Connect your long-term vision and mid-term strategy with day-to-day work by aligning and focusing efforts on short-term outcome focussed OKRs in short iterations to learn fast and adapt continuously.

I’m here to help you with your OKR implementation!

Cansel Sörgens – Strategy & OKR Expert

You work with the smartest people but still have problems with the execution of your vision and strategy?

Alignment & Focus

Having an inspiring vision is not enough to increase employee engagement. Executing the vision requires alignment between strategy and execution by channelling all efforts into the same direction and making it transparent how everybody’s work contribute to company success.

Fast changing markets

In complex environments rigid project plans and feature roadmaps can be frustrating when it comes to fast changing requirements. Driving business results in dynamic markets requires a mid-term strategic focus and short-term outcomes in order to validate and adapt.

Cross-Division Collaboration

Conflicts of priorities and lack of understanding of other teams’ work causes an unnecessary lost of time and efforts and demotivates all the involved parties. To win the game teams need a shared goal and a clear focus in order to align their forces and collaborate.

Let me show you how OKR can help you solve these problems!

As systemic strategy and OKR expert with an holistic approach I empower leaders and teams with various frameworks and tools to create cross-division and cross-level alignment and collaboration while adapting the strategy to fast changing markets.

AVOID COMMON OKR MISTAKES

Since 2016 I practice and teach Objectives and Key Results in organisations of all sizes from different industries. The idea of OKR seems easy but in practice it proves to be a little more complex than it looks like. My longtime practical experience will save you time, money and frustration.

I help you to:

  1. Find out if and how OKR is the right framework for you
  2. Understand how to activate the superpowers of OKR
  3. Audit and re-start your current OKR implementation

FIND YOUR OWN WAY OF OKR

Every organisation is different and has other needs, which is why I avoid one-size-fits-all type of OKR implementations. Together we’ll find out which organisational and structural problems you want to solve with OKR and accordingly we’ll develop your own OKR structures and processes.

I support you to:

  1. Identify how and where to start with the OKR implementation
  2. Create your individualised OKR architecture
  3. Embed OKR into day-to-day work and connect with other frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, Design Thinking, Flight Levels, etc.
  4. Shape a continuous conversation and feedback culture between leadership and teams

LEARN TO MANAGE OKR SELF-SUFFICIENTLY

Getting started and learning OKR is the most crucial part of every OKR journey. Having an expert guiding and coaching you during the first 3-4 cycles (~1-1,5 years) will determine the success of your OKR investment.

As coach, trainer, and sparring partner, I will

  1. Facilitate and moderate vision, strategy and OKR workshops with executives, leadership and teams, in the first OKR cycles
  2. Train your internal OKR agents to grow in-house know-how to become self-sufficient while scaling the OKR implementation
  3. Introduce and explain OKR to your employees with easy and fun ways
  4. Supervise your OKR integration team

Testimonials

“Cansel Sörgens is one of the powerful consultants in the area of OKR. We have developed a great collaboration with her. If you are willing the learn and apply OKR in its real soul, I can honestly say that Cansel is the right person.”

Esra Akgün
Business Excellence, Training and Technical Manager @ VESTEL Customer Services

“We worked with Cansel Sörgens to define our organisation’s annual strategy and OKR processes. Thanks to Cansel’s deep experience in Agile transformation and OKR, our work with both C level and middle management has been very productive.”

Arda Taylan
Agile Coach | Professional Coach @ ROCHE Diagnostics Turkey

“Cansel has a great way to communicate and moderate and was an inherent part of our OKR transaction right from the start. Her suggestions are clear, coherent and constructive.”

Sascha Eskandari
Commercial Director @ UNO-Refugee-Aid

“I participated in the OKR Master training led by Cansel. I benefited very much from Cansel’s personal experience with OKRs. I think she has extensive knowledge and experience with OKRs, as well as change management and organizational development.”

Lena Poesl
HR & Academy at RUBICON IT GmbH

Expertise

  • Since 2008 Digital Product Management
  • Since 2011 Agile Organisation
  • Since 2016 Strategy & OKR Coaching

Focus Areas

  • OKR in Digital Product Management | E-Business | E-Commerce
  • Continuous Strategy Development with OKR
  • Outcome-focussed OKR
  • OKR with other (Agile) Frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, Design Thinking, Flight Levels
  • Agile Organisation Development

Certificates & Trainings

  • Product Leadership by Jeff Patton (Certified Scrum Product Ownership – CSPO)
  • Defining Product Outcomes by Teresa Torres
  • Cynefin Framework by Dave Snowden
  • Wardley Mapping by Ben Mosior
  • Narrative Organisation Development @Stuttgart Media University
  • Systemic Business Coach
  • Organisational Change Manager
  • Management 3.0
  • Moderation Techniques (Liberating Structures)

Hey! I’m Cansel (she/her) [en: Jahn-cell] [de: Dschan-ßell]

After I studied in Istanbul, I moved to Germany, 18 years ago, to do my Master in European Studies. While my fellow students chose a path in politics I chose mine in Online Games, hence Digital Product Management.

For 14+ years I’ve been working in Digital Product Management in different roles in Product, Project, Portfolio Management and Agile Organisational Development.

Back in 2016, while building up Portfolio Management for better alignment at Bigpoint, a well-known online games company in Germany, I came across OKR and started my first OKR implementation with 3 Scrum Teams.

2 years later, while leading the Agile Transformation at Shop Apotheke, an e-commerce company, I coached executives, senior managers and teams in developing and executing the vision and strategy for company-wide strategic initiatives.

Witnessing how OKR helps to improve focus, alignment and cross-department collaboration I became very passionate about it and 2021 decided to share my experience as self-employed Systemic Strategy & OKR Coach and Trainer. Ever since I trained hundreds of OKR practitioners and coached dozens of organisations of all sizes from different industries in Germany, Europe, US and Turkey. I count Vestel, Roche, Volkswagen, Accenture, UNHCR to my clients, just to name a few.

As founder and organiser of international events and groups like OKR Lean Coffee, OKR Open Space, Reshaping the Future of OKRs I share my knowledge with OKR practitioners worldwide.

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