This is why it matters.
When we started our journey to democratise the world of business strategy connected to live performance and the business insight that goes with it, we knew that the only way to make it easily accessible to all businesses and all people was to do what Apple did in the world of personal health performance: turn complicated (health) data into something that everyone can understand. Put simply, filling in your rings.
We come from South Africa, and the introduction of Apple Watch and its three health rings had a massive impact on us. Our standard health care system is not the greatest in the world (saying this lightly) so the few South Africans that can afford private health care insurance sign up with companies like Discovery.
Discovery health care insurance is an extremely innovative company as it was the first, in our country, to introduce a reward program that encourages its members to live healthier lives and as a result claim less from their insurance. Discovery Vitality enables its members to link their gym membership data with their grocery store data as you go through your daily routine of going to the gym and eating, giving them an understanding of whether your behaviour is healthy or not, and in doing so reward you with discounts. So, when Apple launched the Apple Watch the team at discovery saw a huge opportunity - give Discovery members the Apple Watch and pay it off for them as long as they reach their monthly targets by filling in their health rings. Members only pay for the months in which they fail to reach their targets.
Now, I know this all sounds very creepy, allowing your health insurance company that much influence over what you eat, how you sleep and how active you are, but to us (Jeanine and I…in fact the whole family) it was like, hey it's a free Apple Watch so what! So, we played the game and this is where the inspiration hit. Yes we were filling in our rings but I found myself making better decisions regarding my health. I ran more, sat less and ended up completing my first full marathon. I had kicked most of my old habits that were linked to me picking work over everything else, all because if I did not fill the rings I would have to pay for the Watch.
This was behavioural psychology at its best, and we were hooked. What made it so brilliant is the simplicity of its application, a balanced scorecard but for personal health. But wait! A balanced scorecard, was that not a business thing back in the day? Yes it was, The Balanced Scorecard was originally developed by Dr. Robert Kaplan of Harvard University and Dr. David Norton as a framework for measuring organisational performance using a more balanced set of performance measures. The “balanced scorecard” added additional non-financial strategic measures to the mix in order to better focus on long-term success.
We questioned whether we could do the same for a business or an organisation? Could we build a system that translated strategy into metrics that matter and, like a health monitor, guides you based on machine learning to make better decisions while running your business or building your career. The answer would be yes, as long as the result was elegant and simple.
We built Oktria to enable leadership teams to create a balanced scorecard with KPIs (Key Performance Metrics) linked to weighted targets and live actuals. This would become a strategic management system that forces a company to think long term and not just about short term profits or growth metrics; a system that helps companies be better for the environment, and the communities it serves, especially its employees. This was something that had to be done. A revolutionary movement with three rings at its core that encompassed the idea of linking the health of a business to the health of a person - mind, body and soul. We call them Care, Calculate and Create, and it allows us to link all the metrics that matter in any company or organisation.
While Apple has the trademark for personal health rings, we own the trademark for company health rings, and before you question whether this is a good idea or not, look at how Apple is currently struggling to keep its people from resigning due to poor decisions based on their remote working policy. Looks like the company that inspired us in the beginning is in desperate need of filling in more balanced company health rings, and they are not the only one.