKRs again, do it right this time.
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Ashtead
KT21 1RZ
+44 20 7046 1328
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New York
NY 10013
+1 646-718-4720
- ZOKRI helps leaders and teams achieve strategic goals using the OKR (Objectives & Key Results) framework. Our platform aligns strategy, goals, and people, fostering engagement and growth through comprehensive training and management systems.
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