OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a popular goal-setting process that helps drive organizations forward. OKR as fondly called gives visibility to leaders and businesses. OKR was an idea formulated by the late CEO of Intel Andrew Grove and popularized by legendary venture capitalist John Doerr who introduced it to a startup in 1999, a foundation of their management and made this startup grew from fourty employees to more than 70,000 with market cap exceeding $700 billion. The startup was Google.
Since then, many companies have adopted OKR as part of their management and their approach to setting ambitious goals. Middle managers are placed in a very important role in any organization. They are a major driver and an interface between the senior leaders and the team members. This places them in a strategic position to execute organizational goals.
Objectives
Think of objectives as simply WHAT is to be achieved, no more and no less. They are inspirational, action-oriented, and specific. The time frame of what is to be achieved can vary depending on the team but most teams adopting OKRs usually have a quarterly objective.
Key Results
The key results benchmark and monitor the HOW we get to the objective. Effective key results are specific, time-bound, and realistic. Good key results are measurable and verifiable. At the end of the designated period or time frame, we declare whether the key result is fulfilled or not. A good OKR can have between 3-5 Key Results and should not be more or less.
Example of an OKR – by Intel
Objective – Establish the 8086 as the highest performance 16-bit microprocessor family, as measured by:
Key Results (Q2 1980)
- develop and publish five benchmarks showing superior 8086 family performance (Applications).
- Repackage the entire 8086 family of products (Marketing).
- Get the 8MHz part into production (Engineering, Manufacturing).
- Sample the arithmetic coprocessor no later than June 15 (Engineering).
Middle managers can utilize OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) as a goal-setting framework to align their team’s efforts with the broader organizational objectives. Here’s how they can do it effectively:
- Understand the Organizational Objectives: Middle managers should thoroughly understand the overarching goals and objectives of the organization. This knowledge forms the basis for setting relevant and aligned OKRs for their team. This goal(s), a strategic broad, and long-term goal set by the company. Understanding the company’s objective gives departmental heads and business unit heads the inspiration to formulate their team OKRs.
- Set Clear Objectives: Identify the key objectives that your team needs to accomplish from this broad strategic goal and narrow it down to your team. Remember that the objectives are time-bound and within a given timeframe (most often quarterly). These objectives should be ambitious, qualitative statements that define what you aim to achieve.
- Define Key Results: Key Results are specific, measurable outcomes that indicate progress towards achieving the objectives. Middle managers should work with their teams to establish measurable targets that demonstrate success. The Key Results are the ingredients that makes up what is to be able to achieve the objective. They are between 3-5 key results per OKR.
- Ensure Alignment: Align your team’s OKRs with the broader organizational goals. This alignment ensures that everyone is working towards the same objectives and fosters synergy across departments.
The beauty of OKR is the strategic alignment and flexibility it gives, in that it enables teams and departments to align together as pieces of outcomes are brought together to form a united whole in driving and executing the larger and broader strategic goal of the organization. Team members are motivated and there is transparency as every member of the organization can see visible what their contributions have been to the overall organizational goal.