The Truth About OKRs: Focus and Alignment, Not Management
Plus tips on setting up OKRs in your company
When I talk to executives about OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), I often find they either dismiss them as a flavor-of-the-month fad or they think OKRs are an essential management tool for better performance across the company. Let me set the record straight: OKRs aren't new and they're not a management tool.
Origins and Common Misconceptions
OKRs aren't some revolutionary concept. They evolved from Peter Drucker's Management by Objectives (MBO) from the 1950s. Andy Grove created OKRs in the early 1970s at Intel to address the weaknesses of MBO and management by key performance indicators (KPIs).
The problems with those traditional approaches are well-documented:
Objectives can be too vague, lacking clear direction
KPIs are susceptible to gaming or can lead to hitting all targets while still missing the overall goal
OKRs solve these weaknesses by merging MBO and KPIs. Yet people still struggle with them. Many companies implement OKRs but fail to realize the value: they are too much work, they are too complicated, they turn into a bureaucratic nightmare. Many other companies avoid using OKRs because they've heard of the nightmares.
The problem isn't OKRs themselves. The problem is how we (mis)use them.
OKRs are NOT a management tool.
When OKRs go wrong, sometimes the problem is people are not taking the time to gain traction. Most often, though, people struggle because they are using OKRs as a management tool.
OKRs are not:
A task list
A project list
A way to measure, correct, or reward people
If you use OKRs to control performance, your team will game the system just like they do with MBOs, balanced scorecards, or KPIs. (If you're interested in this phenomenon, check out The Hollow Core of Elon Musk’s Productivity Dogma for a stark example.)
Knowing what OKRs really are will help you get all the benefit, keep things as simple as necessary, and avoid the common traps that cause those nightmares.
What OKRs Actually Are
OKRs are tools for focus, alignment, ownership, and flow that help steer your work:
Focus: Identifying the few most important things (your "hell yes" priorities) based on purpose and strategy
Alignment: Creating agreement on what those few things are and each person's contribution
Ownership: Clarifying who owns what, fostering a culture of "how can I help?", and addressing conflicts constructively
Flow: Maintaining clarity on your "hell yes" priorities to guide decisions in the face of day-to-day distractions
The Simple Structure of OKRs
The beauty of OKRs lies in their simplicity:
Objectives are directional and imprecise, but they express desired improvement. This is crucial: OKRs specify how you'll improve, not how you'll maintain business as usual ("keeping the lights on").
Key Results are measurable. For each KR, capture a starting point and a goal. For example, if your KR is "Reduce client wait times," your starting point might be the current average of 15 minutes, with a goal to reduce it to 10 minutes in the next quarter.
Key results can be measured in different ways:
Subjective assessments (if everyone agrees on evaluation criteria)
Specific output quantities (5 new designs to test)
Operational improvements (reduce turnaround time from 5 to 4 days)
Progress toward completion (project completion from 20% to 50%)
The key is balance. Don't overload your OKRs beyond what you can accomplish while maintaining your keep-the-lights-on (KTLO) work.
For each period (typically a quarter):
Set no more than 5 objectives for the whole company (ideally 3 or fewer)
For each objective, define no more than 5 key results (ideally 3 or fewer)
Assign ownership of objectives to individuals who are accountable (but not necessarily doing all the work)
Establishing a Cadence
To make OKRs work, you need a consistent meeting rhythm. This should become your senior team's primary meeting cadence. These meetings will cover:
OKR tracking and support
Current tactical issues (hot topics)
"Parking lot" or backlog conversations
KTLO KPIs
Make these meetings sacred:
Everyone on the team attends
These meetings take priority over most other activities
Valid reasons for missing are true emergencies (illness, family issues) or planned vacations
Avoid rescheduling; if someone is away, have the meeting anyway
Here's a recommended cadence:
Annual (2-day offsite): Senior team sets company goals and first quarter OKRs, reviews previous quarter; include strategic deep-dives, long-term planning, and team building
Quarterly (1-day offsite): Evaluate last quarter's progress, set next quarter's OKRs; include strategic deep-dives and team building
Monthly (3 hours): Check if current OKRs are still relevant, discuss any needed changes; include strategic deep-dives and your weekly/bi-weekly tactical meeting
Weekly/Bi-weekly (1-2 hours): Tactical meeting with quick updates/needs (like the Daily), identify off-track items, address support needs; you may find, with practice, you can complete your Weekly/Bi-weekly in about 45 minutes
Daily (15 minutes or less): Quick check-ins on priorities and needs
Ad hoc (typically 30 to 60 minutes): Specially called meetings to do a deep-dive into a topic that can't wait until (or won't fit into) the next monthly, quarterly, or annual meeting.
Yes, this initially means adding meetings. But you'll quickly find opportunities to streamline by:
Eliminating redundant meetings
Integrating other meetings into this structure
Moving deep-dive conversations to the appropriate ad hoc, monthly, quarterly, or annual meeting.
Implementation for Traction
Start Small, Go Slow
Learn and adjust as you implement
Celebrate small progress
Begin with your senior team or another motivated group
Pilot for a quarter, improve continuously, repeat and evaluate if/when/where to rollout next
Expand in small batches
Cascade Loosely
Whether or not they have their own OKR cadence up and running, translate company OKRs to each team's context
When appropriate, departments and teams can set their own aligned OKRs
After committing to their portion of higher-level OKRs, teams can add their own objectives
Start with simple spreadsheets and loose linking between organizational levels
Use specialized OKR tools with caution—keep it as simple as possible
Not every unit needs its own OKRs; go to the level that makes sense
Avoid Pushing, Allow Changes
Each team determines what they can accomplish
If a team can't deliver, negotiate by reducing scope, adjusting metrics, or helping re-prioritize
Be open to updating company- or department-level OKRs based on team conversations
Maintain a Backlog
OKRs represent your "hell yes" priorities
Capture other ideas and actions on a backlog
Review the backlog at least quarterly
Troubleshooting Common Issues
When Cadence Meetings Get Delayed or Cancelled
Clarify the purpose and recommit
When in doubt, simplify the process
When Meetings Run Too Long
Reset expectations
Use the parking lot/backlog for tangential topics
Move off-agenda discussions to separate meetings with the right participants
When Facing Sandbagging, Gaming, or Resistance
Listen genuinely to concerns
Ensure you're not pushing too hard
Verify everyone understands the why and what
Check that people own their responsibilities
Acknowledge your part in any problems
Rebuild trust through vulnerability, transparency, and consistency
Problem-solve collaboratively
When in doubt, simplify
Recommended Resources
To dive deeper into these concepts, I recommend:
Measure What Matters by John Doerr
Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and Scaling Up by Verne Harnish
Conclusion
When implemented correctly, OKRs create remarkable clarity and momentum. They're not about control—they're about unleashing your team's potential by focusing on what truly matters, aligning efforts across the organization, and fostering ownership at every level. Start small, keep it simple, and watch how this approach transforms not just your results, but your entire organizational culture.
If you’d like a copy of the OKR template I use with my clients, want a sounding board for setting up your OKRs, or to debug how you’re using OKRs, let’s chat.