OKRs
Objectives & Key Results
OKRs are a simple process that help drive all types of organizations forward.
Today
- Introduce OKRs
- Show some examples
- Define a set OKRs for the company
- Define a first draft of OKRs for each team/department
Introduction
OKRs are a collaborative goal-setting protocol for companies, teams, and individuals.
First used at Intel by Andy Grove in the 1970s
(where John Doerr worked)
John Doerr is a VC & an early investor in Google
Invested $11.8M for a 12% stake in Google in (1998).
His net worth is ~ $126 Billion as of Jan 2021.
John Doerr
"Ideas are easy. Execution is everything."
John Doerr used his own succesful experience at Intel & Sun to legitimize & introduce OKRs to Google in 1999.
A management methodology that helps to ensure a company focuses efforts on the same important issues throughout the organization.
OKRs, short for Objectives & Key Results, are
OKRs provide focus & alignment
OKRs are a collaborative goal-setting protocol for companies, teams, and individuals.
An OBJECTIVE is the
"What"
needs to be achieved
An Objective should be
- Significant
- Concrete
- Action oriented
- (Ideally) Inspirational
KEY RESULTS benchmark and monitor the
"How"
we get to the objective
A Key Result should be
- Specific
- Time-bound
- Aggressive
- Realistic
- Measurable
- Verifiable
Once the key results are completed, the objective is necessarily achieved.
You either meet a key result or you don't.
(otherwise the OKR was poorly defined in the first place)
Today, my OBJECTIVE is to build a planning model for the company, as measured by three KEY RESULTS
Example
KR#1: Finish this presentation on time
KR#2: Create a first set of OKRs for our company
KR#3: Gain 100% commitment from people in the room to implement OKRs.
Why use OKRs?
2) "Specific" hard goals produce a higher level of output than "vaguely worded" ones
Source: original experiments conducted by Edwin Locke, Psychology Prof. University of Maryland, 1970.
1) "Hard" goals drive performance more effectively than "easy" goals
90% of subsequent experiments confirmed Edwin Locke's insight
that productivity is enhanced by well-defined challenging goals.
Source: Deloitte, Deloitte Review, Issue 16, Jan. 2015
"Clearly defined goals that are written down and shared freely... create alignment, clarity, and job satisfaction"
OKRs are widely adopted by successful companies of all types
- Tech companies (Google, Dropbox, Slack, Spotify)
- Entreprise companies (Disney, BMW, Exxon, Samsung)
- Startups (e.g. Kindred, later acquired by Salesforce)
- Not-for-profits
Now, let's try some examples...
The Unicorns Ice-Hockey Team
OKRs
Head Coach
OKRS
Offensive coach
OKRs
Defensive coach
OKRs
Special Teams coach
OKRs
General
Manager
OKRs
OKRs Structure
SVP of Marketing
Create a winning & profitable team
- KR: Win the league
- KR: Fill home stands to 90% capacity
General Manager
Win the league
- KR: Attack scores at least 2 goals per game on average
- KR: Defense allows fewer than 2 goals per game on average
- KR: Power play special teams have at least 65% scoring conversion rate
Head Coach
Attack scores at least 2 goals per game on average
- KR: Maintain a > 70% pass completion rate for offense
- KR: Create at least 5 shot opportunities per period
- KR: Convert at least 15% of shots taken
Offensive Coach
Defense allows fewer than 2 goals per game on average
- KR: Maintain a > 70% pass completion rate for defense on average
- KR: Allow less than 5 shot opportunities per period
- KR: Maintain a 15% goal shutout during the season
Defensive Coach
Power play special teams have at least 65% scoring conversion rate
- KR: Practice 3 different set-pieces every week
- KR: Create 6 shot opportunities per power play
- KR: Convert 20% of shots taken
Special Teams Coach
Fill home stands to 90% capacity
- KR: Sell > 60% of all tickets through yearly memberships
- KR: Increase direct sales from website by 20%
- KR: Increase social media channel sales by 10%
SVP of Marketing
Another quick example
