Context.

IENAI Space, a fast-growing and innovative aerospace start-up founded in 2019, currently employs around 30 people and specializes in developing fully customizable electric propulsion systems for small satellites.

Their flagship technology, the ATHENA thruster—based on electrospray and nanotechnology—is designed for satellites between 3 and 50 kg and has already achieved the longest verified firing time for its class in Europe.

Insight.

Due to the rapid pace of growth, the leadership team felt a strong need for greater clarity and alignment—both around the organization’s overall goals and the objectives within individual teams. In addition, the company aimed to foster a culture that would actively encourage innovation.

Activation.

After several conversations with the leadership team to clarify the purpose of the transformation, a clear action plan was developed. The leadership team was trained in Agile principles to ensure a shared understanding and a common language for discussing what IENAI Space needed to move forward.

While the company already had a sharp mission, vision, and strategy, it was looking for a more effective way to execute that strategy. To support this, we introduced OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). A workshop was organized with the leadership team to review the OKR framework and then collaboratively define the company-wide OKRs as a multidisciplinary team.

These company OKRs were shared with all employees, making the organization’s top priorities and ownership of results transparent to everyone. From that point on, a quarterly rhythm was introduced: each quarter, the company would reflect on progress, assess whether goals had been achieved, and define new objectives and plans for the upcoming quarter.

Once the company-level OKRs were in place, designated teams—supported by IMPACTIVATE—created their own team-level OKRs and aligned on a supporting meeting structure. Throughout the entire process, IMPACTIVATE guided the leadership team in shaping and implementing this new way of working.

Impact.

The implementation of the new way of working and cultural shift had a significant impact on IENAI Space. The use of OKRs brought clarity around objectives and improved alignment across departments. Teams collaborated more efficiently, leading to increased productivity. Innovation grew across the organization, driven by the OKR framework and a shift in leadership style.

Thanks to OKRs, employees had a much clearer understanding of what needed to be delivered—and were given the freedom to decide how to achieve those goals. To this day, IENAI Space continues to use Agile principles and the OKR framework to track strategic progress and realize its objectives, contributing to its success in the highly competitive space industry.

Mick Wijnen, Chief Technical Officer & Co-founder reflects: “The advice and guidance provided by IMPACTIVATE made a significant contribution to the success of our company”.