Deepa Nagarajan: A Connoisseur of Business Strategy Creating Unique Business Models That Prioritize on Customers Satisfaction
Deepa Nagarajan
Founder
Deepa Nagarajan is a veteran in OKR and OGSM Implementations and works to help organizations implement a well-tailored, sound OKR program, quickly and effectively by leveraging the organization's own strengths and established processes using standard, OKR best Practices. She is currently running her own consulting business organization Deepa Nagarajan LLP (DN LLP), and with her at the helm, the company is poised to be the market leader in the business strategy and OKR consultancy segment in India. Prioritizing on the quality of their offerings and the satisfaction of their clients, DN LLP is aiming to be a trend setter in the OKR landscape and remain a pioneer in this segment.
In an exclusive interview with CEOInsights, Deepa talks more about her company and its unique operational model.
1. Who was an inspirational figure that you looked up to for motivation, and what motivated you to start the company?
When it comes to leadership and how to face challenges, I saw and learnt many things from my mother and she was a huge inspiration to me. In my professional journey, I didn't necessarily choose to be a women leader and I just went with the flow. As I went deeper and deeper into the corporate world, I saw the unique challenges that women face. They are required to put an extra effort to become as successful as, if not more, than their male counterparts. What I did was, I went along with the system, worked with my teammates & leaders, learning from them, while at the same time, giving equal importance to my personal goals and aspirations. I talk more about this in my book `Women on Board', which was a best seller on Amazon. In the book, I also talk about what I did to fight my way through all the challenges that I faced in the corporate world. I believed in my skillsets and that a woman can excel in the corporate world without needing to behave like a man. Looking at self-development, improving my skillsets, working on my weaknesses and remaining focused on my goals has all helped me to become successful in my journey.
The whole idea behind the inception of my consulting firm was to offer strategic consulting and especially OKR (Objectives and Key Results) consulting services to the businesses operating in the Indian market. OKR has become a buzzword in the industry over the
years and is not a new phenomenon. How ever, very few people actually know how to implement OKRs. Our research has shown that 85 percent of businesses fail in their OKR implementation in their first year itself. So, I saw this big gap in organizations in India and internationally as well, and businesses need some kind of coaching and hand holding when it comes to OKR Implementation. This is exactly what we intend to offer. My main focus area is business strategy consulting, specifically OKR consulting and OKR architecture services. I also offer leadership coaching, organizational redesign and restructuring services as well.
2. Can you talk more about the uniqueness of your services?
There are plenty of misconceptions in the industry regarding OKR. Many think of it as a mere goal management system or performance management system. Where my company has an edge in the industry is the fact that I know that OKR is a critical business initiative that gives long range visibility for the business, and it is a business leader driven initiative. From the time I was working with IBM in 2007, I have been exposed to various OKR and related management frameworks. This holistic and deep experience gives me an edge to ensure that OKR is not implemented like an HR initiative like most companies do. The kind of business knowledge that I have garnered working for companies like IBM, Samsung and HP as well as the leadership qualities that I possess also helps me standout in the industry. I am also teaching OKR as a subject matter expert in top B Schools across the country. This is a first in the industry. I am also the only OKR consultant who has done several government projects on OKRs, which is a tough task given the complexities of governments and govt. bodies. I have also generated a lot of content regarding OKR which is relevant for Indian businesses and have done over 4000 hours of consulting in OKR, 6000 hours of OKR checkins and coaching, and have worked across seven industries in three countries. All this helps me to offer the best OKR consultancy services, tailormade for each organization. Having the experience of working with upcoming startups with 60 employees to big conglomerates with thousands of employees, I have also been able to offer the services which are customized to suit the unique culture of each business entity. One of my clients has also achieved the unicorn status in India, owing to their steady and disciplined implemented OKRs, amongst other factors.
3.Do you have any advice or suggestion to businesses that are aiming to implement OKRs?
Do your research to understand the right kind of pace or approach that you need to follow when you want to implement OKRs. The leadership team of the organization should also drive the implementation process with passion, and they should be committed to this process. Also, without bringing-in transformation in the way we work, OKR cannot be successfully implemented. The organization should allow the employees to have that learning period so that they can be in sync with the process to get the best possible results. Also, getting the right partner who understands your culture and the gaps in your business to implement the OKR framework along with you team is crucial as well.
Looking at self Development, improving my skillsets, working on my weaknesses and remaining focused on my goals has all helped me to become successful in my journey
2. Can you talk more about the uniqueness of your services?
There are plenty of misconceptions in the industry regarding OKR. Many think of it as a mere goal management system or performance management system. Where my company has an edge in the industry is the fact that I know that OKR is a critical business initiative that gives long range visibility for the business, and it is a business leader driven initiative. From the time I was working with IBM in 2007, I have been exposed to various OKR and related management frameworks. This holistic and deep experience gives me an edge to ensure that OKR is not implemented like an HR initiative like most companies do. The kind of business knowledge that I have garnered working for companies like IBM, Samsung and HP as well as the leadership qualities that I possess also helps me standout in the industry. I am also teaching OKR as a subject matter expert in top B Schools across the country. This is a first in the industry. I am also the only OKR consultant who has done several government projects on OKRs, which is a tough task given the complexities of governments and govt. bodies. I have also generated a lot of content regarding OKR which is relevant for Indian businesses and have done over 4000 hours of consulting in OKR, 6000 hours of OKR checkins and coaching, and have worked across seven industries in three countries. All this helps me to offer the best OKR consultancy services, tailormade for each organization. Having the experience of working with upcoming startups with 60 employees to big conglomerates with thousands of employees, I have also been able to offer the services which are customized to suit the unique culture of each business entity. One of my clients has also achieved the unicorn status in India, owing to their steady and disciplined implemented OKRs, amongst other factors.
3.Do you have any advice or suggestion to businesses that are aiming to implement OKRs?
Do your research to understand the right kind of pace or approach that you need to follow when you want to implement OKRs. The leadership team of the organization should also drive the implementation process with passion, and they should be committed to this process. Also, without bringing-in transformation in the way we work, OKR cannot be successfully implemented. The organization should allow the employees to have that learning period so that they can be in sync with the process to get the best possible results. Also, getting the right partner who understands your culture and the gaps in your business to implement the OKR framework along with you team is crucial as well.
4. Where is your company positioned in the corporate landscape? What is your opinion on the current market landscape?
Owing to the pandemic and the changes we have seen in the industry, I personally believe that businesses should take it one or two steps at a time, and implementing OKR will help businesses because it is a very agile framework which can be highly customized. As far as we are concerned, we know these VUCA times we are going through right now will stay for a while. Just to add, VUCA stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous; a military strategic approach devised during the Cold War era. We understand these VUCA times and how these strategies could be woven into the OKR fabric. We take keen interest to deeply understand the requirements of our clients and work accordingly and we are equipped to help improve the obysiness and goal management approach of our clients even in these unprecedented times.
5.Can you mention some of the most important milestones in your career?
I have been awarded the Strategy Consultant of the year in 2020 from for my contributions to the business world and to MSMEs for making Atma Nirbhar Bharat. I have won the Phenomenal Women Leader Award in 2019 from the World Congress for Women. I am the Best-selling Author of a leadership book for women, and now, I am also writing a book on OKR called ‘OKR Reloaded’, which will talk about the evolution of OKR, debunk the myths surrounding OKRs, and how an organization can successfully implement OKR anywhere in the world, especially in the Indian market. This will also be the first book on OKR which was written by an Indian author, especially a woman.
6. What are the future plans of your company? Also, what would be your advice to women who want to become successful in their professional careers?
We are working on our own proprietary OKR software. More importantly, I also want to teach OKR to more young leaders so that we can nurture more business leaders who know the importance of outcome- driven business models, especially OKR, and how to implement that in their organization in the right way.
As far as my suggestion goes, for women who are currently working in the corporate world, I would like to say prioritize on your intrapersonal development, because this will help you to understand your strengths & weaknesses and identify what you want to focus on; improving your interpersonal skills that include your relationship management skills and your networking skills is also crucial and concentrate on improving your professional skills through continuous learning and openness to be corrected. For women entrepreneurs, it is crucial to find the right mentors, right networks, and the right funding and I think the government as well as the entire business ecosystem should also support women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs should learn how to brand their business and themselves in a much better way in order to improve their business presence. This is one area where women shy away some times. Research has proven that women entrepreneurs are more committed and bankable, so the investor/VC ecosystem should also pursue diversity goals actively.
Key Management
Deepa Nagarajan, Founder
Deepa carries a rich management and leadership experience of over 27 years in roles with increasing responsibilities in various MNCs. She works closely with corporates, colleges/ universities in various areas organization design & development, OKR Consulting, Entrepreneurial coaching and others. She also teaches OKRs, strategy management, brand management, diversity management and entrepreneurial skills at leading management institutes in the country
Owing to the pandemic and the changes we have seen in the industry, I personally believe that businesses should take it one or two steps at a time, and implementing OKR will help businesses because it is a very agile framework which can be highly customized. As far as we are concerned, we know these VUCA times we are going through right now will stay for a while. Just to add, VUCA stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous; a military strategic approach devised during the Cold War era. We understand these VUCA times and how these strategies could be woven into the OKR fabric. We take keen interest to deeply understand the requirements of our clients and work accordingly and we are equipped to help improve the obysiness and goal management approach of our clients even in these unprecedented times.
5.Can you mention some of the most important milestones in your career?
I have been awarded the Strategy Consultant of the year in 2020 from for my contributions to the business world and to MSMEs for making Atma Nirbhar Bharat. I have won the Phenomenal Women Leader Award in 2019 from the World Congress for Women. I am the Best-selling Author of a leadership book for women, and now, I am also writing a book on OKR called ‘OKR Reloaded’, which will talk about the evolution of OKR, debunk the myths surrounding OKRs, and how an organization can successfully implement OKR anywhere in the world, especially in the Indian market. This will also be the first book on OKR which was written by an Indian author, especially a woman.
6. What are the future plans of your company? Also, what would be your advice to women who want to become successful in their professional careers?
We are working on our own proprietary OKR software. More importantly, I also want to teach OKR to more young leaders so that we can nurture more business leaders who know the importance of outcome- driven business models, especially OKR, and how to implement that in their organization in the right way.
As far as my suggestion goes, for women who are currently working in the corporate world, I would like to say prioritize on your intrapersonal development, because this will help you to understand your strengths & weaknesses and identify what you want to focus on; improving your interpersonal skills that include your relationship management skills and your networking skills is also crucial and concentrate on improving your professional skills through continuous learning and openness to be corrected. For women entrepreneurs, it is crucial to find the right mentors, right networks, and the right funding and I think the government as well as the entire business ecosystem should also support women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs should learn how to brand their business and themselves in a much better way in order to improve their business presence. This is one area where women shy away some times. Research has proven that women entrepreneurs are more committed and bankable, so the investor/VC ecosystem should also pursue diversity goals actively.
Key Management
Deepa Nagarajan, Founder
Deepa carries a rich management and leadership experience of over 27 years in roles with increasing responsibilities in various MNCs. She works closely with corporates, colleges/ universities in various areas organization design & development, OKR Consulting, Entrepreneurial coaching and others. She also teaches OKRs, strategy management, brand management, diversity management and entrepreneurial skills at leading management institutes in the country