The importance of OKRs in your first 100 days and beyond leading a PE-backed GTM organisation

When Dan Cummings stepped into the role of Chief Commercial Officer at PrecisionAQ, he didn’t just inherit a team — he inherited a complex, PE-backed commercial ecosystem made up of multiple acquisitions, diverse teams, and ambitious growth targets.

In a recent episode of the SaaS Sales Performance Podcast, Dan sat down with Uhubs Co-Founder Matt Milligan to break down how he’s approached his first 100 days — and why OKRs are at the heart of his GTM strategy.

Day One Mentality: No Room for “Day Two Thinking”

Dan’s approach to leadership starts with a mindset: always Day One.

“Day Two is indecision, laziness, lack of rigour. Day One is grit, client obsession, and ruthless execution.”

Within days of joining, Dan was already embedded in every stage of the funnel — from marketing and lead gen to proposals and sales ops. He didn’t sit back and delegate; he rolled up his sleeves and did the work to understand how everything connected (or didn’t).

Unifying a Fragmented Organisation: From Siloes to Synergy

PrecisionAQ is the result of 12+ years of strategic acquisitions — agencies, consultancies, data companies — all stitched together under the Precision Medicine Group. But stitching doesn’t equal synergy.

Dan's challenge? Turning fragmented business units into a single, unified GTM engine.

His solution: Build connection through clarity. In his first 90 days, Dan set out to meet over 200 people, codify insights, and map out a strategic operating model that tied every team to a shared mission, vision, and a clear set of standards.

OKRs > Opinions: How to Build Alignment from C-Suite to Intern

Rather than trying to please everyone or operate on gut feel, Dan leaned into structured goal-setting using two systems:

• Boulders – big, multi-year priorities (e.g. modernise lead gen, unify GTM motion)
• OKRs – quarterly sprints with clearly defined, measurable key results

And it’s not just for board decks. These OKRs are discussed every week, shared openly across the org (even with interns), and tracked using three dashboards for Sales, Marketing, and Lead Gen.

“If you’re not running your GTM team with a system like OKRs, the board will do it for you — and that’s not where you want to be as a CCO.”

AI as a GTM Force Multiplier (But Only If People Come Along)

Dan is bullish on AI — but realistic about adoption. Some team members were hesitant, others felt it was “cheating.” His response? Evangelise through enablement.

In week two, he sent out a Loom showing how to build a campaign in 30 seconds using LLMs. Then he sat with his team, showed them how it worked, and asked them to build their own.

Now? The Lead Gen team is obsessed. AI is being used for:

• Proposal first drafts
• Competitive intelligence
• Sales insights
• Internal enablement

And it’s just the beginning.

The Deal Desk and Revenue Alignment: Sales + Delivery, Not Sales vs. Delivery

Dan’s take on the classic Sales vs. Delivery tension? Align incentives and data.

He implemented a Deal Desk that reviews every single proposal to ensure storytelling, differentiation, and alignment to the client’s real need — not just who gets credit internally.

By defining clear white space, win rates, and pipeline by pharma company, Dan turns subjective “feels” into objective facts — creating clarity in where and how each team should be focusing.

Final Takeaway: Ruthless Transparency + Relentless Execution

Dan Cummings isn’t building a team that waits to get told what to do. He’s building a team of operators, thinkers, and executors — all aligned to a shared mission and strategy, supported by OKRs, and powered by modern tools like AI.

If you’re leading a PE-backed org (or preparing to), Dan’s playbook is a must-study.