{"id":4374,"date":"2019-07-18T14:50:56","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T21:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knowyourteam.com\/blog\/?p=4374"},"modified":"2025-02-11T14:13:51","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T22:13:51","slug":"okr-should-you-use-them-for-setting-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2019\/07\/18\/okr-should-you-use-them-for-setting-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"OKR: Should you use them for setting goals?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The upsides, downsides, and everything in between, to consider around using OKRs to set goals as a manager.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"OKR\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I remember the first time I heard the term, \u201cOKR\u201d about five or so years ago. My initial reaction was, \u201cEr\u2026 Okay, what?\u201d Turns out \u201cOKR\u201d is an acronym for \u201cObjectives and Key Results\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aa framework for setting goals as a manager within an organization that was popularized by Google. Today, OKR is used at a seemingly broad variety of companies, from larger established firms like Anheuser-Busch and Deloitte to younger tech companies like Eventbrite and Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re anything like me, though, having never worked at Google (unlike my younger brother!), you might be confused as I about what OKRs exactly are, how they work, and\u200a\u2014\u200amost importantly\u200a\u2014\u200aif they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re not alone. When I talk to leaders, many of them ask me how to align their team and set goals within their team. And in particular, more and more of them ask me: \u201cClaire, what do you<\/em> think of OKRs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the research we\u2019ve done around goal-setting and team performance, and drawing from the insights of 1,000+ managers in our online leadership community, here\u2019s my take on OKRs\u200a\u2014\u200aand whether or not you should use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First off, what exactly is OKR?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

OKR is a goal-setting methodology originally developed by Andy Grove, former CEO and Chairman of Intel. In his management classic, High Output Management<\/em><\/a>, he describes OKRs as being the answer to two questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Where do I want to go? (The answer provides the objective.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How will I pace myself to see if I am getting there? (The answer provides the key results.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In short, the objective is what<\/em> you want to achieve, and the key results are the benchmarks for how<\/em> you\u2019ll get to that objective. For example, here at Canopy, perhaps one of our objectives is for our software to be the #1 resource for new managers who want to become better. Accordingly, for this objective, a key result might be that \u201cwe have X number of users\u201d, or that \u201cY% of users rating our software positively\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aor both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    John Doerr, who learned OKR from Andy Grove while at Intel, was the one to teach and instill OKR at Google. He explains that the objective can be broad, aggressive, and even inspirational. But for the key results, the more specific, measurable, and verifiable, the better. He cited in his book about OKRs, Measure What Matters<\/em><\/a>: \u201cAs prize pupil, Marissa Meyer would say, \u2018It\u2019s not a key result unless it has a number.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Doerr recommends setting a limit of three to five OKRs per cycle, and generally, that each objective should be tied to five or fewer key results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At the end of each cycle, you then grade each of the OKR, with roughly 70% being the ideal score to shoot for. Along the entire process, these OKRs are made publicly known to everyone within the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why do some companies choose to use OKRs?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    At first brush, the appeal of OKR is obvious. It simplifies everything. By calling out objectives, you help your team identify and zero in on what matters most. With the key results, you create measurable benchmarks that help clarify what tangibly needs to happen, and likely hold folks accountable for those outcomes. And lastly, it\u2019s probable that OKRs promote alignment and transparency across the team since everyone knows what each others\u2019 OKRs would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This piece<\/a> written by Niket Desai, who worked at Google for a handful of years, espouses how much he and his team benefitted from OKR. He also wrote a template that can be found here<\/a> on how to roll-out OKRs in your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Recommendations (and caveats) if you do decide to use OKRs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    However, like anything, there\u2019s nuance around how effective OKRs are in practice. Doerr himself admitted that \u201cgoal setting isn\u2019t bulletproof\u201d and OKRs should not be blindly nor rigidly adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In our community, the managers who did<\/em> roll-out OKRs had some key learnings and caveats that they recommended that folks keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some of the biggest learnings from managers in our community who use OKRS:<\/p>\n\n\n\n