During the 2010s, investor John Doerr popularised a new approach to goal-setting for organisations – OKRs (objectives and key results).
Beyond mapping the destination and the route to reach it, OKRs align individual and team efforts with overarching business objectives – keeping everyone focused on the same outcome: success.
When implemented correctly, OKRs help staff at every level of an organisation focus on the same key priorities, drive performance and results, and maintain transparency and accountability throughout.
In the sections below, we walk through how OKRs work in greater detail – and how to apply them effectively within your organisation.
In this guide:
What is OKR?
Objectives and key results (OKRs) offer a straightforward yet powerful goal-setting framework – one that can play a significant role in driving growth and high performance across organisations.
It helps organisations clarify what they want to achieve (objectives) and how they will measure success (key results). Applied correctly, it becomes an effective means of aligning and engaging everyone within the business around meaningful, measurable goals.
Designed to create clarity across an organisation and connect people at every level to your top business goals, OKRs centre on setting ambitious, collaborative aims with clearly definable outcomes.
- Think of the objective in OKRs as a ‘strategic theme’: a broad, overarching, qualitative headline of what is to be achieved.
- The objective’s key results resemble KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Each key result takes the form of either a metric or a measurable milestone.
As OKR pioneer John Doerr explained in an interview with the Harvard Business Review: ‘The objective is what I want to have accomplished. The key results are how I’m going to get it done. The objectives are typically longer lived. They’re bold and aspirational. The key results are aggressive, but always measurable, time-bound, and limited in number.’
Brief history of OKRs
The story of OKRs reads as a who’s who of American corporate history.
- In 1954, the business thinker Peter Drucker – often regarded as the founder of modern management practice – laid the foundations for OKRs with his Management by Objectives (MBO) framework.
- MBOs, however, had their drawbacks – chiefly the emphasis on quantity, rather than quality.
- Some decades later, Andy Grove, CEO of Intel, adopted MBOs within Silicon Valley’s rapidly expanding tech industry. It was Grove who shifted the emphasis towards individual key results, rather than overarching objectives, and adapted them specifically for Intel as Intel Management by Objectives (IMBOs).
- It was John Doerr – then working under Grove at Intel – who brought the OKRs we know today into the mainstream. As a key investor in Google, Doerr’s advocacy placed OKRs on the radar of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in the late 1990s.
- Household names such as LinkedIn, Twitter (now X), and Uber followed suit – and Doerr cemented his legacy as the authority on OKRs with his book Measure What Matters in 2010.
What are the benefits of OKRs?
As a management goal-setting system and methodology, OKRs focus everyone’s efforts on the priorities that matter most, connecting the work of employees to what genuinely matters within the organisation.
The widespread uptake of OKRs comes down to five key benefits, which John Doerr refers to as the F.A.C.T.S.
These break down as follows:
- Focus. Clear, results-driven goals give employees a definite point of focus. Rather than questioning the purpose of their efforts, they understand precisely how their work contributes to the organisation’s mission. According to the What Matters site, it’s advisable to set up to three objectives at any one time, with around three to five key results per objective – a sound way to keep priorities clear.
- Alignment. Defining a clear set of high-level objectives ensures that everyone across the organisation is working towards a shared purpose. When teams and departments are aligned, they are better placed to collaborate effectively and deliver on established aims.
- Commitment. When everyone understands the company’s overarching ambition and their role in achieving it, they are more likely to feel engaged and committed to their responsibilities. Without clearly defined objectives, both employee engagement and morale can quickly suffer.
- Tracking. The OKR framework requires organisations to define their intentions alongside associated key results from the outset. This makes it considerably easier for businesses to track progress and measure the effectiveness of their growth efforts.
- Stretching. When defining OKR key results, organisations may choose one or two metrics to serve as stretch goals – those that are not necessarily mission-critical but remain worth pursuing. These key results should nonetheless be attainable and relevant to the company’s overall mission.
There is also an additional benefit in agility. Unlike many other goal-setting methodologies, OKRs are not set in stone. Their focus on short-term target windows and broad objectives means they can adapt more readily to the evolving needs of the business.
OKR formula – defining objectives and key results
To define the approach in simple terms:
- Objectives are the goals your organisation sets out to achieve. They should be clear and straightforward to act upon. Defining objectives precisely removes ambiguity for team members and ensures everyone is working towards a common goal.
- Key results are the metrics used to determine whether your objective is being met. They must be concrete and measurable – without this, it becomes difficult to gauge the amount of progress made towards your goal. For instance, if the aim is to grow your business, key results might include increasing revenue to USD 2 million, releasing a new product, or generating 25,000 new leads within a year.
John Doerr’s formula offers a useful starting point:
‘I will accomplish “X” (objective) as measured by “Y” (key result).’
Using this formula, objectives represent your company’s goals for a given quarter or year, measured through key results. These should be clear, ambitious, and motivating, so that employees at every level understand the organisation’s primary goals and can fully commit to them.
Once your objectives and key results are defined for a set period – annually, for instance – the next step is aligning them across your business. For larger organisations, this is an inherent challenge, as different teams bring different priorities and ways of working.
This is where ‘cascading OKRs’ come in – the process of breaking down company-wide key results into smaller, team-specific ones. In most cases, this follows a process along these lines:
- High-level OKRs are communicated to heads of departments, managers, and other employees.
- Individuals take ownership of specific key results and determine the most effective way to achieve them.
- These key results then become objectives for the level below – and so on, until the task is complete.
To address concerns that the process may feel overly ‘top-down’ or prescriptive, Doerr recommends that employees at all levels draft their own key results. This ensures they have genuine input into the process and ownership of it.
Types of OKRs and their applications
Broadly speaking, OKRs fall into three fundamental categories – learning, committed, and aspirational – as well as a number of different varieties that affect how you apply OKRs to a business structure.
Let’s break these down in more detail.
Learning OKRs
Learning OKRs prioritise acquiring new knowledge or skills, with a focus on experimentation and continuous improvement rather than pre-defined targets. They’re valuable for exploring new approaches, which can in turn inform future OKRs.
Committed vs. aspirational OKRs
Committed OKRs represent firm commitments, expected to be fully met by the cycle’s end against a pre-defined metric. Aspirational OKRs, sometimes called ‘stretch goals’ or ‘moonshots’, are ambitious targets that push boundaries, even when full attainment cannot be guaranteed.
Top-down vs. bottom-up OKRs
Top-down OKRs align teams around overarching organisational goals. By contrast, bottom-up OKRs emerge from teams and individuals at ground level, fostering creativity and ownership whilst remaining aligned with the company’s overall strategy.
Personal OKRs
The OKR framework isn’t confined to professional settings. Personal OKRs enable individuals to apply the same principles to their own goals, encouraging self-improvement and ensuring personal aspirations align with professional objectives.
Project based OKRs
Project-based OKRs align specific project goals with broader organisational objectives, ensuring that individual projects contribute to the company’s overall strategic direction.
Quarterly, annual, or rolling OKRs
The timeframe for OKRs is flexible, adapting to organisational needs. Quarterly OKRs provide short-term focus, annual OKRs establish long-term direction, and rolling OKRs offer continuous review and adaptation.
Cross-functional OKRs
Cross-functional OKRs bring multiple departments or teams together to work towards a shared objective, breaking down silos and fostering inter-departmental alignment and collaboration.
OKR examples
OKRs vary from business to business. Here are a few examples from different industries that may inspire your own OKR thinking:
Sales team objective: launch a new customer community
Key results:
- Create a customer community strategy based on best practice.
- Publish 60 articles during the quarter and achieve more than 6,000 page visits.
- Encourage 30% of customers to participate in the community.
Community management objective: make our community known by industry experts and thought leaders
Key results:
- Engage 12 industry experts and thought leaders in Q1.
- Conduct interviews and publish the resulting articles on our community site.
- Research and publish an industry report and infographics for the community.
CEO objective: grow our business
Key results:
- Grow revenue to $3M.
- Launch the new product.
- Reduce churn to <5% annually through customer success.
PR and analyst objective: build strong relationships
Key results:
- Complete two analyst briefings in Q1.
- Submit analyst report applications.
- Feature two analysts on our webinars.
- Host two analyst calls – provide the new product launch update.
Partner marketing objective: create a community of partners and resellers (MQLs)
Key results:
- Publish five new partner-focused whitepapers by Q1.
- Launch seven webinars to educate our partners.
- Run a five-city Lunch & Learn event for partners.
Top company objective: grow our corporate global business
Key results:
- Achieve the company global sales target of $100 Million in sales.
- Achieve 100% year-on-year sales growth across the EMEA region.
- Increase the company’s average deal size by 30% (with upsells).
- Reduce churn to less than 5% annually (via customer success).
Demand gen objective: Optimise our customer acquisition
Key results:
- Improve our new marketing automation process.
- Reduce customer acquisition costs by 20% in Q3.
- Build a new top-down and bottom-up Excel model to analyse the ROI.
Find out more about OKR templates.
What is the difference between OKR and KPI?
OKRs and KPIs (key performance indicators) are related concepts, yet there are important distinctions between them.
- OKRs are an overarching goal-setting framework. As we’ve discussed, they comprise both an objective and key results within them.
- KPIs determine the factors required for success within an organisation. An example might be ‘increase sales by 50% by Q2’.
Crucially, KPIs are included within OKRs. By incorporating concrete, actionable metrics, KPIs fit naturally within key results.
Implement and manage OKRs effectively
Successfully implementing OKRs requires both a commitment to continuous improvement and a structured approach.
Let’s go through each stage step by step – from setting objectives and defining key results, to review, adjustment, and beyond.
Setting effective objectives
A clear, impactful objective forms the foundation of any effective OKR.
Objectives should be:
- Clear and concise. Use straightforward language – avoiding jargon or ambiguity. Everyone in your organisation, regardless of role, department, or level of seniority, should be able to understand your OKRs. A confusing, poorly written objective can lead to confusion later.
- Ambitious yet achievable. Your objectives should be challenging enough to push your teams and individuals in your organisation to improve. However, they should also be realistic – as overambition can sometimes demotivate teams. The optimum balance is a ‘stretch goal’ that pushes capabilities without being unattainable.
- Aligned with company strategy. Objectives must directly support the overall strategic direction of the company. This ensures that everyone’s efforts contribute to the organisation’s long-term vision. Without this alignment, OKRs can become fragmented and ineffective.
- Limited in number. To maintain focus and avoid overwhelming teams, limit the number of objectives per quarter. Three to five objectives are generally recommended, ensuring that resources and attention are concentrated on the most critical priorities.
Three examples of well-written objectives
- ‘Increase customer satisfaction by 15%.’
- ‘Launch three new product features based on customer feedback.’
- ‘Expand market share by 10% in the target region.’
Defining measurable key results
Key results (KRs) are the measurable steps that demonstrate progress towards achieving an objective. Effective KRs often follow the SMART formula:
- Specific: Clearly define what needs to be accomplished, leaving no room for ambiguity.
- Measurable: Include quantifiable metrics that allow for objective progress tracking. This could involve numerical targets (e.g. revenue increase, customer acquisition), percentages (e.g. market share growth, customer satisfaction), or completion rates (e.g. project milestones).
- Achievable: Whilst ambitious, KRs should be realistic and attainable within the given timeframe.
- Relevant: Each KR must directly contribute to the achievement of its associated objective.
- Time-bound: Set clear deadlines for each KR, ensuring accountability and providing a framework for progress tracking.
Examples of quantitative and qualitative key results
- Quantitative: ‘Increase website traffic by 20%.’ ‘Generate USD 1 million in new revenue.’ ‘Reduce customer churn by 5%.’
- Qualitative: ‘Complete a comprehensive market analysis.’ ‘Launch a successful marketing campaign.’ ‘Improve customer onboarding process.’
Clear ownership is essential for every KR. The designated owner is responsible for tracking progress, ensuring accountability, updating the KR’s status, and reporting on outcomes.
Establishing a cadence for OKR reviews
Maintaining momentum requires regular check-ins and progress reviews, alongside the flexibility to make timely adjustments. This involves:
- Frequency: OKRs are typically set on a quarterly basis, but regular check-ins – whether weekly or fortnightly – are essential for monitoring progress, identifying obstacles, and providing support.
- Effective meetings: Check-in meetings should be purposeful and time-efficient, giving teams the opportunity to discuss progress, address challenges, and collectively refine their approach where necessary.
- Feedback and adjustment: Regular reviews create opportunities to incorporate feedback, identify areas for improvement, and adjust OKRs to ensure they remain relevant and achievable. This iterative approach is central to maximising the effectiveness of the OKR system.
Regular check-ins with your staff throughout the quarter are essential for tracking measurable progress. Defining your OKRs in line with your organisation’s top priorities ensures your efforts remain directed towards the right goals.
Visibility, alignment, and consistent progress on your OKRs are all critical to success. A system such as Adobe Workfront keeps your OKRs strategically aligned with ongoing work, accelerating delivery on goals and driving meaningful results.
OKRs vs. other goal-setting methodologies
If OKRs are not the right fit for your organisation, a range of alternative goal-setting frameworks is available.
OKRs vs. MBOs (Management by Objectives)
The principal distinction between OKRs and MBOs lies in scope. OKRs focus on challenging, aspirational goals with measurable outcomes that affect the business as a whole. MBOs, by contrast, are concerned with setting and managing more specific goals tied to individual performance.
MBOs are also less adaptable to changing circumstances, whereas OKRs lend themselves readily to revision. Much of this flexibility comes down to cadence – OKRs emphasise quarterly goals and regular check-ins, while MBOs are typically annual.
OKRs vs. SMART Goals
Both OKRs and SMART goals incorporate specific, measurable elements, yet their emphasis differs. OKRs prioritise aspirational, qualitative objectives supported by measurable key results, encouraging ambition and organisational alignment.
SMART goals, by contrast, centre on specific, attainable, and trackable targets, without adopting the same holistic perspective.
OKRs vs. KPIs (key performance indicators)
KPIs are metrics designed to track performance against pre-defined targets. Although some KPIs can serve as key results within an OKR framework, the two are not interchangeable.
KPIs are primarily concerned with measuring performance and operational efficiency. OKRs take a broader view, driving strategic change through ambitious outcomes.
OKRs vs. balanced scorecard
The balanced scorecard offers a broad strategic planning and performance management framework, encompassing financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives. OKRs, whilst compatible with the balanced scorecard, provide a more focused and actionable approach to goal-setting and tracking within a defined timeframe.
Whilst the balanced scorecard offers a holistic view of organisational performance, OKRs concentrate on achieving specific, measurable objectives.
Common OKR mistakes and how to avoid them
Here are a few common pitfalls to be aware of when implementing OKRs.
- Vague or ambiguous language. Avoid subjective terms or unclear phrasing. Quantifiable, measurable goals are essential for tracking progress.
- Unrealistic expectations. Setting overly ambitious goals risks undermining motivation and can ultimately impede progress.
- ‘Sandbagging’. By contrast, this occurs when teams under-promise and overdeliver to avoid pressure. However, it can lead to issues with capacity planning and a lack of ambition.
- Lack of alignment. Objectives that fail to align with the overall company strategy result in wasted effort and a loss of focus.
- Too many objectives. Managing too many objectives at once can dilute focus and undermine the effectiveness of the OKR system.
- Lack of reviews. Losing track of objectives and key results puts your annual targets at risk. Consistent check-ins are essential.
Getting started with OKRs
When used effectively, the OKR system enables more effective, efficient, and high-performance business operations – creating clarity and accountability for everyone across the organisation.
Adobe Workfront has all the tools and resources you need to create and track OKRs effectively. Find out more today and get started with your organisation.
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