OKR
Objectives and Key Results planning.
About OKR
OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. It is a goal-setting method in which an ambitious objective is paired with a small set of measurable key results that show whether it has been achieved.
The approach was developed by Andy Grove at Intel and popularised by John Doerr, who introduced it at Google. It is used by companies of all sizes to focus attention on a few priorities and to make progress visible and comparable across teams.
Plan hierarchy
Read from the top down: each level breaks the one above it into more specific work.
- 1
Objective
A clear, motivating statement of what you want to achieve. It is qualitative and ambitious, usually set for a quarter or a year and reviewed regularly.
- 2
Key result
A measurable outcome, with a starting point and a target, that shows whether the objective has been achieved. An objective usually has three to five. Targets are often set ambitiously, so scoring below the maximum on some is normal.
Use cases
Company and team focus
Agree the few things that matter most in the coming period and align teams behind them.
Measuring outcomes
Track results rather than activity, with numbers that show progress.
Transparency across teams
Make priorities visible so teams can coordinate and see how their work contributes.
How to use it
Tips and common mistakes
- Fewer is better. Too many objectives dilute focus and defeat the purpose.
- Write key results that can be scored without argument. If two people would score them differently, they are too vague.
- Keep OKRs separate from performance ratings, or people will set safe targets.
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