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No-BS OKRs + Career Fulfillment for Rebelutionary Leaders and Thinkydoers

Hosted by Sara Lobkovich

I help changemaker leaders, teams, and other Thinkydoers understand their strengths, increase their quantifiable impact, and become fulfilled in their careers (without masking or mind-reading). My "how?" Accessible, efficient approaches to strategy creation, alignment, and operationalizing for goal achievement, with a special focus on Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). The approaches I coach and teach today build on well-honed expertise leading adult learning, instructional design, marketing, creative strategy and strategic operations at some of the world’s largest enterprises, and in public sector and political roles. In my individual coaching work via Thinkydoers, I help people who are "wired differently" (or otherwise "not from Leadership Central Casting") build authentic, rewarding careers as the leaders of change our world needs today. When not working with Red Currant Collective, my "other life" is in professional motorcycle racing. 🏍️

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Featured Post

Make 2025 your breakthrough year - Black Friday starts Monday 🎁

Hey Reader, You know that feeling when you can see exactly how things could work better, but turning those insights into reality feels like pushing a boulder uphill? I’ve spent years developing frameworks that help people like us—the deep thinkers, the square pegs, the ones who see patterns others miss—transform our strategic vision into measurable impact. Previously, those frameworks have been available to my corporate clients and a small number of invited individual participants. For the...

30 days ago • 1 min read
In front of a background image of my office, I'm sitting in a sofa looking sideways at the camera. Copy overlay reads: Pre-launch book preview read by Sara! With a copy of the book cover for "You Are A Strategist: Use No-BS OKRs to Get Big Things Done," w

Hi Reader, Ever been told you’re “too analytical” or that you “overcomplicate things?" Or the flip side -- have you heard or thought: "You/I need to be more strategic." You may also be a leader who's given that feedback... or, heard in your employee surveys that people don't know what's expected of them, or how their work aligns to your strategy. "Does my work even matter?" is a red-flag question for leaders and staffers alike. In today’s Thinkydoers episode, I’m sharing a live reading of the...

19 days ago • 1 min read
A woman with brown hair is sitting at a desk next to a laptop, facing the camera. Her head is flopped down on her desk. The copy reads: "When business is anything bus usual."

Hi Reader, For some of you reading, this week may be business as usual. For the rest of us, this week in American politics marks a significant shift in the landscape we operate in. You may be reeling with fear or uncertainty about the implications for your life and work. Frankly, I'm in the second camp. To be prepared for any outcome, I'd architected two different business plans for the last several months: One based on business as usual, And another based on the potential for significant...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read
A table seen top down, covered in drawings and sketches and system pieces. People are seated around the table, and you can only see their arms. It's creative but structured.

Hi Reader, I have a favor to ask: I'm developing theories about how people in a specific role type might self-identify. It's tricky, because there are a bunch of disciplines and role types that these folks are found in, so this is a more psychographic question than demographic. Is this you (at work)(or someone you know or work with)?✨ Your role is a mix of air traffic control, people-ing, strategy support and thought partnership, and rolling up your sleeves and getting it done (and...

2 months ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader, Happy Tuesday! We're in week three of this eight-week Goal Fridays series, so join me live this Friday on YouTube or LinkedIn for one of my spicier topics: 🤔 Don't Start with an OKR Platform: And What to Do Instead OKR platforms for sure have their place (and employ some of my favorite humans, and a lot of the strong talent in the field). But I don't recommend starting your OKR implementation or reboot with an OKR platform, and you'll find out why this Friday at 9am Pacific / Noon...

2 months ago • 1 min read
Sara is on the left of the screen, smiling at the camera. The copy on the right reads: Avoid burnout with self-set goals.

Hi Reader, I didn't get the reminder out this morning about today's Goal Friday ... I was too busy editing a bit of neuroscience into the content outline based on the book I just happened to be reading with my morning coffee this morning LOL ☝️ The irony of totally overthinking a Live about overthinking So in case you missed it, I will share edited-down, cleaned up versions of the event when we're able, but if you're in a rush, you can see the whole unedited live right now: via YouTube via...

3 months ago • 1 min read
On the left is the copy: Free live! guided quarterly reset with Sara Lobkovich. On the right is a picture of Sara, a white woman with shoulder-length wavy blonde hair. She's smiling, and sitting outside.

Hi Reader, Don't forget... I'll be live today at 9am Pacific / noon Eastern for: A 30-minute guided quarterly learning review and 15 minutes of public Q&A via LinkedIn or YouTube Then, a move to our community live room, for another 45 minutes of members-only co-working and Q&A! If you can't join today, I'll host a members-only session on Wednesday, if that works better for you! And, it's been a busy week in content around here, so here are two quick highlights: The Science of Play This week's...

3 months ago • 1 min read
on the left is the copy: Free Live! Guided Quarterly Reset with Sara Lobkovich, and on the right is a photo of Sara, sitting at a desk, smiling at the camera.

Hi Reader, I keep teasing it, but friends... it's officially here. The Q3/Q4 Quarterly Review and Reset season is fully upon us! You may have already gotten more notifications from the Circle.so community than you'd like as I set up the next few weeks of events and updates ... if so, you can log into community.saralobkovich.com and set up your notification preferences to only receive the notifications you prefer. And, if you'd like to share the word with your colleagues or network about this...

3 months ago • 1 min read
Sara is a white woman with shoulder-length wavy dark blonde hair. She is smiling. She wears a blue shirt under a black jacket. Her arms are resting on a table, with paper covered in sticky notes on it.

Hi Reader, THANK YOU for clicking through to the Reader Survey! I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts -- the feedback I'm getting is so fascinating to me that after I wrap it up next week I'll share a few highlights. I don't know about you, but this week after Labor Day here in the US always flies by like a blink. And when I get back to work on this upcoming Monday, I get my last hurrah on 2024 as we move into the Q3/Q4 learning review and reset. Typically we do our learning review...

4 months ago • 2 min read
On a dark green background, including a photo of Cindy (a beautiful woman with chin-length hair and sparkling eyes) and Sara (with wavy dark blonde hair and a big smile). In the foreground is the copy: Pearson's Success Story with OKRs.

Hi Reader, Whoo boy friends it's been a whirlwind over here so buckle up and let's dive in. 👉 I'd love your answer on this LinkedIn poll: What is the biggest barrier that slows progress toward achieving your strategy? 👉 Need a metric to base a strategy achievement leading indicator key result on? I've got you! v2 of our Strategy Achievement Score quiz is now live. If you finish the quiz and share your email at the end, you'll get an actual numerical score that you can use as a KPI or as the...

4 months ago • 2 min read