ShiftFocus vs Workboard
Execution Intelligence vs Status Reporting
Workboard helps you report on goals. ShiftFocus helps you prevent misses—by predicting execution risk early, enforcing recovery, and giving leaders a clear intervention loop before outcomes harden.
Schedule Executive Walkthrough
Run the 90-day Parallel Pilot
Parallel run
SSO/SCIM
Audit logs
Jira/Slack/Salesforce sync
Executive weekly brief
1-Minute Verdict
Where Workboard is strong
Mature OKR program management and rollups
Solid for governance, reporting, and quarterly rituals
Where it breaks
It tells you what happened—not what will happen​
"Green" status hides drift until it's too late​
Check-ins become ceremony, not control​
Execs still chase updates and interpret noise
Where ShiftFocus wins
​Predicts slippage 2–3 weeks early and explains why
​Enforces execution cadence without chasing
​Turns risks into interventions (owners, actions, deadlines)
Gives leadership a simulation loop to test tradeoffs
Workboard is a reporting layer.
ShiftFocus is a control system.
Reporting shows you where execution is. Control tells you where it's going—and helps you change the trajectory.
The Core Difference
Workboard answers: "Are goals updated?"
ShiftFocus answers: "Will the plan land — and what's the fastest recovery move?"
Prediction
Detect trajectory decay early. Know what will slip before it's too late to recover.
Intervention
Identify root cause (capacity, dependencies, blockers) + get recommended actions instantly.
Control
Simulation + scenario decisions before you reshuffle the org. Test tradeoffs, not guesses.
The Brutal Comparison
An honest, feature-by-feature breakdown. No marketing spin.
A) Strategy → OKRs (baseline)
WORKBOARD
Company / team / individual OKRs
Check-ins
Confidence + blockers captured
Alignment basics
OKR templates & policy guardrails
Weighted scoring + rollups
SHIFTFOCUS
Company / team / individual OKRs
Check-ins
Confidence + blockers captured
Alignment basics
OKR templates & policy guardrails
Weighted scoring + rollups
WHY IT MATTERS
Core feature for both
Standard cadence mechanism
Basic update structure
Strategic cascading
Governance hygiene
Standard scoring mechanism
B) Trajectory & Prediction (where the replacement happens)
WORKBOARD
Trajectory view (not just status)
Execution analytics suite
Early risk alerts (system-level)
Predictive execution AI
Reliability / forecast modeling
Predict goal failure 2–3 weeks early
Execution confidence score (team + goal)
Momentum/velocity trend detection
"Silent drift" detection (green dashboards trap)
Executive "risk heatmap" across org
SHIFTFOCUS
Core framing
Overview + performance + velocity + workload
Alerts layer (designed as system)
Category-defining
Reliability / forecast modeling
Predict goal failure 2–3 weeks early
Execution confidence score (team + goal)
Momentum/velocity trend detection
"Silent drift" detection (green dashboards trap)
Executive "risk heatmap" across org
WHY IT MATTERS
See where execution is heading
Complete execution picture
Complete execution picture
This is the wedge
Know probability of success
Early intervention prevents late-stage scrambles
Leading indicator of trajectory
Spot deceleration before it hardens
Surface hidden risks behind optimistic updates
Portfolio view of execution health
C) Intervention & "what to do next"
WORKBOARD
"Why are we drifting?" root-cause
Recommendations engine
Team overload + workload distribution
Heatmaps & trends
Manager OS layer
Weekly executive brief (auto-generated)
"What changed this week" delta view
"What changed this week" delta view
SHIFTFOCUS
Designed into Intelligence layer
System concept (recommendations + actions)
Workload distribution + analytics
Heatmaps & trends direction
Manager OS direction
Weekly executive brief (auto-generated)
​Execution confidence score (team + goal)
"What changed this week" delta view
WHY IT MATTERS
Know *why* before you intervene
Alerts that tell you what to do
Prevent burnout and overcommitment
Visual pattern recognition
Empower middle management
No manual summarization
Executives want change, not noise
Focus on what matters most
D) Dependencies & Capacity (lethal in enterprise)
WORKBOARD
Cross-team dependency engine
Capacity/constraint awareness
Dependency AI
Dependency map across initiatives
Critical path + bottleneck detection
Capacity view (workload vs commitments)
Congestion alerts
Dependency congestion forecasting
Initiative health tied to dependency health
"Blocked-by" and "blocking" tracking
SHIFTFOCUS
Designed as core differentiator
Included in execution intelligence direction
Planned/intended
Full graph
Critical path + bottleneck detection
Capacity view (workload vs commitments)
Congestion alerts
Dependency congestion forecasting
Initiative health tied to dependency health
"Blocked-by" and "blocking" tracking
WHY IT MATTERS
Enterprise execution lives here
See full network effect
Auto-detect implicit dependencies
See full network effect
Know what blocks the entire chain
Prevent overcommitment before it happens
Too many priorities = nothing ships
Predict bottlenecks before they block
Upstream risk becomes visible
Make dependencies explicit
E) Enforcement ("we don't just track it" layer)
WORKBOARD
Check-in enforcement engine
KR slippage workflows
Escalation routing
Rule engine
Weekly commitment engine
Ritual automation (Mon/Wed/Fri)
Required weekly check-ins (fast, structured)
Auto-escalation rules
Automatic recovery plans
Confidence decay when commitment quality drops
Intervention tracking
SHIFTFOCUS
Enforcement Layer
KR slippage workflows
Escalation routing
Rule engine
Weekly commitment engine
Ritual automation (Mon/Wed/Fri)
Required weekly check-ins (fast, structured)
Auto-escalation rules
Automatic recovery plans
Confidence decay when commitment quality drops
Intervention tracking
WHY IT MATTERS
Cadence stays alive without chasing
Auto-respond to drift
Right person, right time
Custom to your governance model
Turn strategy into weekly action
Embed cadence into workflow
Cadence creates predictability
No chasing required
Turn risk into action plan instantly
Spot disengagement before outcomes suffer
See what leadership changed and impact
F) Simulation (the "Palantir move")
WORKBOARD
Scenario simulation for execution
"What happens if we reallocate?"
"If we do nothing, what happens?" projection
SHIFTFOCUS
CEO Simulation Console direction
"What happens if we reallocate?"
"If we do nothing, what happens?" projection
WHY IT MATTERS
Test tradeoffs, not guesses
Model before you commit
Simulation layer for decision-making
G) Integrations & Ecosystem
WORKBOARD
Slack / calendar / drive ecosystem
Slack + Teams native experience
Jira bi-directional sync
Asana/Monday/Linear connectors
Salesforce signal pull (pipeline alignment)
Calendar hooks (cadence reinforcement)
SSO: Okta/AzureAD
SCIM provisioning
Webhooks + API access
Data export to warehouse
SHIFTFOCUS
Ecosystem-ready
Slack + Teams native experience
Full sync
Asana/Monday/Linear connectors
Salesforce signal pull (pipeline alignment)
Calendar hooks (cadence reinforcement)
SSO: Okta/AzureAD
SCIM provisioning
Webhooks + API access
Data export to warehouse
WHY IT MATTERS
Meet teams where they work
Meet teams where they work
Keep execution and tracking aligned
Custom to your governance model
Connect revenue to execution
Embed in daily workflow
Enterprise table stakes
Embed cadence into workflow
Turn risk into action plan instantly
Own your data
H) Implementation Model (closes enterprise deals)
WORKBOARD
Rip-and-replace required
Time-to-proof
Executive reporting burden
SHIFTFOCUS
No — parallel pilot
90 days to measured proof
Lower via intelligence + summaries
WHY IT MATTERS
De-risk the decision
Fast validation cycle
Less manual work
I) Reporting & QBRs
WORKBOARD
QBR generation (auto narrative + key changes)
Board/QBR ready storyline (no manual prep)
Monthly/weekly performance reports
Cross-team execution comparison
Trend reports (confidence, blockers, velocity)
"What slipped and why" retrospective view
Leadership decision log + effects
SHIFTFOCUS
AI-generated
Auto
​Monthly/weekly performance reports
Cross-team execution comparison
Full analytics
Auto
SSO: Okta/AzureAD
WHY IT MATTERS
Save hours of manual prep
Collapse prep time by 80%
Standard reporting
Spot capability gaps across teams
Trend depth matters for prediction
Learn from execution patterns
Track intervention impact
J) Admin / Security / Governance
WORKBOARD
Role-based permissions (RBAC)
Admin policy controls
Audit logs
Data retention controls
Workspace controls (teams, cycles, governance)
Approval flows (changes, goal edits, scoring)
Risk & escalation policy configuration
Compliance posture page (SOC2-ready)
SHIFTFOCUS
Role-based permissions (RBAC)
Admin policy controls
​Monthly/weekly performance reports
Data retention controls
Workspace controls (teams, cycles, governance)
Configurable
Risk & escalation policy configuration
Compliance posture page (SOC2-ready)
WHY IT MATTERS
Standard security
Governance layer
Compliance requirement
Compliance requirement
Multi-tenant support
Match your governance model
Custom to your culture
Enterprise requirement
H) Implementation Model (closes enterprise deals)
Rip-and-replace required
Often
No — parallel pilot
De-risk the decision
Time-to-proof
Slow
90 days to measured proof
Fast validation cycle
Executive reporting burden
High
Lower via intelligence + summaries
Less manual work
I) Reporting & QBRs
QBR generation (auto narrative + key changes)
Templates
AI-generated
Save hours of manual prep
Monthly/weekly performance reports
Standard reporting
QBR generation (auto narrative + key changes)
Manual
Auto
Collapse prep time by 80%
Cross-team execution comparison
Basic
Spot capability gaps across teams
Trend reports (confidence, blockers, velocity)
Basic
Full analytics
Trend depth matters for prediction
"What slipped and why" retrospective view
Manual
Auto
Learn from execution patterns
Leadership decision log + effects
Track intervention impact
J) Admin / Security / Governance
Role-based permissions (RBAC)
Standard security
Admin policy controls
Governance layer
Audit logs
Compliance requirement
Data retention controls
Compliance requirement
Workspace controls (teams, cycles, governance)
Multi-tenant support
Approval flows (changes, goal edits, scoring)
Basic
Configurable
Match your governance model
Risk & escalation policy configuration
Custom to your culture
Compliance posture page (SOC2-ready)
Enterprise requirement
Who should choose which?
Fewer late escalations You need OKR reporting infrastructure and your execution model is already working. You want governance, not prediction.
Choose ShiftFocus if: You're tired of late escalations, "green until red" dashboards, and manual QBR prep. You want to prevent misses, not just report them.
Schedule Executive Walkthrough
What changes / what doesn't
Where it breaks
Your OKR structure
Your governance model
Your reporting cadence
Your team ownership model
Where it breaks
You see risk earlier
Cadence becomes enforceable
Leadership intervention becomes smaller + earlier
QBR prep collapses into a clear narrative
Execution becomes predictable
What changes / what doesn't
No hand-waving. No case studies. Just measurable outcomes.
Risks surfaced before deadlines (tracked)
Fewer late escalations (tracked)
Shorter exec reviews (tracked)
Less manual QBR prep (tracked)
Clear interventions + outcome impact (tracked)
Pilot Scorecard Preview
Week-by-week metrics you'll track during the 90-day parallel run:
Week 1–2
Setup + baseline capture
Week 7–10
Pattern detection
Week 3–6
Early signal validation
Week 11–12
Go/no-go decision
If ShiftFocus can't create visible leverage inside a quarter, you shouldn't roll it out.
Run both in parallel for one quarter.
Decide with proof.
No politics. No disruption. No forced migration.
Just a controlled evaluation that shows whether execution becomes more predictable.
Schedule Executive Walkthrough
Run the 90-day Parallel Pilot