About Ian Harvey
I've spent my career asking two questions: why are we doing this, and how will we know if it's worked?
They sound simple. In practice they're surprisingly hard to answer. And when organisations can't answer them clearly, it shows. In the wrong priorities, the unfocused teams, the strategies that never quite land.
I work with CEOs and senior leadership teams at scale-ups and growing organisations to change that. I help them get clear on what matters, make better decisions, and build the organisational capability to deliver. Not just once, but consistently.
My work spans strategic reviews, OKR implementation, leadership coaching, and board facilitation. I draw on a background in strategy, technology, and product, and my experience ranges from Fortune 500 companies to high-growth startups across fintech, edtech, healthcare, SaaS, and beyond.
WHY OKRs?
OKRs aren't the answer to everything. But when they're implemented well, they do something powerful: they force an organisation to be honest about what it's actually trying to achieve, and whether it's getting there.
I discovered OKRs because they gave structure to the questions I was already asking. I've since helped dozens of organisations implement them in ways that stick. Not as a bureaucratic framework, but as a genuine change in how leadership thinks and decides.
How I think about the work
Most organisations have the pieces. A strategy that leadership believes in. Teams that want to deliver. A framework like OKRs aiming to connect them. What's missing is the thread. The visible, reliable connection from strategic intent through to what people actually work on every day.
When the thread is intact, turning the steering wheel moves the fleet. When it isn't, strategy stays at the top and daily work carries on regardless.
My job is to find where the thread breaks and help you fix it. Drawing on a background across strategy, technology, and product, I take a systems view of the problem. That might mean sharpening the strategy, restructuring how OKRs are set, building leadership capability, or all three. It's rarely just one thing.