Meet Linq
Linq is a technology company that provides systems for the education sector, with around 500 employees. The OKR Institute worked with Linq to introduce and roll out Objectives and Key Results across the organization. Linq wanted to use OKRs to drive sharper strategic execution and alignment.
The catch was that the company was new to the framework and wanted it adopted company-wide, so the work had to make OKRs both easy to grasp and easy to keep going. Going broad while staying new to OKRs is an ambitious combination, and it shaped the whole approach.
Going Broad While Starting From Scratch
Linq's main challenge was its inexperience with OKRs, paired with a big ambition. The company wanted to roll the framework out across the entire organization, not just one team. That meant the strategy team and management needed a clear, approachable introduction to OKRs before anything could spread.
The risk with any company-wide launch is that energy runs high at the start and then drops off. Linq needed something more durable than a burst of enthusiasm, which is why the work focused on building lasting internal capability.
Building a Network of Champions
The OKR Institute took an approach built around internal champions and good habits.
- Training OKR champions: We trained many employees as OKR champions, giving them the knowledge and skills to lead and support implementation within their teams and departments.
- Building the right behaviors: We focused on the habits that make OKRs work, especially weekly check-ins and quarterly reviews, which keep progress visible and goals on track.
- Company-wide reach: By spreading champions across the organization, we helped the framework take root in many places at once rather than in a single corner.
The champion model gave Linq a network of in-house experts. Instead of depending on outside coaches for every question, teams could turn to a colleague who knew OKRs well, which kept the practice moving on its own.
What Made it Work
- Champions over consultants: Growing internal OKR experts meant the knowledge stayed in the building long after the coaching ended.
- Simple, repeatable rhythms: Weekly check-ins and quarterly reviews kept OKRs alive without adding heavy process.
- Company-wide from the start: Spreading champions across the whole organization ensured adoption was broad, not siloed.
- Early momentum as proof: Solid progress on OKRs in the first quarter proved the approach was working.
What Changed at Linq
Cross-functional collaboration
OKRs helped form cross-functional teams and improved regular communication, breaking down silos and encouraging a more collaborative way of working.
Early momentum
In the first quarter after implementation, Linq saw solid forward movement on most of its OKRs, a sign the organization was genuinely adopting them.
Confident champions
The OKR champions grew confident in running all the relevant meetings and reviews, becoming key figures in the ongoing success of OKRs at Linq.
What This Shows
Linq's case shows how internal champions can carry a company-wide rollout. Rather than rely on outside help for everything, Linq built its own people into capable OKR leaders, then leaned on simple habits like weekly check-ins and quarterly reviews to keep things moving. The early momentum suggests the approach worked. The lesson for any company new to OKRs is to grow your own champions and lock in the basic rhythms early. Those two moves do more for lasting adoption than almost anything else. By growing its own experts, Linq made sure the understanding stayed in the building. That is what gives a company-wide rollout a real chance of lasting.
