Creating Sustainable Change with OKRs , Part 1
What if we could use KPIs to guide us toward creating bigger picture, sustainable change? Welcome to the world of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Whereas KPIs tell us if we’re on track, OKRs allow us to define long-term Objectives (the “what”) and set ambitious, aggressive and aspirational Key Results (the “how”). OKRs allow us to prioritize what’s important and focus on it—when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.
OKRs are almost gestalt in nature: the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Think of climate (the “what”) versus weather (the “how”): weather can change minute-to-minute, but climate is the larger average of those small changes.
If Objectives are the destination and Key Results are the route, KPIs are the dashboard.
The most effective Objectives are clear-cut and actionable with a tangible benefit. Whether it’s committed (the team has agreed it will be achieved), or aspirational (a stretch goal--shooting for the moon), transparency is important. Communicating goals and sharing progress allow for dialogue and accountability.
The most effective Key Results are measurable, specific and ambitiously realistic. To keep them realistic, it may require tweaking as time goes on, as well as allowing the contributors as much say as possible. Ideally, individual contributors set most or all of their KRs once the Objective has been communicated.
Here’s a sample OKR pulled from Measure What Matters:
Objective: Increase the number of monthly blog subscribers 2x.
Key Result 1: Expand distribution method of blog to RSS news aggregators like Apple News, Google News, and Flipboard.
Key Result 2: Implement subscriber CTA on landing page for new, uncooked unique visitors.
Key Result 3: Begin 2 campaigns with prizes offered for new blog subscriptions.
In my next blog post, I’ll break down OKRs further and discuss some best practices that tie neatly into my post about the Eisenhower Matrix.
Stay tuned!