OKR stands for “Objectives and Key Results”, OKRs are a simple way to create structure for companies, teams, and individuals. The secret sauce when it comes to OKRs is to make them very ambitious. That way OKRs enable individuals and teams to focus on the bigger picture and to achieve more than they thought they would.
OKRs encourage a result and value-oriented culture by focusing on the main priorities. It also increases the autonomy level and boosts self-organization. What is the difference between KPIs and OKRs? KPIs are defined by a manager, OKRs are self-chosen and self-driven.
How to define an objective?
· The What (Where do I want to go?)
· Purpose-driven
· Qualitative goal
· Is ambitious
· Feels a tad uncomfortable
· Not measurable, gives freedom to act
How to define a Key result?
· The How (How will I pace myself to see if I’m getting there?)
· Clearly make the objective achievable
· Are quantifiable
· SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound
· Lead to objective grading
· Linked loosely
You can learn more about OKRs here:
https://management30.com/practice/okrs/
https://management30.com/align-constraints/metrics-okrs/
And the day came…
Before the session
Logistics: For this exercise we need to define the date and time, duration, tools, facilitation techniques. One hour, using Miro, using the time box.
Objective: To spread the concept of OKr’s with my team
During the session
I started the session by explaining the agenda of the meeting and setting the contact and expectations.
I shared my personal OKR and shared the template.
As each participant was presenting their personal OKR, the other participants were paying close attention, as information new to them was being shared.
Then, we chose one to review as a team to collaborate on improving their definition and to ensure that all participants understand the concepts and benefits of using OKR’s.
My Objective: What do I want to achieve? Improve my health by maintaining a healty weight and diet.
The KEY RESULTS: How am I going to achieve it? What intermediate results do I want to achieve along the way. And in this case, I have defined for myself three results for this month of August.
- Reduce fat percentage under 15%.
- Reduce Trigliceryds by 30%.
- Increase good cholesterol by 25%.
Initiatives:
- Intermitent fasting.
- Reduce carb intake to less than 30gr per day.
3. Reduce to 0 the intake of refined or natural sugars and reduce daily carbohydrates to less than 100g to enter ketogenic mode.
These three results are difficult but achievable and will require additional effort, but the benefits of growth will outweigh the goal itself, which is none other than to lose weight and improve my health.
Lessons learned.
ORK’s are simple but powerful in defining achievable goals and in aligning the team towards a common objective.
The use of visual tools or canvas in very helpful to keep the team engaged. It is important to keep the camera on and avoid any distractions, as we want the team to be present.
This exercise boosted the morale of the team, as it allowed for interaction not related to the work tasks to be seen.
Conclusion
It can be used at any time, but it will provide more value with a team recently formed or when the team is starting a new project. The OKR’s can be revisited every 3 months or sooner if they are significant changes in the goals to be achieved
It can be used with collocated or distributed teams, and it specially used with teams that are in a different time zone or region, to maintain all the teams aligned.
I would like to thank Erick Masgo for sharing his Management 3.0. knowledge, experiences and all the great practices and tools we learned from taking the training with him. I highly recommend his class.