Bart den Haak — Author & Practitioner
Most companies know what to do. Few actually do it.
As seen in Forbes CEO Today
- HR Magazine
- AMBA
- Emerce
As seen in Forbes CEO Today - HR Magazine - AMBA - Emerce
About
I wrote the book on Lean OKRs. Literally.
I've spent 20+ years in software — as an engineer, architect, coach, and trainer. I've worked with hundreds of teams across Europe, run workshops for C-level leaders, and watched countless smart organizations fail to execute on things they already knew they needed to do.
That gap — between knowing and doing — is what I've dedicated most of my career to closing. Moving the Needle with Lean OKRs is the result of that work: a field manual, not a theory book.
I'm currently a Principal Consultant at Xebia, where I get to do the work every day. This site is where I think out loud about what I'm learning — strategy, execution, software, teams, and what's next.
What you will find here
Three things I think about constantly.
01
Strategy that actually executes
Goal-setting, OKRs, operating cadence — and why most frameworks fall apart the moment they meet a real organization. What works, what doesn't, and what to do instead.
02
Software teams that ship value
The difference between teams that move fast and teams that stay busy. Architecture decisions, engineering culture, and the organizational conditions that make good software possible.
03
How organizations actually work
Systems thinking, cybernetics, viable systems — the underlying patterns that explain why companies behave the way they do, and how to design them to behave differently.
The Book
OKRs without the theatre.
Most companies that implement OKRs end up with beautifully formatted goals that nobody looks at after the kickoff workshop. The cadence dies, the check-ins become status updates, and the needle doesn't move.
"The goal isn't to run OKRs. The goal is to achieve something you couldn't achieve before."
This book is a field manual for teams and leaders who want to close the gap between ambition and results. No jargon. No theoretical frameworks that collapse under the weight of a real organization. Just the practices that actually work — built from 20+ years of doing this work.
What readers say
From people who've done the work.
From the blog
Recent thinking.
Newsletter
One short email, once a week.
Ideas on strategy, execution, and building software organizations that actually work. No fluff. Straight from the work I'm doing right now.
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