Q: How do I write a good Objective?

Write An Objective A clearly defined statement of what you aim to achieve. Encapsulates both ambition and direction. It should be concise yet inspiring. Specific enough to provide clear guidance yet broad enough to encourage innovative approaches. Support your objective with a longer written narrative that explains your belief or hypothesis, aka experiment. Describe why we are choosing this objective for the next period Explain how the objective connects to the strategy and/or and another OKR State the hypothesis that this objective represents What are the beliefs? What are the guardrails - the non-negotiable boundaries within which you must operate to prevent derailment. E.g. "Must comply with data privacy regulations." Where do you have room to manoeuvre and experiment to navigate complex challenges? E.g. "Open to adjusting feature set based on user feedback."

Question 1

What is an OKR?

Accepted Answer

OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. It's a goal-setting framework where Objectives define what you want to achieve, and Key Results are the measurable outcomes that indicate success.

Intel and Google first used OKR. The framework has now has overtaken methods like SMART goals in popularity.

The Objective is a short statement describing the goal you want to achieve in usually a quarter (90 days) or a year, and Key Results (usually 1 to 3) describe how you will measure the Objective's success. The basic idea is that you must achieve all of the Key Results to achieve your Objective.

There are many ways companies choose to use OKRs. We will show you the one that is most likely to produce the changes in performance and behaviour you are seeking.

Question 2

How are OKRs different from traditional goal-setting methods?

Accepted Answer

OKRs focus on outcomes rather than tasks, promote organizational alignment, and provide a framework for regular check-ins and adaptations.

As such they are different from traditional goal-setting approaches in several key ways:

Outcomes vs. Tasks: OKRs focus on desired outcomes rather than specific tasks or activities. They separate the "what" (Objectives) from the "how" (Activities/Experiments).
Success & Learning Focused: We go to great lengths to ensure OKRs are set up for success, yet "100% goal achievement is not likely or expected. This means you can be ambitious, take calculated risks and focus on learning.
Transparency: OKRs promote organizational transparency.
Not for Performance Evaluation: Unlike traditional goals, OKRs are not typically used for individual performance assessment but may be referenced by some as part of a more significant performance picture.
Focus on the "Wildly Important": OKRs encourage focusing on a few critical objectives rather than trying to do everything.
Regular Check-ins: OKRs involve weekly check-ins to discuss progress, challenges, and next steps, which may not be as frequent with traditional goals.
Separation from BAU: OKRs are separate from Business-as-Usual (BAU) activities, focusing on transformative change rather than routine operations.
Learning Orientation: OKRs emphasise learning and adaptation. For example, Retrospectives tcapture learnings at the end of each OKR cycle.
Cross-functional Collaboration: OKR are often the goals that guide "Strategic Cross-functional teams" - teams formed from individuals from other teams and departments.

This approach to goal-setting is designed to drive focus, alignment, and ambitious thinking while maintaining flexibility and promoting learning. It's a more dynamic and collaborative than many traditional goal-setting methods.

Question 3

How do OKRs drive business growth?

Accepted Answer

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) drive business growth in several powerful ways:

Breaking the "Business as Usual" Trap: Without OKRs, it's easy to fall into the comfort of routine. You might find your team stuck in a cycle of maintaining rather than growing. OKRs force you to articulate ambitious goals, pushing you out of that comfort zone and into the realm of true growth.
Eliminating the "Shiny Object Syndrome": In a world of constant innovation and trends, it's tempting to chase every new idea. OKRs act as a filter, helping you discern which opportunities align with your core objectives and which are just distractions. This focus can prevent resource drain on non-essential initiatives.
Bridging the Strategy-Execution Gap: Many businesses struggle to turn high-level strategy into day-to-day action. OKRs serve as a bridge, translating lofty visions into concrete, measurable steps. Without this bridge, your brilliant strategy might never materialize into actual growth.
Cultivating a Growth Mindset: The process of setting, pursuing, and reflecting on OKRs inherently fosters a growth mindset across your organization. Instead of seeing challenges as roadblocks, your team starts viewing them as opportunities to learn and improve.
Preventing Siloed Success: In the absence of OKRs, you might see individual departments or teams achieving their goals, but the company as a whole stagnating. OKRs ensure that success in one area translates to overall business growth by aligning everyone's efforts.
Turning Failures into Fuel: Without a structured goal-setting framework like OKRs, failures can be demoralizing. OKRs reframe "failures" as valuable data points, fueling your next iteration and driving continuous improvement.
Unlocking Hidden Potential: OKRs can reveal capabilities within your team that you didn't know existed. By setting ambitious goals, you might discover that your team is capable of far more than you (or they) ever imagined, unlocking new avenues for growth.
Creating a Common Language of Progress: In a business without OKRs, different teams might measure success in wildly different ways. OKRs provide a unified language of progress, making it easier to collaborate across departments and drive collective growth.
Preventing Analysis Paralysis: Without clear objectives, businesses can get stuck in endless planning and analysis. OKRs provide a framework for action, pushing you to make decisions and move forward, even in uncertain conditions.
Fostering Intrapreneurship: OKRs can turn every employee into an "intrapreneur," someone who takes ownership of driving growth from within. This distributed approach to growth can lead to innovations and improvements across all levels of the organization.

Imagine trying to achieve significant business growth without these elements in place. It would be like trying to build a skyscraper without a blueprint or proper tools. Sure, you might make some progress, but it would be inefficient, unpredictable, and potentially chaotic.

OKRs provide the structure, focus, and alignment needed to turn growth from a hope into a systematic, achievable process. They transform growth from something that happens to you into something you actively create and steer.

So, the next time you think about how OKRs drive business growth, don't just think about the framework itself. Think about the chaos, missed opportunities, and unrealized potential you're avoiding by using them. In the end, OKRs don't just drive growth – they make intentional, sustainable growth possible in a way that few other business practices can match.

Question 4

What does it mean to think of OKRs as "bets"?

Accepted Answer

A bet, in the context of OKRs, is a commitment of our most valuable resources—time, attention, focus, energy, and money—towards achieving a specific, high-impact objective. It's a calculated risk that acknowledges the uncertainty inherent in pursuing ambitious goals while providing a framework to manage that uncertainty.

Unlike traditional gambling, where outcomes are left to chance, these bets are carefully crafted hypotheses about what will drive the most significant impact, backed by data and insight.

So OKRs represent a deliberate choice to prioritize certain initiatives over others, focusing on the wildly important rather than trying to do everything. By framing OKRs as bets, the intention is to create a sense of urgency, encourage bold thinking, and foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.

The most significant rewards come not from playing it safe but from making fewer, bigger bets on the opportunities that truly matter.

Question 5

How do OKRs promote organizational alignment?

Accepted Answer

We get to see firsthand that OKRs are a fantastic framework for promoting organizational alignment, and here is why.

Imagine your organisation as a rowing team. To win the race, everyone needs to row in the same direction, at the same rhythm, with a shared understanding of where they're headed. That's exactly what OKRs do for your company.

Here's how OKRs promote organizational alignment:

Aligned goals: OKRs typically start at the top with strategic company-wide objectives. These compay OKRs are then aligned with via team OKRs, often cross-functional in nature. This creates a clear line of sight from the vision to the strategy and the goals that will deliver on both.
Transparency: OKRs are usually visible to everyone in the organization. This transparency allows all employees to see how their work contributes to the bigger picture, fostering a sense of purpose and connection.
Cross-functional skills and perspectives: When different departments contribute and collaborate on OKRs, new skills and perspectives create better outcomes.
Regular check-ins: The OKR process involves frequent (usually weekly) check-ins. These create a rhythm of communication and alignment, ensuring everyone stays on the same page as priorities evolve.
Shared language: OKRs provide a common framework and vocabulary for discussing goals and progress. This shared language makes it easier for everyone to understand and align with the company's direction.
Focus on outcomes: By emphasizing key results rather than just activities, OKRs help align everyone around what really matters – the outcomes that drive the business forward.

Remember, implementing OKRs isn't just about setting goals – it's about creating a culture of alignment and shared purpose.

When done right, you'll see increased collaboration, better resource allocation, and a more engaged workforce all pulling in the same direction.

Question 6

How many OKRs should a team have?

Accepted Answer

We recommend having only one, or if really needed, two ACTIVE OKRs per team to maintain focus and avoid diluting efforts.

Question 7

What's the typical timeframe for OKRs?

Accepted Answer

OKRs are typically set every quarter, although some organizations may use annual OKRs for high-level strategic goals.

Question 8

How do I write a good Objective?

Accepted Answer

Write An Objective

A clearly defined statement of what you aim to achieve.
Encapsulates both ambition and direction.
It should be concise yet inspiring.
Specific enough to provide clear guidance yet broad enough to encourage innovative approaches.

Support your objective with a longer written narrative that explains your belief or hypothesis, aka experiment.

Describe why we are choosing this objective for the next period
Explain how the objective connects to the strategy and/or and another OKR
State the hypothesis that this objective represents
What are the beliefs?
What are the guardrails - the non-negotiable boundaries within which you must operate to prevent derailment. E.g. "Must comply with data privacy regulations."
Where do you have room to manoeuvre and experiment to navigate complex challenges? E.g. "Open to adjusting feature set based on user feedback."

Question 9

What makes a good Key Result?

Accepted Answer

Writing Key Results

Key Results are a collection of measures and targets that, if met or exceeded, would mean that the Objective has been reached. Together, they tell a measurable ‘story’ of the success of your objective.

Key Results are how you will know you are progressing towards your objective.
Can be influenced by a team of people
Change frequently enough to be tracked week-to-week
Can be moved during the OKR cycle

Things to ensure you also do are:

Explain how each Key Result connects to the objective and why we have chosen it.
Explain the hypothesis that underpins each Key Result.
What would represent a significant success?
What would represent a failure?
What might make us pivot?

Key Results With A Metric

The most common and our preferred Key Result formula is:

[Increase / Decrease] [Metric Name] from X to Y

X = Starting Value

Y = Target Value - the value you think can be hit

Setting Ambitious Targets

Sometimes raise the bar and set hard-to-reach targets because it helps us imagine how we might create a step change in performance. It often sparks new approaches to challenges and innovations, and we learn more.

Because of this, we need to be clear about where we’ve stretched ourselves, and 100% goal achievement is not likely or expected.

As part of this mindset we recognise that success can also be measured by how much we have learned, how we worked together, and our effort. The actual level of each OKR success will be determined at the end of the period in a meeting we call a retrospective.

Use the label aspiration to denote ambition and a stretch target.

E.g. Increase [metric] from X to Y (aspirational)

Baseline Key Results

Another approach when you know the measure but can’t set a target because you haven’t measured it yet is to name your measure or metric and put [BASELINE] and ZERO as values.

E.g. Increase [metric] (baseline)

Question 10

How many Key Results should an Objective have?

Accepted Answer

Typically, an Objective should have 1-3 Key Results. The average is 2.

Question 11

What is a Discovery Key Result?

Accepted Answer

A Discovery Key Result is a term we coined. We created it because over many years of training teams, we have discovered it to be an essential concept in some implementations, especially when dealing with uncertainty or exploring new areas.

Here's an explanation of Discovery Key Results:

A Discovery Key Result is a specialized type of Key Result designed to uncover critical information or insights necessary for making informed strategic decisions. Unlike traditional Key Results that measure specific, quantifiable outcomes, Discovery KRs focus on the process of learning and exploration.

Key characteristics of Discovery Key Results include:

Exploratory Nature: They venture into the unknown, seeking answers to crucial questions that will shape future strategy.
Qualitative Focus: While they may involve gathering quantitative data, the primary outcome is often qualitative insights.
Customer and Value-Centric: They typically revolve around understanding customer needs, preferences, or behaviors, or exploring new avenues for value creation.
Prerequisite to Traditional OKRs: Discovery KRs often pave the way for more traditional, measurable OKRs by providing the foundational knowledge needed to set informed goals.
Time-Bound: Like all OKRs, Discovery KRs should have a clear timeframe for completion.

You might use Discovery Key Results when:

There's a significant knowledge gap preventing effective strategic planning.
You're entering new markets or launching new products/services.
Facing rapidly changing market conditions or customer behavior.
Exploring potential pivots or significant strategic shifts.

The value of a Discovery Key Result lies in the knowledge gained rather than a specific metric achieved. They acknowledge that in some scenarios, learning and exploration are the most valuable outcomes.

Question 12

How ambitious should OKRs be?

Accepted Answer

OKRs should be ambitious and challenging. We encourage selecting "aspirational" Key Result targets to encourage innovative thinking as long as it’s clear that achievement is not the primary aim and success can be partial achievement of a target, especially where there are learnings.

Question 13

What's the process for creating OKRs?

Accepted Answer

The OKR Process That Works

Our 10-step OKR creation process involves:

Gathering candidate ideas
Reading and reviewing ideas across teams
Holding workshops to shortlist OKRs
Identify OKR team
Adding draft OKRs to your OKR Management System
Teams delegate conflicting work to create capacity
Follow team forming playbook*
Refine OKR and add Activities/Experiments
Launching the OKRs
Get into execution and reporting rhythm

Why Team Formation Makes or Breaks Your OKRs

Here's a truth we've learned from working with hundreds of companies: the best-written OKRs can fall flat without a well-formed team behind them. Think about it - you're asking people who might not usually work together to achieve ambitious goals in 90 days. That's like building a high-performance race car while the race is already running!

The Real Cost of Skipping Team Formation

When teams jump straight into execution, we see the same stories play out:

Weeks lost to misaligned working styles
Confusion over who's responsible for what
Missed opportunities due to poor communication
Frustrated team members working at cross-purposes
Great ideas that never get proper consideration

The Smart Way to Form OKR Teams

The most successful organizations treat team formation as a critical phase of their OKR cycle. They know that a small investment in getting teams right pays massive dividends in execution speed and goal achievement.

What Great Team Formation Looks Like

Clear Roles from Day One
Everyone knows their part in the story
Leaders are prepped and ready to guide
Decision-making processes are crystal clear

Strong Social Foundations

Team members build real connections
Trust develops through shared understanding
Communication flows naturally and openly

Rapid Acceleration

Teams hit the ground running
Early obstacles are anticipated and avoided
Progress starts flowing from week one

The Business Impact

Companies that nail team formation see:

2-3x faster progress in the first month
Higher goal achievement rates
Better cross-functional collaboration
Increased employee satisfaction
More innovative solutions

Making It Work in Your Organization

Great team formation doesn't happen by accident. It needs:

Dedicated time for team alignment
Leadership support and involvement
Clear processes and expectations
Tools and frameworks that support collaboration

Where ZOKRI Comes In

We've built team formation right into our OKR platform because we know it's not just nice-to-have – it's essential. Our tools and templates help you:

Structure effective team kickoffs
Clarify roles and responsibilities
Track team health and alignment
Support ongoing collaboration
Measure and improve team performance

Ready to Transform Your OKR Success?

Don't let poor team formation hold your OKRs back. Whether you're just starting with OKRs or looking to improve your existing process, making team formation a priority will dramatically increase your chances of success.

Question 14

How often should we review OKRs?

Accepted Answer

We frequently get to meet teams that set OKRs – your strategic game plan for success – and then only revisit and talk about them monthly or quarterly.

If these goals truly represent our path to "winning" in our market, shouldn't they be constantly at the forefront of our minds and conversations?

Consider this: Your OKRs embody your most critical objectives, the ones deemed essential for executing your strategy. They're not just any goals; they're the goals you've decided are vital enough to dedicate significant resources to. In essence, they're the key to your organization's future success.

Moreover, think about the message infrequent OKR reviews send to your team. If you only discuss these supposedly "wildly important" goals once a month or once a quarter, what does that say about their true priority? How can you expect your team to remain focused and motivated on these objectives if they're not part of regular conversations?

Frequent OKR reviews aren't just about tracking progress; they're about maintaining alignment, fostering accountability, and creating opportunities for rapid course correction. They're chances to celebrate small wins, address emerging challenges, share learnings and keep the entire organization rowing in the same direction.

Imagine the alternative: You've set ambitious OKRs, but you only review them quarterly. Three months pass, and you realize you've veered off course. You've lost a quarter of your year – a quarter you can't get back.

So, how often should we review OKRs? The answer, upon reflection, becomes clear: as often as necessary to ensure they remain at the forefront of your organization's focus and efforts.

For most organizations, this means weekly check-ins at the team level. It means OKRs being a standing agenda item in leadership meetings. It means creating a rhythm where progress, confidence levels, priorities, and issues related to OKRs are discussed regularly and openly.

Remember, your OKRs represent your strategy in action. If you're not talking about them frequently, you're not really focusing on your strategy. And in a world where strategic execution is often the difference between thriving and merely surviving, can you afford not to have your OKRs at the center of your ongoing dialogue?

Ultimately, the frequency of OKR reviews should reflect their importance to your organization's success. If they truly are your roadmap to winning in your market, they deserve your constant attention, not just a quarterly glance.

Question 15

What should be included in an OKR check-in?

Accepted Answer

An effective OKR check-in is crucial for maintaining momentum and ensuring your team stays aligned with your strategic goals. Here's what should be included in an OKR check-in:

Key Result Updates: Team members should update their Key Results before the meeting to save time.
Confidence Levels: Assess confidence in achieving each Key Result using a High/Medium/Low scale. It's important to discuss the evidence behind these confidence levels, not just gut feelings.
Key Learnings: Share insights gained since the last check-in.
Issues and Challenges: Identify and discuss any roadblocks or challenges faced.
Planning: Determine specific activities or initiatives for the coming week to improve confidence or make progress.
Resource Check: Ensure everyone has what they need to contribute effectively in the coming week.
Future Preparation: Discuss any necessary groundwork for upcoming tasks or milestones.
Action Items: Summarize actions and assign owners before concluding.

However, it's crucial to understand that knowing what to include in a check-in is just the beginning. The real key to successful OKR implementation lies in how these check-ins are conducted and the skills of the OKR lead facilitating them.

This is where proper training and mentoring become invaluable. At ZOKRI, we recognize that creating great, strategically aligned OKRs is just the first step. The real challenge often lies in the execution, particularly in those early quarters when the OKR process is still new to your team.

That's why our training goes beyond just teaching you how to set OKRs. We provide comprehensive support to OKR leads, equipping them with the skills and confidence to run high-impact check-ins. Our goal is to ensure these meetings have a high return on time invested (ROTI) for all participants.

We work closely with OKR leads during the initial quarters, providing guidance and mentoring on how to:

Facilitate productive discussions
Ask probing questions to uncover real insights
Manage time effectively during check-ins
Address challenges and roadblocks constructively
Foster a culture of accountability and collaboration

By supporting you through these early stages, we ensure that what starts as a new process quickly becomes second nature. Our hands-on approach helps embed OKRs into your organization's DNA, turning them from a management tool into a driving force for your business strategy.

Remember, effective OKR check-ins are more than just status updates. They're dynamic, forward-looking sessions that keep your team aligned, motivated, and focused on what truly matters. With the right training and support, your OKR leads can transform these check-ins into powerful engines of strategic execution and business growth.

At ZOKRI, we're committed to not just teaching you about OKRs, but to partnering with you to ensure your OKR implementation drives real, sustainable results for your organization. Because when it comes to OKRs, success isn't just about knowing what to do – it's about mastering how to do it.

Question 16

How do we grade OKRs at the end of a cycle?

Accepted Answer

At the end of an OKR cycle, conduct a retrospective and grade the OKR as Excellent, Good, OK, Poor, or Bad based on both quantitative achievements and qualitative factors like learnings and effort. What’s as important as the grade are your written reflections - what happened, what did you learn? What should you keep, start and stop doing next time?

Question 17

Can OKRs be changed mid-cycle?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if an OKR no longer makes sense, it can be changed. However, this should be done thoughtfully and with approval from leadership.

Question 18

What are Strategic Cross-functional OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Strategic Cross-functional OKRs are a specific type of OKR that plays a crucial role in executing an organization's strategy. Here are the key characteristics and aspects of Strategic Cross-functional OKRs:

Strategic Focus: These OKRs are directly tied to progressing the company's overall strategy. They represent the few critical objectives that are deemed essential for strategic execution.
Cross-functional Collaboration: As the name suggests, these OKRs require collaboration across multiple teams or departments. They're not confined to a single team's efforts.
Dedicated Resourcing: Strategic Cross-functional OKRs are typically resourced by dedicated or near-dedicated cross-functional teams. This ensures they receive the focus and effort required for success.
Time-bound: Like other OKRs, they are typically set on a quarterly basis, although they may sometimes extend beyond a single quarter if the strategic initiative requires it.
Transformative Nature: These OKRs drive innovation and significant improvement. They're not about maintaining the status quo but about creating step-changes in performance.
Limited in Number: Given their importance and the resources they require, organizations typically focus on just a few Strategic Cross-functional OKRs at a time.
Distinct from BAU: These OKRs are not used for tracking routine operations. They're about driving transformative change rather than optimizing business-as-usual activities.
High Priority: Because of their strategic importance, these OKRs often take precedence over other goals and receive significant attention from leadership.
Alignment: They help ensure that different parts of the organization are working together towards common, strategically crucial goals.

By focusing on these Strategic Cross-functional OKRs, organizations can make significant progress on their most important strategic initiatives, fostering collaboration across the company and driving transformative change.

The key to success with these OKRs is ensuring they're truly cross-functional, well-resourced, and aligned with the company's overall strategic direction. They represent the "big bets" that the organization is making to move the needle on its most critical objectives.

Question 19

What are BAU Optimization OKRs?

Accepted Answer

These are OKRs aimed at improving a team's core business-as-usual operations, distinct from more transformative, strategic OKRs.

Question 20

How do Strategic Cross-functional OKRs differ from BAU Optimization OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Strategic Cross-functional OKRs focus on critical strategic objectives and often involve multiple teams, while BAU Optimization OKRs focus on improving everyday operations within a single team.

Question 21

Can we have both types of OKRs simultaneously?

Accepted Answer

Yes, an organization can have both Strategic Cross-functional OKRs and BAU Optimization OKRs, depending on its needs and priorities.

Question 22

How can we ensure our OKRs align with company strategy?

Accepted Answer

Aligning OKRs with company strategy is crucial for effective goal-setting and execution. Based on the knowledge from the handbook, here's how you can ensure your OKRs align with company strategy:

Start with the Company Strategy: OKRs should be set in the context of your overall company strategy. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the company's strategic objectives before setting OKRs.
Use the Strategy as a Reference Point: When creating OKRs, always refer back to the company strategy. This helps ensure that each objective contributes to the broader strategic goals.
Explain the Connection: In the OKR narrative, explicitly explain how each objective connects to the overall strategy. This helps everyone understand the strategic relevance of their work.
Focus on the "Wildly Important": Limit OKRs to the most critical objectives. These should be the goals that are key to progressing your strategy.
Create Strategic Cross-functional OKRs: These OKRs are specifically designed to execute key strategic initiatives. They involve collaboration across teams and are resourced for success.
Use an OKR Creation Process: We use a 5-step OKR creation process that includes reviewing ideas across teams and holding workshops. This process ensures strategic alignment.
Involve Leadership: The Executive Sponsor role helps keep OKRs connected to the bigger picture. Ensure leadership is involved in the OKR setting process.
Regular Review: During quarterly planning sessions, review the alignment of OKRs with strategy. Also, be prepared to adjust OKRs if there's a significant shift in company strategy.
Align Thoughtfully: While OKRs can align from company to team levels, ensure this is done in a way that maintains strategic focus rather than becoming overly tactical.
Use Metric Trees/Models: We suggest creating metric trees or models that show how different metrics relate to strategic outcomes. Use these to inform your OKR creation.
Balance BAU and Strategic OKRs: While Business-as-Usual (BAU) Optimization OKRs are important, ensure you're also setting Strategic Cross-functional OKRs that drive transformative change aligned with your strategy.

Remember, the goal is not just to have OKRs that loosely relate to strategy but to create a clear line of sight from the company's strategic objectives down to the quarterly goals of teams and often individuals as well. This alignment ensures that everyone's efforts are contributing to the company's most important strategic initiatives.

Question 23

Should all OKRs directly tie to company strategy?

Accepted Answer

While all OKRs should support the company strategy in some way, BAU Optimization OKRs might have a less direct connection than Strategic Cross-functional OKRs.

Question 24

How often should we revisit our OKRs in light of strategy changes?

Accepted Answer

Review the alignment of OKRs with strategy during quarterly planning sessions and whenever there's a significant shift in company strategy.

Question 25

Can OKRs help shape strategy?

Accepted Answer

Yes, insights gained from pursuing OKRs can inform strategy. This is especially true for Discovery Key Results, which can uncover new strategic opportunities.

Question 26

How do we align strategy into OKRs at different levels of the organization?

Accepted Answer

Start with high-level strategic OKRs and then create supporting OKRs at team and individual levels that contribute to these overarching goals.

Question 27

What are Activities/Experiments in the context of OKRs?

Accepted Answer

While quarterly OKRs provide our overarching goals, the real engine of progress lies in the activities and experiments we conduct to achieve these objectives.

By nesting hypothesis-driven activities within our OKRs, we create a dynamic system that drives progress, encourages learning, and allows for rapid adaptation.

Activities/experiments are a separate list of the work you need to test, complete, release, implement, roll out, update, launch, etc., that help you progress Key Result measures and targets.

These can have states like Ideas/Up-next/In Progress/Completed and have their own sub-tasks and progress measures.

Understanding Activities/Experiments in the OKR Context

Activities or Experiments are the tactical, hypothesis-driven actions we take to move the needle on our Key Results. They have several key characteristics:

Hypothesis-Based: Each activity starts with a clear hypothesis about how it will impact our Key Results.
Time-Bound: They typically operate on shorter timescales than the overall OKR, often spanning days or weeks.
Measurable: They have clear success criteria that can be evaluated quickly.
Adaptive: Based on results, we can quickly pivot or double down on our approach.

Training and coaching teams to work in this way has proven time and time again to be an accelerator of OKR achievement.

Question 28

How do we track progress on OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Use a combination of regular check-ins, updating Key Result metrics and confidence levels, and tracking the progress of associated Activities/Experiments.

Question 29

What should we do if we're not making much progress on an OKR?

Accepted Answer

Reassess your approach, identify obstacles, consider adjusting your Activities/Experiments, and, if necessary, reevaluate the OKR itself.

Question 30

How do we handle dependencies between OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Dependencies, issues, and risks should be discussed when creating an OKR. Where you rely highly on other teams or people, consider creating cross-functional OKRs with dedicated or near-dedicated resources. The risk of not moving the needle dramatically increases if you rely on your priority to be another team's or individual's priority.

Question 31

What's the role of leadership in OKR management?

Accepted Answer

Leadership should set the overall direction, provide resources, remove obstacles, and participate in regular check-ins to stay connected with progress.

Question 32

Are OKRs used for individual performance assessment?

Accepted Answer

No, OKRs are not typically used for individual performance assessment. They are a tool for setting and achieving organizational and team goals. You should set personal goals with your manager that are focused on learning, personal development and success in your role. Personal goals should align with the needs of the company, your team and your own ambitions and aspirations.

Question 33

Can OKRs replace traditional performance reviews?

Accepted Answer

OKRs are not designed to replace performance reviews, but they can provide valuable input into the review process by showcasing an individual's contributions to team and organizational goals.

Question 34

How do we motivate team members to engage with OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Involve team members in the OKR creation process, clearly communicate the importance of OKRs, celebrate achievements, and use OKRs as a tool for growth and learning rather than punishment.

Question 35

What if someone consistently fails to achieve their OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Focus on learning and improvement rather than punishment. Analyze the reasons for consistent underachievement and use this information to adjust goal-setting, provide additional support, or reassess resource allocation.

Question 36

How do OKRs foster a culture of transparency?

Accepted Answer

OKRs promote transparency in several key ways:

Visibility of goals: In a well-implemented OKR system, objectives and key results are visible to the entire organization. This means that from the CEO to the newest hire, everyone can see the KPIs and metrics that matter via scorecards, the carefully chosen and committed goals (OKRs), and how they relate to the company's overall vision and strategy.
Clear expectations: OKRs provide clarity on what needs to be achieved. There's no ambiguity about priorities or success metrics, which reduces confusion and promotes open communication.
Regular check-ins: The OKR process involves frequent (ideally weekly) check-ins where progress is discussed openly. This creates a habit of sharing updates, challenges, and wins, fostering an environment where open communication is the norm.
Shared accountability: When goals are public, there's a sense of shared accountability. Teams and individuals are more likely to support each other because everyone can see how their work interconnects.
Data-driven discussions: OKRs encourage the creation of a data model and the use of measurable key results. This shifts conversations from subjective opinions to objective data, making discussions more transparent and fact-based.
Normalized failure: OKRs create an environment where success is optimized for yet it's okay not to achieve 100% of every goal. This openness about "failures" promotes honest reporting and learning from mistakes.
Leadership transparency: When leadership can articulate the strategy and set OKRs, it sets a tone of openness from the top down and helps employees understand the company's direction.

Fostering a culture of transparency through OKRs is a journey. It requires consistent effort and a willingness to be vulnerable. But the payoff is substantial: increased trust, better collaboration, and a more engaged workforce.

Have you noticed any challenges or resistance to transparency in your organization? We'd be happy to discuss strategies for overcoming those obstacles if you have any specific concerns.

Question 37

How do we create effective cross-functional OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Involve all relevant departments in the OKR creation process, clearly define roles and responsibilities, establish a dedicated cross-functional team, and delegate team members business-as-usual work, except for the management/support of their reports.

Question 38

What's the best way to introduce OKRs to a team that's never used them?

Accepted Answer

Start by educating teams about OKR guiding principles. Then, train and coach them to propose ideas, debate them, draft them, launch them, and succeed in achieving them.

Question 39

How do we balance ambitious OKRs with realistic expectations?

Accepted Answer

Clearly label any stretch goals, and remember that striving for ambitious goals often leads to significant learning and improvements.

Question 40

Can we use OKRs for long-term projects that span multiple quarters?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but ensure OKRs and related activities/experiments contain smaller units of achievement and learning. At the end of every quarter, you will have the choice to continue without changes to the OKR, continue with changes or stop the OKR.

Question 41

How do we avoid setting too many OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Focus on the "wildly important" goals, limit each team to 1 OKR per quarter (2 max), and remember that fewer, more focused OKRs are generally more effective than numerous, diluted ones. You can always complete an OKR and start another, working in serial, not parallel.

Question 42

What if our OKRs become outdated due to rapid market changes?

Accepted Answer

Conduct regular reviews of your OKRs in light of market conditions. Be prepared to adjust or even completely change OKRs if they no longer make sense due to external factors.

Question 43

How do we prevent OKRs from becoming a bureaucratic exercise?

Accepted Answer

Keep the process simple and focused on outcomes rather than documentation. Ensure OKRs are meaningful and connected to real business impact, and regularly reinforce their importance in driving organizational success.

Question 44

What if teams struggle to come up with measurable Key Results?

Accepted Answer

Provide training on crafting good Key Results, use the "metrics models" exercise to identify potential metrics, and consider using Discovery Key Results if you need to gather more information before setting specific targets.

Question 45

How do we handle resistance to the OKR framework?

Accepted Answer

Address concerns openly, provide education about the benefits of OKRs, start with a small pilot to demonstrate value, and ensure leadership visibly supports and engages with the OKR process.

Question 46

How can we make our OKR process more data-driven?

Accepted Answer

Making your OKR process more data-driven isn't just a nice-to-have – it's essential for success. The key to achieving this lies in developing a robust data model or metric tree for your organization.

First, let's consider what a data model or metric tree is. Imagine a tree where the trunk represents your organization's ultimate goals or North Star metrics. The main branches are your key performance indicators (KPIs), and as you move further out to smaller branches and leaves, you find more granular metrics and measurements. This visual representation helps everyone understand how different metrics relate to each other and contribute to overall success.

Now, why is this so important for your OKR process?

Identifying Leading and Lagging Indicators: A well-constructed metric tree clearly shows which metrics are leading indicators (predictive of future performance) and which are lagging indicators (showing past performance). This insight is invaluable when setting OKRs. You can focus your objectives on improving leading indicators, knowing that success here will drive improvements in lagging indicators down the line.
Understanding Cause and Effect: By mapping out how different metrics relate to each other, you gain a clearer understanding of cause and effect in your business. This allows you to set more strategic OKRs that target root causes rather than symptoms.
Aligning OKRs with Strategy: Your metric tree should be a direct reflection of your business strategy. When you set OKRs based on this tree, you ensure that every objective is contributing directly to your strategic goals. It becomes much easier to see how day-to-day activities ladder up to big-picture outcomes.
Enhancing Observability: Here's where the concept of observability comes in. A good metric tree enhances your organization's observability. It allows you to infer the health and performance of complex business processes by monitoring key metrics at various levels.
Empowering Teams: When teams can see how their metrics fit into the larger picture, it gives their work measurable purpose. They understand how their efforts contribute to higher-level goals, which can be incredibly motivating.
Making Informed Decisions: With a clear metric tree, decision-making becomes more informed and strategic. You can quickly identify which levers to pull to drive desired outcomes, making your OKRs more impactful.
Facilitating Cross-functional Collaboration: A shared understanding of how metrics interrelate encourages cross-functional collaboration. Teams can see how their OKRs might impact (or be impacted by) other departments' goals.
Enabling More Precise OKRs: With a detailed metric tree, you can set more precise, data-driven OKRs. Instead of vague objectives, you can target specific metrics that your model shows are key drivers of success.
Improving OKR Reviews: During OKR check-ins, you can refer to your metric tree to understand not just whether you're hitting your targets, but why or why not. This deeper understanding leads to more productive discussions and better course corrections.
Evolving Your Strategy: As you track metrics over time, you'll gain insights that allow you to refine your metric tree. This, in turn, helps evolve your overall strategy, ensuring your OKRs remain aligned with what truly drives business success.

Implementing a data-driven OKR process based on a robust metric tree isn't just about making your goal-setting more accurate. It's about bringing your entire strategy to life, giving everyone in the organization a clear, measurable purpose, and enhancing your ability to observe, understand, and influence your business's performance.

At ZOKRI, we specialize in helping organizations develop these crucial data models and implement them effectively in their OKR processes. We understand that every business is unique, and we work with you to create a metric tree that reflects your specific strategy and goals. Our aim is to make your OKR process not just data-driven but a powerful tool for strategic execution and business growth.

Remember, gut feelings aren't enough. A data-driven OKR process, grounded in a well-structured metric tree, gives you the insights and focus you need to navigate challenges and seize opportunities. It's not just about setting better goals – it's about fundamentally improving how you understand and run your business.

Question 47

What role does risk assessment play in OKR setting?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a thorough risk assessment for each OKR, considering factors like strategic alignment, implementation risks, and organizational fit. Use this assessment to create more robust and effective OKRs.

Question 48

How can we improve the quality of our OKR check-ins?

Accepted Answer

Focus on forward-looking discussions rather than status updates, encourage open communication about challenges, and always end with clear action items for the coming week.

Question 49

What's the importance of retrospectives in the OKR process?

Accepted Answer

Retrospectives provide an opportunity to reflect on what worked, what didn't, and why. They're crucial for continuous improvement of both your OKRs and your OKR process.

Question 50

How can we foster a culture that embraces OKRs?

Accepted Answer

Lead by example, celebrate both achievements and learnings, provide thorough training, ensure leadership actively participates, and consistently communicate the value of OKRs in driving organizational success.

Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) A Framework To Execute Strategy & Optimize Growth

OKRs: The Art Of Strategic Alignment

OKRs: Aligning Ambition - Accelerating Achievement Across All Areas

OKR Basic Concepts

What is an OKR?

How are OKRs different from traditional goal-setting methods?

How do OKRs drive business growth?

What does it mean to think of OKRs as "bets"?

How do OKRs promote organizational alignment?

How many OKRs should a team have?

What's the typical timeframe for OKRs?

Creating OKRs

How do I write a good Objective?

What makes a good Key Result?

Writing Key Results

How many Key Results should an Objective have?

What is a Discovery Key Result?

How ambitious should OKRs be?

OKR Process

What's the process for creating OKRs?

The OKR Process That Works

How often should we review OKRs?

What should be included in an OKR check-in?

How do we grade OKRs at the end of a cycle?

Can OKRs be changed mid-cycle?

Types of OKRs

What are Strategic Cross-functional OKRs?

What are BAU Optimization OKRs?

How do Strategic Cross-functional OKRs differ from BAU Optimization OKRs?

Can we have both types of OKRs simultaneously?

Aligning OKRs With Strategy

How can we ensure our OKRs align with company strategy?

Should all OKRs directly tie to company strategy?

How often should we revisit our OKRs in light of strategy changes?

Can OKRs help shape strategy?

How do we align strategy into OKRs at different levels of the organization?

Managing OKRs

What are Activities/Experiments in the context of OKRs?

How do we track progress on OKRs?

What should we do if we're not making much progress on an OKR?

How do we handle dependencies between OKRs?

What's the role of leadership in OKR management?

OKRs and Performance Management

Are OKRs used for individual performance assessment?

Can OKRs replace traditional performance reviews?

How do we motivate team members to engage with OKRs?

What if someone consistently fails to achieve their OKRs?

Advanced OKR Topics

How do OKRs foster a culture of transparency?

How do we create effective cross-functional OKRs?

What's the best way to introduce OKRs to a team that's never used them?

How do we balance ambitious OKRs with realistic expectations?

Can we use OKRs for long-term projects that span multiple quarters?

Common OKR Challenges & Solutions

How do we avoid setting too many OKRs?

What if our OKRs become outdated due to rapid market changes?

How do we prevent OKRs from becoming a bureaucratic exercise?

What if teams struggle to come up with measurable Key Results?

How do we handle resistance to the OKR framework?

OKR Best Practices

How can we make our OKR process more data-driven?

What role does risk assessment play in OKR setting?

How can we improve the quality of our OKR check-ins?

What's the importance of retrospectives in the OKR process?

How can we foster a culture that embraces OKRs?

Understanding The OKR Framework

What Makes Something a “Framework”?

The OKR Framework Explained

Core Components of the Framework

Strategic Clarity

Goal Structure

Organizational Rhythm

Team Architecture

Management Practices

The Framework in Action

Planning (Week 1

Execution (Weeks 2-12)

Review (Week 13)

Common Framework Misconceptions

What Makes This Framework Powerful