Zulema Quintans runs operations at an energy company, and she has a clear theory about why goals fail. This is a conversation about making OKRs actually work, and how AI is changing the operator's job.

In this episode, Zulema and Michael discuss:

- Why most OKRs never get done, and the one link that fixes it

- Running OKRs as an operating system, not a quarterly ritual

- Aiming for 70 percent completion, and the Federer mindset behind it

- Being directive without micromanaging

- The $200 billion commercial buildings spend on energy, and how much is wasted

- How Noda connects to legacy buildings and cleans messy data

- Automated demand management, and the knob that quietly saves energy

- Why AI makes this a golden age for operators

- Where the human still has to stay in the loop

Chapters

00:00 Cold open: the energy waste problem

01:05 Meet Zulema and Noda

01:45 From Juilliard ballet to COO

03:30 Holding focus and flexibility

06:01 Why OKRs fail, and the 70% rule

08:41 Top-down meets bottom-up OKRs

13:09 Making OKRs the operating system

15:55 Inside Noda: climate tech for buildings

19:19 Turning messy building data usable

20:39 The modular path to automation

22:50 AI cuts onboarding from weeks to hours

24:50 The Buildings IoT acquisition

25:46 AI, the COO role, and human judgment

32:09 The five-year view for buildings

34:42 A warehouse full of sensors

About Zulema:

Zulema Quintans is the chief operating officer of Noda, an energy and building intelligence platform for commercial real estate, where she leads product, operations, and customer success. Before Noda she held leadership roles at Arcadia, American Express, and Bain & Company. She began her career as a professional ballet dancer trained at Juilliard.

Resources mentioned:

- Roger Federer, 2024 Dartmouth commencement address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqWUuYTcG-o

Connect with Zulema:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zulema-quintans-36152223/

- Noda: https://noda.ai

Connect with Michael:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-koenig514

- Building Helm: https://helmapp.ai

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