“A management methodology that helps to ensure that the company focuses efforts on the same important issues throughout the organization”

Objective

WHAT. Significant, concrete, action oriented, and (ideally) inspirational

Key Results

HOW. Specific and time-bound, aggressive yet realistic. Measure and verifiable.

Former Intel CEO Andy Grove in 2003 with a 1978 photo of him with Intel co-founders Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.

Intel Free Press [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

Former Intel CEO Andy Grove in 2003 with a 1978 photo of him with Intel co-founders Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.

okr_superpowers

Successful organizations focus on the handful of initiatives that can make a real difference, deferring less urgent ones
“must be able to measure… performance and results against the goal.” Peter Drucker
If you’re certain you’re going to nail it, you’re probably not pushing hard enough
The best OKR cadence is the one that fits the context and culture of your business
Completion of all key results must result in attainment of the objective. If not, it’s not an OKR
The one thing an OKR system should provide par excellence is focus. This can only happen if we keep the number of objectives small

Public goals are more likely to be attained than goals held in private
Meritocracy flourishes in sunlight
Companies with highly aligned employees are more than twice as likely to be top performers
People who choose their destination will own a deeper awareness of what it takes to get there
MyFitnessPal and Under Armor: “North star alignment”: “When our customers succeed at reaching their health and fitness goals, we succeed as a company”.

OKRs are living, breathing organisms
The single greatest motivator is ‘making progress in one’s work.’ The days that people make progress are the days they feel most motivated and engaged
The point of a real-time dashboard is to quantify progress against a target and flag what needs attention
Where OKRs scores pinpoint what went right or wrong in the work, and how the team might improve, self-assessments drive a superior goal-setting process for the next quarter
There are no judgments, only learning
The Gates Foundation: making goals concrete

“The biggest risk of all is not taking one” – Mellody Hobson
BHAG: “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” – Jim Collins
Google divides its OKRs into two categories, committed goals and aspirational (or “stretch”) goals
There is no one magic number for the “right” stretch. If you seek to achieve greatness, stretching for amazing is a great place to start
Google: “The Gospel of 10x”. Gmail: 1 GB of storage when web-based email systems offered 2 to 4 MB

CFRs. Conversations, Feedback, Recognition

An authentic, richly textured exchange between manager and contributor, aimed at driving performance

Bidirectional or networked communication among peers to evaluate progress and guide future improvement

Expressions of appreciation to deserving individuals for contributions of all sizes

Structure and clarity: are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?
Psychological safety: can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
Meaning of work: are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?
Dependability: can we count on each other to do high-quality work on time?
Impact of work: do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters?

Doerr, John. Measure what matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation rock the world with OKRs. Penguin, 2018.