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OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a hugely popular way of setting goals, measuring progress, and holding yourself accountable for achieving them. But is this approach right for your business?
In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of OKRs to help you decide whether or not they’re a good fit for you. We’ll also discuss what an OKR is, why it might be useful, and some common pitfalls to watch out for. Our hope is that with this information you will make an informed decision on whether or not you should use OKRs in your own business.
Since the early 2000s, OKRs have been gaining in popularity as a tool for setting and measuring progress and success in organizations such as Apple, Google, LinkedIn, Facebook.
The popularity of OKRs has come about because OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a simple yet powerful way to keep everyone aligned and focused on the most important things, and they can be used in businesses of all sizes.
At its heart, an OKR system is about setting clear objectives and then measuring progress against those objectives. The key results are the metric or indicators that you will use to track whether you are achieving your objective.
There are many different ways to set up an OKR system – but typically each quarter you will set a number of objectives, each with its own key result. You will then track progress against those key results over time.
If you’re new to OKR, or need an extra pair of hands to oversee best practice – then using an OKR consulting session or OKR trainer to help craft your strategy is invaluable.
One of the benefits of using OKRs is that they can help to focus everyone in the organization on the most important things. By setting clear objectives and measurable goals, you can ensure that everyone is working towards the same thing. This can be particularly helpful in larger organizations where it can be easy for people to get lost in their own little world and not know what impact their work is having on the bigger picture.
Another benefit of using OKRs is that they can help you to track progress over time. By setting measurable goals, you can see exactly how well you are doing against those goals and make necessary adjustments along the way. This feedback loop can be invaluable.
There are many benefits to using OKRs, especially for businesses. OKRs can improve clarity of purpose, help to focus and align team members, improve communication and contribute to overall accountability.
Some specific benefits of using OKRs include:
There are several reasons why a company that uses a goal-setting framework like OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) is likely to outperform a company that does not:
Overall, using a goal-setting framework like OKRs can help to clarify and align objectives, drive focus and productivity, enhance transparency and communication, and facilitate continuous improvement. As a result, a company that uses OKRs is likely to outperform one that does not.
There are several potential drawbacks to using OKRs. First, if not used correctly, they can lead to a focus on short-term results rather than long-term strategy. Second, they can create a sense of competition rather than collaboration among team members. Finally, they can be time-consuming and difficult to implement effectively.
There are some examples that could be used to contradict the narrative that teams with goals are more successful than those without goals:
That being said, if you use OKR correctly (as taught by OKR consultants) the ability to adapt and if necessary change OKRs is built into the OKR cycle.
OKR best practices also encourage teams to come up with their own OKR so that they feel a sense of ownership and accountability.
OKR grading and retrospectives should nullify the issue of unrealistic and demotivating goals.
Therefore it is generally accepted that setting and working towards clear and measurable OKR is an effective way to drive performance and achieve success.
In conclusion, OKRs can be a powerful tool for setting and achieving goals. There are many benefits to using OKRs such as increased alignment between teams and departments, better clarity of expectations from employees, improved focus on results rather than activities, and less time wasted discussing objectives. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide if the use of OKRs could benefit your organization or not.
© ZOKRI 2024 All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | GDPR
Project Principle
Matt is the founder of ZOKRI and author of the book Force Multipliers. His career started in media planning, advertising and digital marketing. He founded his first VC backed technology company in 2009, exiting in 2016.
Having held positions like Chief Strategy Office, and Chief Product Officer, in addition to various sales and marketing roles, Matt has a rare combination of perspectives and skills. He can seamlessly transitions between leadership conversations to being in the trenches with sales, marketing, customer service, data and HR teams.
Customer comment on Matt’s energy and passion, not just his know-how. In workshops this is an important and welcomed attribute, passion is infectious.
A guiding principle Matt lives by is ‘rapid value delivery’, and together with the team, many of the frameworks and tools used are geared towards this goal. Part of the rapid value delivery philosophy is to leverage what you know already as much as possible.
To enable this, Matt and the team will want to absorb and build on what you know and make positive changes, blending short-term opportunity with longer-term strategic advantage.
Project Principle
Ian is a Strategy and OKR thought leader with over 30 years of experience, helping organizations ranging from world leaders to ambitious startups and scale-ups.
His unique professional journey spans roles as a strategist, software engineering leader, product manager and a co-founder. This multidisciplinary background equips him with a comprehensive perspective, making him a valuable consultant capable of quickly identifying capabilities that hold an organization back.
In the last four years, Ian has focused on collaborating with C-suite executives of startups and scale-ups, aiding them in articulating their strategic vision and bringing it to life through effective OKR frameworks. His work has led to enhanced strategic clarity and execution for these organizations.
Ian champions the philosophy that continuous learning is the cornerstone of continuous improvement. By leveraging his expertise in product management, he assists organizations in engaging more deeply with their customers, powering strategic and tactical insights.
This approach not only aligns with his belief in the transformative power of learning but also ensures organizations are primed for sustained success.