What are OKRs?

OKRs are having an enormous impact on the business world. This is evident in the growing number of books on the topic, the software solutions for OKR rollout assistance, as well as the rising number of consultants that specialize in their implementation.

According to Wikipedia, OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a goal-setting framework used by individuals, teams, and organizations to define measurable goals and track their outcomes. Source: en.wikipedia.org

OKRs have a core principle that goes beyond the definition of what will merely be accomplished. They also outline precisely how those milestones will be achieved.

What is an OKR? 

To successfully adopt OKRs, it is important to first understand what Objective and Key Result (OKRs), what makes them different from traditional goal setting, as well as their impact on your team.

Strategy and OKR are both important parts of any company’s success. But they are different. And while there’s an obvious overlap between the two, it’s important to understand the differences between OKRs and Strategy. 

Ultimately, that OKRs can be a part of strategy, but don’t define it.

Set It and Check It vs. Set It and Forget It!

Your value proposition is not about “setting it and forgetting it” but rather “inspecting, adapting and improving continuously.” 

You need to continuously review and adjust your goals. Checkpoints should be established during your OKRs process. Be sure to be clear about the situation so that you can determine what is next. If your goals aren’t working, ask yourself why. Are there any issues? Are you doing something wrong? Are your goals still making sense? Change them if they d

But OKRs aren’t just about professional development

Objectives and Key Results are about setting qualitative goals for your teams, products or business: the objectives. Then measuring whether they’ve been achieved, through observable behavioral change in the people who use your service: the key results.

It’s usually a little more difficult to implement than it sounds, but the methodology tends to be implemented inside a business or organization. 

It turns out, however, that you can use the same method to set goals for yourself, whether for your professional growth or the development of your career.

The reason why the methodology is becoming so popular with personal goals setting is that it goes beyond measuring success by merely doing an activity, to seeing other people change their behavior because of the action taken. How to use OKRs to set goals for your professional and personal development.

That said, OKRs shouldn’t be used to manage every single thing your team does. and should generally be reserved for the most important things you are trying to optimize in the immediate future. The main argument for OKRs to be used solely for big things you’d like to focus on in the coming cycle is prioritization. 

more about OKRs

Top 10 frequently asked questions about OKRs

Source: OKR – everything you need to know. Top 10 FAQs.

  • How can we involve UX as a more strategic part of OKR implementation and strategy?
  • Can OKRs be used in public services/sectors?
  • When implementing OKRs, how to set the best cadence (for strategic, tactical and operational levels) if the organization still works with annual budgets?
  • Can the problem your OKRs are solving for be hypothesis-driven? In other words, you assume but have not validated that the problem exists.
  • How can we use the word “best this/that” in our objectives if it’s not quantifiable or measurable?
  • How do you connect objectives and key results with individual performance evaluation?
  • If you’re responsible for lower level, tactical OKRs how do you connect the bigger business problem (strategic objective) to avoid reverse-engineering your backlog into your goals?
  • What common cultural elements do you observe in organizations that have success with using OKRs?
  • If you have an objective: create the most delightful experience, could one KR be, “accelerate time to market to weekly releases?”
  • How does strategy work fit into objectives and key results?

Definition & Examples of Objectives & Key Results

Source: (whatmatters.com)

“OKR” stands for “Objectives and Key Results.” OKRs are a goal-setting tool for communicating what you want to accomplish and how to measure progress.

Outline:

  • What is an OKR? Definition and Examples
  • What are the components of an OKR? Objectives and Key Results
  • Who created the OKR methodology?
  • OKR Examples
  • What are the types of OKRs?
  • The Benefits of OKRs
  • Common OKR Mistakes
  • What OKR tools are available?
  • How do you grade OKRs?

OKRs: Learn Google’s Goal System with Examples and Templates

Source: (felipecastro.com)

OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a goal system used by Google and others. It is a simple tool to create alignment and engagement around measurable goals.

Outline:

  • What is OKR?
  • OKR Google’s approach to goal setting
  • The Components of OKRs
  • What’s unique about OKR?
  • Agile Goals
  • Simplicity
  • Transparency
  • Nested Cadences
  • Bidirectional Goal Setting
  • Ambitious Goals Moonshots and Stretch Goals
  • Decoupling Rewards
  • Adopting OKRs
  • Common OKR mistakes
  • Tips for writing good OKRs

OKR – Wikipedia

Source: (en.wikipedia.org)

Outline:

  • OKR
  • Overview
  • History
  • Best practices
  • Criticism
  • Similar frameworks
  • See also
  • References

What are OKRs? Guide to Objectives & Key Results

Source: (asana.com)

Ever wondered what OKR means? It stands for objective & key results—but what do those terms mean?

Outline:

  • Components of an OKR
  • What is the difference between OKRs and KPIs?
  • Origins of Objectives and Key Results OKRs
  • How to set good OKRs
  • How many OKRs should I set?
  • Company wide OKRs
  • Team specific OKRs
  • Marketing
  • Product
  • HR
  • Sales
  • Personal OKRs
  • The benefits of OKRs
  • Quickly set actionable goals
  • Easily set stretch goals
  • Increase employee engagement
  • Connect daily work to team and company objectives
  • Execution is everything

OKR – The Ultimate Guide to Objectives & Key Results

Source: (perdoo.com)

The Ultimate Guide to Objectives & Key Results contains everything you need to become a master in OKR.

Outline:

  • History
  • Benefits
  • Getting started
  • Finding the right OKR cadence
  • Creating your ultimate goal
  • Example of an ultimate goal
  • Setting company OKRs
  • Setting team and individual OKRs
  • Key characteristics of Objectives
  • Key characteristics of Key Results
  • Key characteristics of Initiatives
  • Learn how to write great OKRs
  • Initiatives
  • Examples
  • OKR software
  • Execute strategy and propel your growth with OKRs KPIs
  • FAQ

KPIs vs. OKRs: How They Compare and Why You Need both

Source: (wrike.com)

Outline:

  • KPIs vs OKRs: How they compare and why you need both to be successful
  • What is a KPI?
  • What is an OKR?
  • The difference between KPIs and OKRs
  • Which one is better?
  • Importance of measuring performance