OKRs – Objectives & Key Results

OKRs

OKR - the acronym stands for “Objectives and Key Results”.

Objective (O):

(the O in OKR) are qualitative, inspirational, time-bound goals to be executed by a team or an individual. Clear and Easy to understand a statement of a goal.

Key result (KR):

(the KR in OKR) quantifies the Objective and breaks it into specific metrics that can be used to measure the achievement of the desired Objective.


It is a framework for implementing growth plans and achieving goals. It aligns and connects your employees for faster growth.

Objective defines - What do you want to accomplish?

Key Results define - How are you going to achieve your objective?


Benefits of OKRs

Focus:

OKRs create focus on what matters.

Alignment:

OKRs align teams to a common goal

Commitment:

OKRs to engage and motivate employees

Tracking:

OKRs enable measurement and tracking of key results

Stretching:

OKRs drive and build a high-performance culture


Companies using OKRs

  • Amazon
  • Netflix
  • Google
  • Linkedin
  • Uber


OKR Softwares

OKR software (Objective & Key Results software) is a tool used for developing strategy and process objectives that connect both the team and the organization. OKR software can be used to build out this strategy and track the objectives involved. You can think of OKR software as an online goal tracker.

  • Gtmhub
  • Workboard
  • monday.com
  • Peoplebox


OKRs vs. KPIs?

KPIs are a series of quantitative goals that compartmentalize progress into bite-sized chunks of measurable data. 

The OKR methodology, on the other hand, is more advanced and ambitious and requires more of a push to achieve the results, though they should still be attainable.


Types of OKRs

OKRs can be of three types: Committed, Aspirational, or Learning OKRs.

Committed OKRs

are like their name suggests — commitments. When graded at the end of a cycle, a Committed OKR is expected to have a passing grade.

Aspirational OKRs

are sometimes called stretch goals or “moonshots.” The pathway to an Aspirational OKR is expected to be forged since no one else has gotten there before. They also may be long-term and live beyond an OKR cycle or even be transferred between team members to stretch employee engagement.

Learning OKRs

are for when learning something new is the most valuable outcome for the cycle. If a team isn’t sure how to proceed, they could set a Learning OKR that answers, “What is the most important thing we’re trying to learn in the next 90 days?” The results can then inform a related Committed or Aspirational OKR in the next cycle.


Who created the OKR methodology?

The OKR methodology was created by Andy Grove at Intel and taught to John Doerr by him. 

In the book “Measure What Matters”, John Doerr writes about “MBOs,” or “Management by Objectives.” MBOs were the brainchild of Peter Drucker and provided Andy Grove a basis for his eventual theory of OKRs. In fact, Grove’s name for them originally was “iMBOs,” for Intel Management by Objectives. Despite the original name, Grove created some key differences between the two which he passed along to Doerr.

Doerr was the one who crafted the name “OKRs.” He introduced the philosophy to Google’s founders in 1999. Google then set its company strategy with this management framework and the rest is history.


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