How to Align Workflows with Company Goals

Stop cascading OKRs. (It doesn't work!) Cascading looks neat on paper: break down the company goal, hand it down a layer, repeat until everyone has their marching orders. But here’s the problem… 👉 Nobody feels ownership. 👉 Teams inherit metrics instead of solving problems. 👉 One change at the top creates chaos everywhere else. What’s the alternative? Alignment instead of cascading. Here’s what that looks like in practice: - Leadership sets clear, strategic company-level goals. - Teams define their own OKRs that contribute to the big picture — within their sphere of influence. - Minimal dependencies. Maximum ownership. The result? ✅ More engagement (teams own their goals) ✅ More adaptability (when things change, OKRs don’t break) ✅ Better outcomes (people solve for impact, not outputs) A couple of quick examples of good team-level OKRs... → B2B SaaS example created by a cross-functional Product squad: Objective: By the end of 2025, make onboarding so effortless that new enterprise customers see immediate value. Key Results: - New customers complete guided onboarding in ≤ 14 days (down from 28) → 50% faster. - Admin users configure their first workflow within 3 days (baseline: 30% → 80%) → +167% increase. - New accounts activate at least 3 core features within 2 weeks (baseline: 1 feature) → +200% increase. → B2C Fitness App example created by a cross-functional Product squad Objective: By Q3 2025, create the most engaging first-week experience so new users build a workout habit from day one. Key Results: - New users report completing 3 workouts in their first 7 days (baseline: 1.2) → +150% increase. - First-time users finish setup + first workout in <5 minutes, 80% of the time (baseline: 50%) → +60% increase. - Active new users return to the app on at least 5 of their first 7 days (baseline: 3/7) → +67% increase. Common Qs: ❓ Doesn’t this risk drifting from strategy? No — the company OKRs provide the frame. Teams have freedom within it. ❓ What if teams overlap or conflict? Transparency during the alignment check catches this early — it’s a feature, not a bug. ❓ How do you ensure ambition? Through coaching — teams aim for 60–70% confidence, and leaders help nudge them to stretch where needed. Cascading creates control. Alignment creates commitment. And commitment is what actually moves the needle.

Aligning executive stakeholders with conflicting priorities is a puzzle many product people face. How do you solve it? When stakeholders pull in different directions, the secret isn't in aligning immediately around a product vision. Instead, elevate the conversation: align first on company goals. What outcomes do we aspire to achieve as a company? This unified understanding of company priorities becomes your north star. Here's how you can approach this: 1️⃣ Level Up the Discussion: Before diving into a product vision, ask stakeholders to agree on broader company goals. What did your CEO emphasize as priorities for your business? This context is crucial. It sets the stage for aligning individual goals to the bigger picture. 2️⃣ Connect Back to Product Vision: Once unified on company objectives, demonstrate how the product vision helps achieve these goals. "Here's our shared goal. Based on customer insights and priorities, this vision drives us towards it.” This shows your vision isn't just arbitrary—it's informed and intentional. 3️⃣ Seek Constructive Feedback: Encourage dialogue. Why might a stakeholder disagree with the vision? Is it truly about priorities, or personal impacts and unmet goals? This feedback refines your approach but remember, the product vision isn't a committee decision. It's guided by data and customer needs. 4️⃣ Give Credit and Build Back: Stakeholders feel valued when their input shapes outcomes. Make sure to recognize their contributions. This fosters trust and buy-in. Being stuck in the build trap often arises from chasing outputs over outcomes. Aligning on higher-level goals ensures your product strategy isn't just a list of features but a pathway to delivering real value. 🎯 So, next time conflicting priorities emerge, remember: align at the top, then articulate a product vision that navigates towards those shared company goals. How have you managed stakeholder alignment in your organization? Share your experiences!

A product only scales when its strategy is tied directly to business goals. Otherwise, features become noise, and teams burn months on “nice to have” work that doesn’t move revenue, retention, or efficiency. Business alignment means: ✓ Every feature connects to metrics that matter ✓ Every design decision supports growth or cost optimization ✓ The roadmap speaks the same language as the leadership team. ⸻ Example: Healthcare Case I worked with a medical SaaS platform that had a backlog of 120+ features. Developers pushed new releases every two weeks, but churn was growing and revenue wasn’t scaling. I ran a UX–Business audit: — Mapped every feature to a business KPI — Cut 40% of backlog items that had zero business impact. — Rebuilt the roadmap so that every quarter focused on one clear business lever . Result after 3 months: ✓ Customer support tickets dropped by 22% ✓ Retention improved by 15% because patients were guided better through their journey. ✓ Leadership got visibility: for the first time, the roadmap was linked directly to revenue forecasts. ⸻ Example: Fintech Case In a fintech startup, leadership struggled to raise the next round because their pitch deck showed features, not impact. I restructured the product narrative: — Aligned UX flows with financial metrics: fewer failed transactions, faster onboarding, higher account activation. — Designed a demo around money saved and money earned, not UI screenshots. — Synced the product roadmap with the CFO’s model, so investors could see cause–effect clearly. The outcome: They closed a $7M round. Investors saw a product tied to growth levers, not just design polish. ⸻ My takeaway Business alignment is not paperwork. It’s the discipline of turning UX work into financial outcomes. When I step in, I translate design into numbers the boardroom understands — retention, efficiency, growth. That’s how design stops being a cost center and becomes a driver of business decisions. ⸻ I’ve spent over 8 years in UX and 7 years in branding, marketing, and PR. What I do is not just design — I architect clarity between product and business goals. That’s why my work stabilizes teams, speeds up decision-making, and helps products grow in markets under pressure.