Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth

Where an objective can be long-lived, rolled over for a year or longer, key results evolve as the work progresses. Once they are all completed, the objective is necessarily achieved. (And if it isn’t, the OKR was poorly designed in the first place.)

How does the new goal stack up against my existing ones? Should something be dropped to make room for the new commitment? In a high-functioning OKR system, top-down mandates to “just do more” are obsolete. Orders give way to questions, and to one question in particular: What matters most?

Less is more. “A few extremely well-chosen objectives,” Grove wrote, “impart a clear message about what we say ‘yes’ to and what we say ‘no’ to.” A limit of three to five OKRs per cycle leads companies, teams, and individuals to choose what matters most.

OKRs surface your primary goals. They channel efforts and coordination. They link diverse operations, lending purpose and unity to the entire organization.

Goals, the authors cautioned, were “a prescription-strength medication that requires careful dosing … and close supervision.” They even posted a warning label: “Goals may cause systematic problems in organizations due to narrowed focus, unethical behavior, increased risk taking, decreased cooperation, and decreased motivation.”

But make no mistake. For anyone striving for high performance in the workplace, goals are very necessary things.

Key results are the levers you pull, the marks you hit to achieve the goal. If an objective is well framed, three to five KRs will usually be adequate to reach it.

first slide of one early presentation: Crush, the purpose: To establish a sense of urgency and set in motion critical, corporate-wide decisions and action plans to address a life-threatening competitive challenge.

an ongoing, forward-looking dialogue between leaders and contributors. It centers on five questions: • What are you working on? • How are you doing; how are your OKRs coming along? • Is there anything impeding your work? • What do you need from me to be (more) successful? • How do you need to grow to achieve your career goals?