top of page
Dora Nagy
Follow me on LinkedIn to see my latest posts.
Scaling & Execution
Ask These Questions To Be Able To Write Strong OKRs
Most teams set OKRs the way 5-year-olds answer the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Kids don’t need to be realistic. They aren’t expected to have an execution plan. Nobody holds them accountable if their dreams remain just that, dreams. For companies, it can mean going out of business. A nightmare. These 7 questions will help you set better OKRs and turn dreams into reality: What do you want to achieve? The 5-year-old’s answer is good enough. Quick
The 7 Sins of OKRs
The paradox of OKRs is that they are supposed to drive focus, productivity and results. But most often, they don’t. Here is why. Sin #1 Confusion between OKRs and KPIs And therefore OKRs end up being a metrics vomit. Remember this: You run the business with KPIs. And build the business with OKRs. Tip: Use KPIs to monitor performance where it matters the most - these are your health metrics. Use OKRs to make a change if performance is falling behind or you want to reach
33 Lessons About Scaling Companies - Learnings From Coaching CEOs
$5M problems > $50 problems. Spend your time wisely. Common sense is not that common. Your leadership team has ‘lead’ in their name for a reason. No strategy, no OKRs. No amount of OKRs can make up for the lack of strategy. Often co-founders fall out of love, and that’s ok. Divorce gracefully. Money talks, bullsh*t walks. The rest is smoke & mirrors. Not every CEO likes the job post seriesA, and that is ok. Don’t force it. Just because your roommate, friend, relative, f
Do You Want To Scale Yourself? Hiring More People Is Not The Answer.
‘How can I scale myself?’ is one of the most pressing questions I hear from CEOs. Spoiler alert: hiring more people is not the (real) answer. The more people you hire, the more people you have to manage, the more complexity you get as the org grows, and with all the misunderstandings, miscommunication, and lost information, well, it just becomes counter-productive. And you are still: Working 14+ hours a day Spending most of your time in reactive mode The main decision-mak
Org & Leadership
What Makes a Leadership Team High-Performing?
Even if you aren’t fascinated by Formula 1, if you look at the support team and see how fast and in sync they work when changing tires, I bet that you will be blown away. Everyone is clear on the goal and how they need to work together to achieve that goal. They trust that they all have each others’ back. They keep each other accountable and no ego can get in the way of driving results for the team. They push each other to always do better, and never settle for average. So
Your Company Is Your Mirror As a Leader
Your company is a mirror that shows how you are as a leader: the good, the bad, and the ugly. “It’s like walking into your house: I can step a little bit into your mind because for the house you bought and furnished you’d made a thousand decisions. A company is like that but it's like a hundred thousand decisions.” Observing how a company is run tells me a lot more about the CEO than anything else. Success then amplifies it all. Because success amplifies the tendencies i
Why Survival-of-the-Fittest Leadership Fails
Way too often, leaders act as if they had only read Darwin’s most known book, often summarized as “the survival of the fittest”. It was a great theory, but then discovered a fundamental flaw. And so he went on to research “the survival of the kindest”. He found that this theory explains more correctly which species climb the evolutionary ladder. He found that cooperation was more important than competition. Now, being kind as a leader doesn’t mean being “nice”. Nice is of
The 3 Main Reasons Why Accountability Breaks in Leadership Teams
1.No or unclear expectations: Instead of asking: “All is clear? / Are we good?” Ask this: “Can you please recap what we’ve agreed on?” Only when you hear it in their words will you know whether they got it or not. 2.No commitment “Best effort basis” or “A for effort” doesn’t get your business far. If your expectations are unrealistic to the person, i.e. they cannot commit to it, you need to know that upfront. Stretch goals therefore can be really problematic. 3. No fee
CEO Effectiveness
The 3 Archetypes of Founders
I have been working with Founders for years, and if I had to pinpoint the single most important trait that the successful ones share, it would be this: They are open to the possibility that they might be wrong. Yes, you need to have the utmost confidence that you will be able to solve a problem. That you will be able to persevere. Even when others tell you that you are crazy. But there is a difference between having healthy confidence vs being delusional: And that’s the
Why Productivity Hacks Are The Worst For Your Productivity
I’ve noticed a pattern over the last couple of years of coaching CEOs: the most all-over-the-place, always busy and the least effective people are the ones geeking out on the latest productivity tool / method / gadget. Productivity p*rn will get you nowhere. It’s simulating the real thing, making you believe you are becoming more productive. You are always hunting for the latest trick, the newest hack that will sort out your life for good, the quick fix that is one subscri
9 Hard Truths About CEO Productivity
1. We all need a balance between mind / body / soul. Look at your calendar. Do you have things planned that make you healthier, happier and smarter? If not, what can you schedule? 2. The concept of “zone of genius” is great, but sometimes unrealistic (especially at early stage). If you don’t have anyone to delegate important responsibilities to, find a way to produce the 80/20 answer until you are able to bring in the right person. 3. Chasing the latest productivity hack
Apply The 80/20 Rule Like a CEO
If you think like a CEO, you become brutally intentional with your time and energy. Pareto’s law says: 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event. Here is how you can apply that to your life: 80% of your stress is caused by 20% of the people in your life Become mindful who you spend time with 20% of all your habits and routines will contribute 80% of the improvement of your overall health Pick those habits wisely and stick
bottom of page