Plan and commit
Objectives and key results
Also called OKRs
Set an ambitious objective and three or so measurable key results that would show you achieved it.
- Time45 to 90 minutes
- People3 to 10 people
- Steps4
What it's for
An objective says where you want to go, in words people remember. Key results say how you'll know you got there, in numbers. Writing them together stops two common failures: goals nobody can measure, and measures nobody can explain.
Key results are outcomes, not tasks. "Launch the new onboarding" is a task; "Half of new users finish setup on day one" is a result.
How to run it
Draft objectives15 min
Each person writes one or two objectives. Group similar ones and pick one.
Write key results15 min
Add possible key results, each with a number and a date.
Test them10 min
If every key result is hit, is the objective clearly met? Remove any that are tasks.
Note the first moves10 min
Add the first pieces of work that should move each key result.
Tips
- Three key results is usually enough. Five is a to-do list.
- Set the stretch on purpose and say so. Reaching about 70% of an ambitious target is often treated as success.
Where it comes from
Developed by Andy Grove at Intel in the 1970s. John Doerr, who learned them at Intel, introduced OKRs to Google in 1999 and wrote Measure What Matters (2018).
Pairs well with
GROW model
Four questions (goal, reality, options, way forward) that take a person or a team from a vague aim to a committed next step.
Hypothesis statement
Write an idea as a testable belief: what we'll build, for whom, the outcome we expect, and the signal that will show we were right.
Who, what, when
Close a session by writing each action with one owner and a date, so decisions turn into work instead of good intentions.