Read the updated post, Art of the OKR Redux instead! A lot has changed since 2014…. Original “Art of the OKR” below, for archival purposes: I wrote a book on…
okrs
Understanding what an Objective and Key Result is, why it's different from traditional goal setting, and what impact a good OKR will can have is vital.
This is a draft chapter from the second edition of Radical Focus. It’s coming… eventually. Hopefully soonish. Leave your wishlist for other topics you’d like it to cover, and enjoy the sneak peek! …
After many years of being a very vocal advocate for the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) technique, in the majority of companies I meet, I have stopped recommending the practice. That’s because, in so many companies, even though conceptually the technique is simple and sound, it ends up proving a waste of time and effort,...
A popular goal-setting framework, Objectives and key results (or OKRs) are an effective method for planning and measuring success on a team level. They fall short, however, when companies attempt to apply them to individual contributors. Setting individual OKRs generally leads to goals that are either not true indications of meaningful progress or that are easily gameable. Instead, individual contributors should be assessed based on the extent to which their work contributes to team goals that add real value to the company and its customers.
The acronym OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. Much has been written on the topic over the years yet they still remain a mystery for
Clinical and nonclinical staff at the Rotterdam Eye Hospital have improved patient care and raised staff morale at a very modest cost: 10 minutes a day and a special deck of cards. At the start of every shift, the team members get together for a brief “team-start.” Each team member rates his or her own mood as green (I’m good), orange (I’m okay but I have a few things I’m concerned about) or red (I’m under stress). The rest of the team doesn’t need to know that you’re under stress because you’re having a dispute with your landlord or you are worried about your ill toddler. How you feel, however, is important because it affects how you should be treated. Next, the team leader asks if there is anything in particular the team needs to know to work more effectively together that shift: For example, “Is there a delay in public transport so we can expect patients to be late for their appointments?,” or “Is there a patient with some kind of special need coming in?” Sharing the answers or results generated by the card questions and activities with the group ensures that the insights stick.
I remember the first time I had to write one of these puppies. I had just been promoted to manager at Yahoo back in 2000, and was running a small team. I was told to “write a status email covering …