How to succeed with OKR
The first question I have when looking at an initiative is, ‘why are we doing this?’ OKR implementations are no different. When I talk to clients the first questions I ask are:
- What problems are you trying to solve with OKRs?
- If your implementation is successful, what will change, what will you observe?
As with product management, you need to fall in love with the problems you’re trying to solve. OKRs might be able to help, but you need to assess that and be sure that they are.
Keeping the answers to those questions in mind is the single best advice I can give you as you consider an OKR implementation. Developing the ‘Why?’ habit is something you and your organisation must do.
With these questions answered, there is some advice I have. Some of these lessons will not be things you want to hear. Sorry for that.
Start with the leaders
OKR is a framework that creates interest at all levels of an organisation, but unfortunately it’s not a movement that lends itself to grass roots only adoption. OKR has to start with leaders.
In my experience of outcomes oriented change, leadership intent is by far the most important ingredient. Unless leaders intentionally adopt the framework as the heartbeat of the organisation, teams will find limited benefit in adoption.
Briefly, leadership intent means keeping focused on a limited number of OKRs. It means tracking progress towards OKRs, not activities. It means putting outcomes, in the form of OKRs, at the centre of the discussion within the organisation.
Start with the leaders
OKR is a framework that creates interest at all levels of an organisation, but unfortunately it’s not a movement that lends itself to grass roots only adoption. OKR has to start with leaders.
In my experience of outcomes oriented change, leadership intent is by far the most important ingredient. Unless leaders intentionally adopt the framework as the heartbeat of the organisation, teams will find limited benefit in adoption.
Briefly, leadership intent means keeping focused on a limited number of OKRs. It means tracking progress towards OKRs, not activities. It means putting outcomes, in the form of OKRs, at the centre of the discussion within the organisation.
Why is leadership so important?
When done right, OKRs act as a multiplier for empowerment. They can provide the context for empowered teams to make significant contributions to the organisation and its customers.
Without empowerment, teams will still have to report progress in the same old ways, they will still have to build the features leaders tell them to. In this environment OKRs are at best an overhead. Implementations like this are one of the reasons OKRs get a bad reputation. They are doomed to fail.
Okay, so lesson one out of the way.
We have leadership support. What next?
Think about your context. Where change is concerned I like to quote Chunka Mui Think Big, start small, learn fast. What does this mean for OKRs?
Think big: Consider the end game, what will a great OKR implementation look like?
Start small: Start with a limited number of teams, but give them the maximum leadership support. Ensure their leaders are part of your program and receive the same training.
Learn fast: Or in simple terms, get on with it. Sadly the wealth of bad advice for OKRs makes this tricky. The leading book is full of terrible examples and there isn’t another book I’d recommend to help implement OKRs. Either get somebody in a leadership role who has done it before or hire a good coach. Get going, iterate quickly. Don’t be precious about your process or the OKRs themselves to start with. Be open and transparent about your learning, be prepared to adapt and change.
Then get ready to roll the framework out wider. Remember for each new team or division, the leaders have to go first in the learning.
With our implementation approach outlined, let’s touch on a few other factors critical to our success.
Strategic context
Without context OKRs will not help you deliver outcomes. By its nature context is a moveable feast, but strategy is a universal element for OKRs. A great strategy provides direction for teams and is described in terms of business and customer outcomes. It has a longer term vision, but also includes waypoints you’re aiming for. A good strategy makes creating OKRs much easier. Sadly many companies have little or no strategy.
Focus
Learning how to focus is probably the single biggest gift I’d give to the organisations I’ve worked with.
No matter how well you execute, no matter how good your strategy is, without focus you are doomed to failure.
In one organisation I worked with we had a portfolio of 180 projects and initiatives for one division. Ironically, they were called the ‘big rocks’, implying that there was a lot more pebbles and sand in the mix! That organisation continually failed to realise significant outcomes from its investment. It’s not unusual, almost every organisation I’ve worked with has a portfolio of too many spinning plates. Focus allows you to achieve more, not less. We all know this, but it seems so hard to put it into practise.
Don’t set and forget!
Aligned to focus is the concept of the regular check in. Teams should have OKRs front and central. Successful teams demonstrate this by checking in on their OKRs weekly. They have a hypothesis of how the work they are undertake will contribute to their goals. When they check in, they discuss those connections and their learning. OKRs provide most value when teams learn in these fast feedback loops.
Understand the importance of Bi-Directional conversations is another thing I look for. Leaders are ultimately responsible for setting the strategy and deciding what problems teams need to solve, but they need to take teams on the journey. Ideally teams will work on problems they love, but at the least they should be a partner in defining the key results they’re aspiring to.
A final word (for now) on successful OKR implementations. Don’t go looking for a blueprint, the Google way or any other shortcut. OKRs have to work in your context. It is part of a bigger picture of capabilities that you’ll need to have to succeed. A great coach can help guide and support you, but OKRs are about change and adaptation, not following a plan.
Next up: Avoid the most common OKR mistakes
