Case Study: 3M achieves faster product commercialization and outcome-driven alignment with WorkBoard

3M - Customer Case Study

3M, a global innovator behind products like Post-it® notes and N95 respirators, needed a way to align its four business units and cross‑functional teams to accelerate product commercialization. Despite a strong culture of discovery, their stage‑gate reviews were inefficient—teams spent a week preparing for shallow 25‑minute executive reviews that left little time for problem solving or customer‑focused discussion.

In 2020 3M adopted OKRs and WorkBoard to create a common, outcome‑focused language and enable asynchronous collaboration across time zones. After one quarter, meeting prep fell from a week to about 30 minutes, the number of gate reviews before the operating committee was halved, and review time doubled to 50 minutes—freeing leaders to solve problems, increase alignment, and accelerate innovation globally.

3M

Phil Clark

Vice President, Research And Development, Automotive and Aerospace Solutions Division