Connecting the Hierarchy

StartConsole's power comes from a connected hierarchy: pillars group initiatives by strategy, themes group them by topic, OKRs connect them to measurable outcomes, and squads connect them to people and capacity. This chapter explains how to make each of those links and where they surface in the product.

Linking an initiative to a pillar

The pillar link is set directly on the initiative form.

1. Open an initiative (or create a new one)
2. Locate the Pillar field in the form
3. Select a pillar from the dropdown — the dropdown shows all pillars created in your organization
4. Save the initiative

An initiative can belong to only one pillar. If work spans multiple pillars, model it as two separate initiatives or assign it to the dominant pillar and note the cross-pillar scope in the description.

Linking an initiative to a theme

1. Open the initiative form
2. Locate the Theme field
3. Select a theme from the dropdown
4. Save

Themes are optional. An initiative that has no theme still appears in all standard views — it simply will not show up when filtering by theme.

Linking an initiative to a key result

Connecting an initiative to a specific OKR key result shows the strategic outcome this delivery work supports.

1. Open the initiative form
2. Locate the OKR Link field (sometimes labeled Key Result)
3. Click the field — a searchable dropdown lists all active key results across all objectives
4. Select the key result this initiative most directly supports
5. Save

Assigning a squad to a deliverable

Squads are connected at the deliverable level, not the initiative level.

1. Open the initiative detail view
2. Scroll to the Deliverables section
3. Click on a deliverable to edit it, or click Add Deliverable
4. In the Squad field, select the squad responsible for this deliverable
5. Save

Once a squad is assigned to a deliverable, that assignment feeds into the Capacity view, where you can see how much of the squad's monthly capacity is committed across all their deliverables.