The Top 5 OKR Mistakes

1. Lack of Focus aka too many OKRs

Why is it a problem? One thing that the agile community got right is that if you start less, you finish more. This is true at the organisation, business unit or team level. It’s the most common and destructive problem I see.

How do I avoid it? Simple. Limit your goals to as few as possible. Concentrate the bulk of your work on those goals.

2. Set and forget

Why is it a problem? You have no idea if the things you’re doing are the right things. In most cases you’re probably doing stuff without any idea how it connects to your goals.

How do I avoid it? Check in on your progress weekly. Set measurable key results.

3. Use OKRs as an activity tracker

Why is it a problem? OKRs are the things you achieve, not the things you do. If all you track are outputs, you will have no idea if you’re hitting your goals. Ignore the examples in Measure What Matters. Most are not outcomes.

How do I avoid it? Create measurable key results that represent an outcome. Remember an outcome is a measurable beneficial impact for your customer, your business, or your employees.

4. Not realizing it’s a big change

Why is it a problem? Getting organizations and people to work and think differently is difficult. Teams and people will revert to the old ways of working unless you support their journey to the new way.

How do I avoid it? Plan your implementation. Think big, start small, learn fast.

5. Dogma

Why is it a problem? OKR is not a blueprint or a method. If you don’t adapt it to your context it will cause friction. This includes being willing to change your OKRs when they aren’t working.

How do I avoid it? Avoid dogma, we are as far away from SAFe as we can be. Find what works for you and continuously improve it.