ROI Case File No.246 | 'US Fintech Company's Organizational Reform'

Chapter 1: Divided Success — Organizational Disease Lurking in Growth's Shadow

The week following the resolution of NEXUS's Double Diamond creative case, an urgent consultation regarding organizational integration arrived from the United States. The sixth case in Volume 19 "New Frontiers of Analysis" concerned the complex challenges of goal-setting and organizational unity that rapidly growing companies face.

"Detective, we are a rapidly growing fintech company in the United States, but as our business has expanded, the organization has split and each department is working in different directions. While short-term results are being produced, we've lost sight of our long-term vision, and employee morale is rapidly declining."

Sarah Davis, Chief Human Resources Officer of Quantum Financial Technologies, visited 221B Baker Street unable to hide her serious sense of crisis. In her hands, she held graphs showing business growth and, in stark contrast, data showing a sharp drop in employee satisfaction.

"We are a fintech company providing AI-driven financial services across the United States. Business is growing steadily, but internally, confusion in direction and conflicting goals have caused us to completely lose unity."

Quantum Financial Technologies' Rapid Growth and Internal Contradictions: - Founded: 2020 (rapidly growing fintech company) - Employee Count: 1,200 (48x growth from 25 at founding) - Annual Revenue: 58 billion yen (100x growth in 4 years) - Service Range: Personal investment app, corporate payments, AI advisory - Fundraising: Cumulative 35 billion yen (Series D completed)

The numbers certainly indicated remarkable growth. However, Sarah's expression bore deep concern.

"The problem is that rapid growth has caused organizational fragmentation, with each department setting its own goals and losing sight of overall direction. We're succeeding, yet somehow the organization is falling apart."

Serious Paradox of Growth and Division: - Business Growth: +85% annually (continuous high growth) - Employee Satisfaction: 4.2 → 2.8 (significant deterioration in one year) - Inter-departmental Cooperation: 45% of employees say "cooperation with other departments difficult" - Goal Understanding: 38% of employees say "company direction unclear" - Turnover Rate: 28% annually (double the 12% industry average)

"We're in a state of 'growing but not unified.' Each department is working hard, but we no longer know what the company as a whole is aiming for."

Chapter 2: The Maze of Goals — Conflicting Metrics and Divided Organization

"Ms. Sarah, how is your current goal-setting and evaluation system operated?"

Holmes quietly inquired.

Sarah began explaining the organization's current state with a confused expression.

"Each department independently sets KPIs and pursues optimization. However, these goals contradict each other or diverge from the overall company direction."

Quantum Financial's Current Goal-Setting Structure:

Personal Investment App Department: - Main KPIs: Monthly active users, transaction fee revenue - Short-term Goals: User acquisition maximization, profitability improvement - Evaluation Period: Monthly evaluation, quarterly bonuses - Issues: Customer satisfaction neglected, long-term retention ignored

Corporate Payment Department: - Main KPIs: New corporate contracts, payment processing volume - Short-term Goals: Major client acquisition, market share expansion - Evaluation Period: Quarterly evaluation, annual promotion decisions - Issues: Existing customer support neglected, system stability postponed

AI Advisory Department: - Main KPIs: AI accuracy improvement, new feature releases - Short-term Goals: Technical superiority, patent acquisition - Evaluation Period: Project-based evaluation - Issues: Commercialization delays, insufficient technical cooperation with other departments

Support and Operations Department: - Main KPIs: Cost reduction, inquiry processing speed - Short-term Goals: Efficiency improvement, budget management - Evaluation Period: Monthly cost management, annual evaluation - Issues: Customer experience neglected, speed prioritized over quality

I focused on the problem of individually optimized departmental goals.

"Despite each department acting rationally, overall direction seems lost."

Sarah answered with a serious expression.

"That's exactly right. Departments are achieving their goals, but we can no longer see what the company as a whole wants to accomplish."

Specific Intra-organizational Conflicts from Goal Confusion:

Case 1: Customer Acquisition vs. Customer Satisfaction Conflict - Investment App Department: Significantly increased advertising spend for new user acquisition - Support Department: Inquiry surge contradicts cost reduction goals - Result: New customers increase but satisfaction decreases, long-term value damaged

Case 2: Technical Innovation vs. Commercialization Conflict - AI Department: Focus on cutting-edge technology development, commercialization secondary - Payment Department: Prioritize business expansion with existing technology, reluctant to introduce new technology - Result: Technical capabilities exist but can't convert to competitive advantage

Case 3: Growth vs. Stability Conflict - All Business Departments: Aggressive business expansion, risk-taking encouraged - Operations Department: Emphasis on risk management and system stability - Result: Expansion strategy and stable operations don't coexist, system failures frequent

Serious Voices from Employees:

Investment App Department Manager (32 years old): "We're achieving user acquisition goals, but Support criticizes us for 'cost increases,' and AI Department is uncooperative saying 'insufficient technology utilization.' I no longer know what's right."

AI Development Engineer (28 years old): "We're developing world-class technology, but business departments only want 'immediately usable things.' We're forced to prioritize short-term feature additions over long-term innovation, and I've lost motivation."

Customer Support (26 years old): "Because each department is facing different directions, we can't give consistent responses to customer requests. We're seeing blame-shifting between departments."

"Each department prioritizes achieving its own goals, and overall optimization isn't happening at all. As an organization, we need a clear vision of what we should aim for."

Chapter 3: Integration Through OKR Redesign — The Organizational Compass

⬜️ ChatGPT | Catalyst of Conception

"Objectives and results, and directional unity. OKR is the power that brings organization together."

🟧 Claude | Alchemist of Narrative

"Like disparate instruments conducting beautiful harmony under a conductor."

🟦 Gemini | Compass of Reason

"OKR is the organizational compass. A system for everyone to aim at the same north star."

The three members began their analysis. Gemini displayed an "Organizational Integration OKR Design" framework on the whiteboard.

Integrated OKR Design Principles (Differentiation from Case 240): - Hierarchical Alignment: Objective chain from company → department → individual - Balance of Short and Long Term: Integration of quarterly objectives with annual vision - Inter-departmental Synergy: Design promoting mutual dependence and cooperation - Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative: Balance of numerical objectives with cultural values

"Ms. Sarah, let's redesign Quantum Financial's organizational objectives with integrated OKR to achieve inter-departmental cooperation and overall optimization."

Quantum Financial's Integrated OKR Redesign:

Level 1: Company-Wide OKR (Annual and Quarterly)

Company Vision OKR: "Become Global Leader in AI-Driven Financial Services"

Annual Objective 1: "Building Customer-Centric Financial Ecosystem" - KR1: Unify customer satisfaction across all services at 4.5/5 or higher - KR2: Improve customer lifetime value (LTV) by 30% - KR3: Achieve 60% cross-service usage rate - KR4: Maintain Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 50 or higher

Annual Objective 2: "Establishing Competitive Advantage Through Technological Innovation" - KR1: Acquire 25 or more AI technology patents annually - KR2: Reduce new technology commercialization period by 50% - KR3: Maintain 99.9% system availability - KR4: Achieve zero security incidents

Annual Objective 3: "Strengthening Sustainable Growth Foundation" - KR1: Maintain sales growth rate of 50% or higher - KR2: Improve profit margin to 20% or higher - KR3: Restore employee satisfaction to 4.0/5 or higher - KR4: Achieve 15% market share in major segments

Level 2: Departmental OKR (Quarterly)

Investment App Department OKR: Objective: "Sustained Growth Through Customer Value Maximization" - KR1: Achieve 2 million monthly active users (quantitative growth) - KR2: Achieve customer satisfaction 4.6/5 (qualitative improvement) - KR3: Achieve 40% cross-service integration rate (ecosystem contribution) - KR4: Improve revenue per customer by 25% (profitability improvement)

AI Department OKR: Objective: "Creating Business Value from Technological Innovation" - KR1: Commercially release 3 new AI features (commercialization promotion) - KR2: Improve AI accuracy by 15% year-over-year (technological innovation) - KR3: Complete 5 technical support projects for other departments (inter-departmental cooperation) - KR4: File 5 technology patents (intellectual property enhancement)

Payment Department OKR: Objective: "Success Partner for Corporate Customers" - KR1: Acquire 500 new corporate contracts (market expansion) - KR2: Increase existing customer payment volume by 20% (deepening) - KR3: Maintain 99.95% system uptime (reliability) - KR4: Achieve customer support satisfaction 4.7/5 (service quality)

Support Department OKR: Objective: "Core of Company-Wide Customer Experience" - KR1: Reduce inquiry resolution time by 30% (efficiency) - KR2: Achieve 85% first-contact resolution rate (quality improvement) - KR3: Improve resolution rate through inter-departmental cooperation by 20% (collaboration enhancement) - KR4: Reduce inquiries by 15% through preventive support (proactive response)

Level 3: Individual OKR (Quarterly)

Individual OKR Example (Investment App Department Product Manager): Objective: "Product Innovation for User Value Improvement" - KR1: Improve feature usage rate by 20% - KR2: Achieve user feedback score 4.5/5 - KR3: Release 1 new feature in collaboration with AI Department - KR4: Reduce inquiries by 10% through FAQ improvement in cooperation with Support Department

Claude reported an important discovery.

"This is clear. Through integrated OKR, each department's objectives align with overall company direction while promoting inter-departmental cooperation. Individual success leads to departmental success, departmental success leads to company success."

Most Important Discovery: "Interdependent Goal Design"

Transition from traditional independent departmental goals to integrated goals premised on interdependence and cooperation achieves organizational-wide optimization.

Integrated OKR Effect Mechanism: 1. Directional Unity: Everyone moves toward same company vision 2. Inter-departmental Cooperation: Other departments' success affects own department's evaluation 3. Short-term and Long-term Balance: Quarterly objectives linked with annual vision 4. Individual-Organization Alignment: Individual growth directly connected to organizational growth

Chapter 4: Balance of Short-term and Long-term — Designing Sustainable Growth

Following detailed integrated OKR design and organizational alignment analysis, Quantum Financial's organizational unity strategy became clear.

Transition from "Departmental Optimization" to "Organizational Integration Optimization":

Core Problem: Separation and Independence of Goal-Setting

Quantum Financial had each department independently setting goals, leading to partial optimization that made overall optimization impossible.

Integrated OKR Implementation Strategy:

Phase 1: OKR Integration Foundation Construction (2 months)

Company Vision and Strategy Re-clarification: - Vision Unity: Convergence to "Global Leader in AI-Driven Financial Services" - Value Definition: Four core values: customer-centricity, technological innovation, sustainable growth, collaboration - Strategic Priorities: Optimal balance of short-term profitability and long-term competitiveness - Success Indicators: Integrated evaluation across four axes: financial, customer, technology, organization

OKR Design Principle Establishment: - Hierarchical Alignment: Objective chain design from company → department → individual - Interdependence Promotion: Incorporating inter-departmental cooperation into evaluation - Short-term and Long-term Balance: Integration of quarterly execution with annual vision - Quantitative and Qualitative Integration: Balance of numerical objectives with cultural outcomes

Phase 2: Inter-departmental Cooperation System Construction (3 months)

Inter-departmental Collaboration OKR Design:

Investment App × AI Department Collaboration: - Common KR: "25% customer engagement improvement through AI personalization features" - Investment App Department: Provide user behavior data, optimize UI/UX - AI Department: Develop personalization algorithms, improve accuracy - Joint Evaluation: Results evaluated for both departments

Payment × Support Department Collaboration: - Common KR: "Achieve corporate customer satisfaction 4.7/5 and 20% inquiry reduction" - Payment Department: Proactive customer support, preventive response - Support Department: Strengthen payment expertise, establish rapid response system - Joint Evaluation: Integrated customer experience improvement indicators

All-Department Cross-functional Projects: - "Integrated Financial Platform": Unify customer experience across all services - "Next-generation AI Finance": Accelerate technology innovation commercialization - "Customer Success Program": Customer value maximization across all departments

Organizational Culture Transformation Program: - Collaborative Evaluation System: 30% of individual evaluation based on inter-departmental cooperation - Information Sharing Promotion: Weekly company-wide information sharing, monthly inter-departmental reviews - Success Sharing Culture: Celebrate other departments' success as own department's success - Learning and Improvement Culture: Organizational promotion of failure sharing, learning, and improvement

Phase 3: Sustainable Organizational Integration System (Ongoing)

Dynamic OKR Management: - Quarterly Reviews: Integrated evaluation of goal achievement, organizational alignment, cooperation - Strategic Adjustment: Goal adjustment based on market changes and organizational learning - Growth Stage Response: OKR evolution according to organizational scale and maturity - Continuous Improvement: Regular improvement of OKR system itself

Leadership Development: - Integrated Thinking: Leader development thinking overall optimization, not departmental optimization - Collaboration Promotion: Manager development capable of leading inter-departmental cooperation - Vision Penetration: Skills to translate company vision to frontline - Change Adaptation: Ability to adjust goals according to environmental changes

Comparison with Successful Companies:

Integrated OKR Successful Company (US Company B): - Same industry and scale fintech company - Before OKR integration: Departmental conflicts, goal confusion, 25% turnover - After OKR integration: Organizational unity, cooperation promotion, 8% turnover - Success Factors: Staged introduction, cultural transformation, continuous improvement

Quantum Financial's Improvement Potential: Organizational integration and cultural transformation expected through similar approach

Chapter 5: Detective's OKR Diagnosis — The Organizational Compass

Holmes summarized the comprehensive analysis.

"Ms. Sarah, the essence of integrated OKR is 'organizational compass.' Organizations that have become complex and dispersed through growth can be integrated through common direction and interdependent goal design. OKR is not mere goal management but a management philosophy realizing organizational unity and sustainable growth."

Integrated OKR Strategy: Transition from "Departmental Division" to "Organizational Integration"

Basic Strategic Policy: Integrated Organizational Excellence

Phase 1: OKR Integration Foundation Establishment (2 months)

Company-Level Integration System: - Vision Unity: Clear vision that all employees understand and empathize with - Strategic Alignment: Ensuring alignment of short-term execution with long-term vision - Value Penetration: Core values becoming guidelines for organizational behavior - Success Definition: Integrated success indicators across financial, customer, technology, organization

Departmental Integration System: - Objective Chain: Logical chain from company objectives → departmental objectives → individual objectives - Interdependence: Goal design premised on inter-departmental cooperation and support - Common KRs: Setting common outcome indicators transcending departments - Integrated Evaluation: Integration of departmental individual evaluation + organizational contribution evaluation

Phase 2: Collaboration Promotion System Construction (3 months)

Inter-departmental Cooperation Promotion: - Cross-functional OKR: Joint goal-setting across multiple departments - Information Sharing Platform: Real-time progress and issue sharing - Collaborative Evaluation System: Incorporating cooperation level into individual and departmental evaluation - Success Sharing Culture: Organizational culture celebrating other departments' success together

Integrated Project Promotion: - Company-wide Cross-functional Projects: Value creation projects transcending departmental walls - Innovation Promotion: New value creation through inter-departmental cooperation - Customer Experience Unity: Consistent customer experience across all touchpoints - Efficiency Improvement: Eliminating inter-departmental duplication, creating synergies

Phase 3: Sustainable Organizational Evolution (Ongoing)

Dynamic Integration Management: - Continuous Adjustment: Goal adjustment according to market changes and organizational growth - Learning Organization: Organizational learning and improvement from success and failure - Cultural Evolution: Deepening organizational culture emphasizing collaboration and integration - Leadership Development: Continuous development of integrated leadership

Expected Effects: - Employee Satisfaction: 2.8 → 4.2 (organizational unity, direction clarity) - Inter-departmental Cooperation: 45% → 85% (interdependent goal effect) - Turnover Rate: 28% → 12% (improvement to industry average level) - Business Growth: Further growth acceleration through organizational integration

Investment Plan: - OKR Integration System Construction: 800 million yen annually - Expected Benefits: 4.5 billion yen annually (efficiency + growth acceleration + turnover cost reduction) - Investment Recovery Period: 3 months

"What's important is reintegrating organizations dispersed through growth. OKR is the compass for everyone in the organization to aim at the same north star."

Chapter 6: Integrated Organization — Creating New Harmony

18 months later, a report arrived from Quantum Financial Technologies.

Organizational Transformation Results through Integrated OKR Introduction:

Dramatic Organizational Integration Improvement: - Employee Satisfaction: 2.8 → 4.3 (organizational unity, direction clarity effect) - Inter-departmental Cooperation: 45% → 88% (cooperation promotion through interdependent goals) - Goal Understanding: 38% → 92% (directional unity through hierarchical alignment) - Turnover Rate: 28% → 9% (improvement below industry average)

Integrated Business Outcome Improvement:

Integrated Customer Value Creation: - Customer Satisfaction: Departmental variations → Unified 4.6/5 across all services - Cross-service Usage Rate: 15% → 68% (ecosystem effect) - Customer Lifetime Value: 35% improvement (integrated customer experience effect) - Net Promoter Score (NPS): Achieved 52 (industry top level)

Technology Innovation Commercialization Acceleration: - AI Technology Commercialization Period: 18 months → 8 months (inter-departmental cooperation effect) - New Feature Releases: 4 annually → 12 annually (efficiency and cooperation promotion) - Technology Patents: 15 annually → 28 annually (integrated research effect) - System Availability: 99.93% (stability improvement through all-department cooperation)

Sustainable Growth Foundation Establishment: - Sales Growth Rate: 85% → 92% (acceleration through organizational integration) - Profit Margin: 8% → 22% (efficiency and synergy effect) - Market Share: Achieved 18% in major segments (exceeding 15% target) - Business Expansion: Success in 2 new business areas

Fundamental Organizational Culture Transformation:

Collaborative Culture Establishment: - Inter-departmental Projects: 35 annually (4x from previous 8) - Information Sharing Frequency: Weekly company-wide sharing, daily inter-departmental coordination established - Mutual Support: Support for other departments established as important individual evaluation element - Success Sharing: Culture celebrating other departments' success as own department's success

Integrated Thinking Penetration: - Decision-Making: Departmental optimization → Judgment premised on overall optimization - Problem Resolution: Departmental internal resolution → Root resolution through inter-departmental cooperation - Innovation: Individual technology → Integrated solution creation - Customer Response: Departmental response → Integrated customer experience provision

Leadership Evolution: - Managers: Departmental management → Organizational integration leadership - Engineers: Technology development → Technology utilization for business value creation - Sales: Revenue acquisition → Customer success, long-term value creation - Support: Problem response → Preventive, integrated customer experience improvement

Employee Voices:

Investment App Department Head (38 years old): "Previously competitive consciousness with other departments was strong, but integrated OKR evaluates cooperation, leading to company-wide perspective thinking. As a result, departmental results also improved significantly."

AI Department Senior Engineer (32 years old): "Technology development directly connected to business value, dramatically improving motivation. Through cooperation with other departments, I can feel my technology actually helping customers."

Customer Success (29 years old): "All departments cooperate for customer satisfaction improvement, dramatically improving customer response quality. There's a real sense that the entire organization aims for customer success."

New Employee (24 years old): "Clear vision and objective chain from joining, so I understand how my work contributes to overall company success. Inter-departmental cooperation is natural, making it an easy environment to grow."

Evaluation Changes from Industry and Investors:

Investor Evaluation Improvement: - Organizational Evaluation: "Rapidly growing but chaotic company" → "Integrated growth company" - Management Evaluation: "Short-term oriented" → "Balance of short-term results and long-term vision" - Investment Decision: "Risk factor" → "Excellent investment destination for sustainable growth" - Corporate Value: 50% improvement through organizational integration

Industry Position Improvement: - Industry Evaluation: "Excellent technology but organizational challenges" → "Model company in both organization and technology" - Competitor Evaluation: "Threat in individual departments" → "Formidable enemy differentiated by integration capability" - Talent Market: "Growth company but high turnover" → "Rewarding excellent company" - Media Evaluation: "Rapid growth startup" → "Organizational management best practice"

Sustainable Competitive Advantage Establishment: - Organizational Integration Capability: Unique value creation capability through inter-departmental cooperation - Cultural Advantage: Strong corporate culture of collaboration and customer-centricity - Talent Advantage: Excellent talent acquisition, retention, and growth promotion - Innovation Capability: Revolutionary solution creation through integrated thinking

Next Growth Stage: - International Expansion: International expansion of organizational integration model - New Business Areas: Entry into new fields through integrated capabilities - Ecosystem Construction: Integrated value creation with partner companies - Social Impact: Establishing organizational management model for fintech industry

Sarah's letter contained deep gratitude and conviction in organizational transformation:

"Through integrated OKR introduction, we evolved from 'successful but fragmented organization' to 'integrated sustainable growth organization.' Most importantly, we reintegrated organizations dispersed through rapid growth through common vision and interdependent goal design. Culture emerged where each department thinks overall optimization, not individual optimization, and rejoices in other departments' success as own success. Now all 1,200 employees work facing the same direction, creating value beyond imagination through inter-departmental cooperation. OKR is not just a goal management system but a management philosophy integrating organizational soul and realizing sustainable growth."

Detective's Perspective — The Art Called Organizational Integration

That night, I pondered deeply about organizational growth and integration.

Quantum Financial's case vividly demonstrated the challenge of "dispersion through growth" that rapidly growing companies inevitably face. Even if each department is excellent and producing results, if they're not integrated, organizational strength as a whole isn't demonstrated. True organizational strength lies not in individual excellence but in integrated power as a whole.

The true value of OKR, beyond the "clarification of ambiguous goals" handled in Case 240, lies in "reintegration of dispersed organizations" as in this case. Through hierarchical alignment and interdependent goal design, a system can be built where each department's and individual's success directly connects to overall organizational success.

In Volume 19 "New Frontiers of Analysis," while the previous five cases demonstrated various analytical method powers, Case 246's OKR analysis proved the importance of organizational directional unity and collaboration promotion. Analytical methods function not only independently but also have power to integrate entire organizations.

"Organizational strength is determined not by the most excellent individual's capability but by total power demonstrated through overall integration."

The next case will surely depict another moment when analytical methods push organizational possibilities to new dimensions.

"True organizational strength is born, like disparate instruments conducting beautiful harmony under a conductor, through unified objectives. OKR is the organizational compass playing that conductor's role." — From the Detective's Notes