Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth

Goals, the authors cautioned, were “a prescription-strength medication that requires careful dosing … and close supervision.” They even posted a warning label: “Goals may cause systematic problems in organizations due to narrowed focus, unethical behavior, increased risk taking, decreased cooperation, and decreased motivation.”

exactly how do you build engagement? A two-year Deloitte study found that no single factor has more impact than “clearly defined goals that are written down and shared freely …. Goals create alignment, clarity, and job satisfaction.”

OKRs are a cooperative social contract to establish priorities and define how progress will be measured. Even after company objectives are closed to debate, their key results continue to be negotiated. Collective agreement is essential to maximum goal achievement.

At Intel, he went on, “we tend to be exactly the opposite. It almost doesn’t matter what you know. It’s what you can do with whatever you know or can acquire and actually accomplish [that] tends to be valued here.” Hence the company’s slogan: “Intel delivers.”

OKRs surface your primary goals. They channel efforts and coordination. They link diverse operations, lending purpose and unity to the entire organization.

Effective KRs are specific and time-bound, aggressive yet realistic. Most of all, they are measurable and verifiable. (As prize pupil Marissa Mayer would say, “It’s not a key result unless it has a number.”) You either meet a key result’s requirements or you don’t; there is no gray area,

Less is more. “A few extremely well-chosen objectives,” Grove wrote, “impart a clear message about what we say ‘yes’ to and what we say ‘no’ to.” A limit of three to five OKRs per cycle leads companies, teams, and individuals to choose what matters most.

an ongoing, forward-looking dialogue between leaders and contributors. It centers on five questions: • What are you working on? • How are you doing; how are your OKRs coming along? • Is there anything impeding your work? • What do you need from me to be (more) successful? • How do you need to grow to achieve your career goals?

Here are some reflections for closing out an OKR cycle: • Did I accomplish all of my objectives? If so, what contributed to my success? • If not, what obstacles did I encounter? • If I were to rewrite a goal achieved in full, what would I change? • What have I learned that might alter my approach to the next cycle’s OKRs?

Precisely because OKRs are transparent, they can be shared without cascading them in lockstep.