While your company is growing, it is easy to start pulling in different directions and that is why at one point you will need a good system for alignment of objectives.
Be wise about setting goals though. If misused, they can be dangerous (e.g. when you value higher revenue than safety).
OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results and it is a mindset rather than a tool.
Objective: what is to be achieved. Significant, concrete, action-oriented.
KR: how is it going to be achieved. Specific, time-bound, aggressive yet realistic. Quantifiable (ideally numerical) and verifiable.
Once all KRs are completed, the objective is necessarily achieved. If it’s not, OKR was poorly designed.
Should OKRs be public?
Yes, if possible. It will help ensure that all the teams are pulling in the same direction, create goals clarity, and job satisfaction since everyone will see how their work contributes to the big picture. This way all teams will be also able to review each others’ objectives and ways of achieving them, learning from each other.
Are OKR typically implemented top-down or bottom-up?
OKRs start with high-level strategy. Then, they cascade to the next level of management. At the same time, teams should be encouraged to create roughly half of their goals (bottom-up approach is known to have a more motivational impact on the teams).
An effective goal-setting system stars with disciplined thinking at the top, with leaders who invest the time and energy to choose what counts. [J. Doerr]
Are OKR typically implemented top-down or bottom-up?
OKRs start with high-level strategy. Then, they cascade to the next level of management. At the same time, teams should be encouraged to create roughly half of their goals (bottom-up approach is known to have a more motivational impact on the teams).
We wrote OKRs last year but they ended up in a drawer – how do we do it better?
Ensure a full buy-in from top management. Make sure they understand its importance and see it as a way to keep the company on track, not as an administrative burden.
Run weekly check-ins to ensure that everyone is on track.
Once a year, organize a meeting during which the founders will present a company-wide strategy for the year, present their OKRs and discuss completion of OKRs from the previous year. Underline that OKRs matter over time and they are your chosen methodology for continued operational and performance management.
Choose an OKR shepherd (ideally, someone senior) who will make sure that OKRs are submitted in time. No chance to skip it.
We don’t learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience. [J. Dewey]
Keep in mind while implementing OKRs in your organization
Ensure commitment from people, especially managers. Make sure they understand the value of OKRs.
Less is more. Focus on what matters most. Choose three to five Objectives with a maximum of five Key Results.
Build an OKR culture in which everyone stays intellectually honest. It is not about individuals (that’s why OKRs should not be used for performance review) but company success.
Stay persistent and build your OKR muscle over time. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get it right in the first or second round. Setting OKRs right takes some time (some say even around 1-1.5 years).
Avoid dictating. The company Objective is non-negotiable. Instead, Key Results should be negotiated and collectively agreed upon.