[Verse 1] There's a story 'bout the way things ought to run Department leaders know their teams, they know what's to be done Eighty-ninety percent should bubble up from where the work gets made Twenty-ten from executives, that's how the game is played [Chorus] But we flipped it upside down, turned it all around Eighty-twenty became twenty-eighty, now we're lost not found The inversion problem's here, making roles unclear Department heads executing dreams that aren't their own, oh no [Verse 2] You hired Sarah 'cause she's brilliant at her craft She knows her people, knows the market, knows the path But when objectives come from way up at the top She becomes a puppet dancing, creativity will stop [Chorus] 'Cause we flipped it upside down, turned it all around Eighty-twenty became twenty-eighty, now we're lost not found The inversion problem's here, making roles unclear Department heads executing dreams that aren't their own [Bridge] OKRs were meant to help us focus and align But the framework made the CEO the one who draws the line When leadership means setting goals for every single team We've inverted what we wanted, killed the collaborative dream [Verse 3] Bottom-up should be the rule, not the exception to the game Let your leaders lead their domains, that's why you learned their name Keep the top-down to a minimum, trust the people that you chose That's the ratio that matters, that's how healthy culture grows [Chorus] Don't flip it upside down, turn it all around Keep it eighty-twenty, not twenty-eighty, let the wisdom flow The inversion problem's real, makes the best folks leave Trust your department leaders, let them own their goals [Outro] Eighty from below, twenty from above That's the magic ratio, that's the balance of love
← 1 The "Three Objectives" Trap | 3 The Goodhart's Law Dimension →