Objectives and Key Results: Driving Focus, Alignment, and Engagement with OKRs

Everything you need to implement Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) effectively Objectives and Key Results is the first full-fledged reference guide on Objectives and Key Results, a critical thinking framework designed to help organizations create value through focus, alignment, and better communication. Written by two leading OKRs consultants and researchers, this book provides a one-stop resource for organizations looking to quantify qualitative goals and ensure each team focuses their efforts to make measureable progress on their most important goals. You’ll learn how OKRs came to be and how leading companies use them every day to help teams and employees stretch their thinking about what’s possible, build their goal-setting muscles and achieve results that reflect their full potential. From the basic framework to a detailed dissection of best practices, this informative guide walks you through real-world implementations to help you get the most out of OKRs. OKRs help employees work together, focus effort, and drive the organization forward. Key results are used to define what it means to achieve broad, qualitative goals, and imperatives like “do it better” are transformed into clear, measureable markers. From the framework’s inception in the 1980s to its popularity in today’s hyper-competitive environment, OKRs make work more engaging and feature frequent feedback cycles that enable workers to see the progress they make at work each and every day. This book shows you everything you need to know to implement OKRs effectively. Understand the basics of OKRs and their day-to-day use Learn how to gain the executive support critical to a successful implementation Maintain an effective program with key assessment tips Tailor the OKRs framework to your organization’s needs Objectives and Key Results is your key resource for designing, planning, implementing, and maintaining your OKRs program for sustainable company-wide success.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xiii Acknowledgments xix Chapter 1: Introduction to OKRs 1 The History of OKRs 1 What Are Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)? 6 Objectives 8 Key Results 8 Organizational Challenges, and Why You Need OKRs 13 Benefits of OKRs 20 Notes 26 Chapter 2: Preparing for Your OKRs Journey 29 Why Are You Implementing OKRs? 29 Executive Sponsorship: A Critical Component of Your OKRs Implementation 31 Where to Develop Your OKRs 33 Special Cases 36 An OKRs Development Plan 37 Key Lessons for Successful Transformation 41 The Building Blocks of OKRs: Mission, Vision, and Strategy 42 Roadmap Strategy 53 Notes 59 Chapter 3: Creating Effective OKRs 61 Omaha 61 Creating Powerful Objectives 62 Tips for Creating Objectives 64 Objective Descriptions 68 Characteristics of Effective Key Results 69 Tips for Creating Key Results 73 Types of Key Results 76 Scoring OKRs 80 How Often Do We Set OKRs? 85 How Many OKRs Do We Have? 86 Do OKRs Stay the Same from Quarter to Quarter? 88 Can OKRs Change during the Quarter? 89 The Process to Set OKRs 90 Notes 95 Chapter 4: Connecting OKRs to Drive Alignment 97 A Critical Link 99 Connecting OKRs 99 How to Connect OKRs 100 Creating Alignment 108 Confirming the Alignment of Connected OKRs 113 Closing Thoughts on Connecting 114 Notes 115 Chapter 5: Managing with OKRs 117 The Cycle: Monday Meetings, Mid-Quarter Check-Ins, and Quarterly Reviews 118 Updating OKRs at the End of the Quarter 128 Software and OKRs 129 Let’s Play 20 Questions! 137 Notes 138 Chapter 6: Making OKRs Sustainable 141 Don’t Think of OKRs as a Project 141 Who Owns the OKRs Process? 142 OKRs and Performance Reviews 144 OKRs and Incentive Compensation 147 Top 10 OKRs Issues 151 How Not to Implement OKRs . . . and Where Consultants Can Help 156 Concluding Thoughts 159 Notes 160 Chapter 7: Case Studies in OKRs Use 161 Flipkart 162 Career Builder 167 Zalando 171 Sears Holdings Corporation (SHC) 175 Go Noodle 185 Tax Slayer 190 Note 194 About the Authors 195 Index 197