Product5 min read

OKRs (Objectives & Key Results)

Set ambitious, measurable goals with OKRs - aligning teams around outcomes instead of output and creating a cadence of transparency and accountability.

OKRsGoal SettingKPIsAlignmentStrategy

skill: OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) category: Product tags: [OKRs, Goal Setting, KPIs, Alignment, Strategy] readingTime: 5

OKRs work when leadership models them seriously and teams set them bottom-up, not top-down. OKRs imposed as performance reviews become sandbagged targets. 60-70% completion at quarter end is healthy - if you hit 100%, your objectives weren't ambitious enough.

Workflow

Write a good ObjectiveA good Objective is qualitative, inspiring, and time-bound - it answers 'where do we want to go this quarter?' without prescribing how to get there.
Define Key ResultsKey Results answer 'how will we know we've reached the Objective?' - they must be specific, measurable, and represent evidence of progress, not activities.
Cascade OKRs from company to teamCompany OKRs set direction; team OKRs define how each team contributes. Cascading creates alignment without micromanagement.
Run weekly OKR check-insOKRs without a weekly reflection cycle drift and become meaningless by quarter end. Check-ins surface blockers early when they're still fixable.
Separate OKRs from performance reviewsLinking OKRs to bonuses or reviews causes sandbagging - teams set safe, easily achievable targets instead of ambitious ones.

Output Format

OKRs: 3-5 Objectives per team, 3-5 Key Results each, weekly check-ins, and quarterly grades.

Q3 2026 Team OKRs:

O1: [Inspiring direction]
  KR1: [Metric] from X to Y
  KR2: [Metric] from X to Y
  KR3: [Metric] from X to Y

O2: [Inspiring direction]
  KR1-3: ...

Grading: 0.0–1.0 per KR; 0.6–0.7 is excellent

Examples

Input

Output

Edge Cases & Gotchas

Too many OKRs - A company with 15 Objectives and 45 Key Results focuses on nothing. Limit to 3-5 Objectives at the company level and 2-3 per team. Fewer OKRs = more focus.
OKRs for BAU work - Operational KPIs (uptime, support SLA) belong on a health dashboard, not in OKRs. OKRs should track improvement, not maintenance of existing performance.
Mid-quarter OKR changes - Changing OKRs mid-quarter is sometimes necessary (market shift, acquisition) but signals poor initial planning if it happens every quarter. Document the reason for the change.
OKR theater - Teams write OKRs they've already completed or tasks they planned to do anyway - no ambition, no learning. Leadership must model genuine stretch targets.

When to Break These Rules

Use SMART goals instead of OKRs for early-stage startups with < 10 people - OKR overhead isn't worth it until you have teams that need alignment.
Use North Star Metric + input metrics instead of OKRs when the company wants a single unifying metric - OKRs can fragment focus if every team has different objectives.

Reference Files

https://www.whatmatters.com/resources/google-okr-playbook
https://felipecastro.com/en/okr/what-is-okr/