What Problems are OKR Solving?
OKRs receive a lot of bad press and bad tweets. Part of this problem is the range of bad OKR advice, but organisations are often confused as to problem they are trying to solve. This article highlights a few of the key reasons for implementing OKRs.
Product Managers talk about the need to fall in love with the problem, but what problems do OKRs solve?
In the world of methodologies we are concerned with solutions. That solution needs to be applied appropriately and sometimes judiciously.
We have all met individuals who have a great tool, but seem to apply it to every problem. They are a hammer and for them, every problem is a nail. When we learn and value a new methodology there is a danger that we become a hammer. We need to understand the purpose and limitations of those tools.
In this article I’m going to discuss the problems I think OKRs can solve. Where I’ve been involved in implementing OKRs, the drive was to promote goal clarity. We wanted everybody in the organisation to understand how their work contributed to our strategy. We arrived at OKRs as the tool through our exposure to Silicon Valley Product Group techniques and we've learned a lot.
Firstly, OKRs drive outcomes based thinking. Secondly they support empowerment. Thirdly they help with clarity. Finally, they require support and planning to implement well.
Here are some of the problems they can address:
Ensuring a strong link between strategy and execution
It’s a challenge for organisations to turn great strategy into great execution and connect the two with feedback and iteration. To create this link we can articulate that strategy using the language of OKRs. Creating aspirational, customer oriented outcomes does a couple of things. It creates something for teams to strive for and it sets a measurable result to aim at. Good OKR setting is bi-directional, rather than a cascade, which gives the strategy team more insight.
Help the organisation stay aligned on a goal
One of the challenges I’ve faced when leading teams, is unifying them around a goal and connecting their work towards achieving it. Having well defined sprint goals can help, but OKRs with regular check ins can be even more successful. Measurable iterative goals provide a feedback loop that helps align action to outcome, rather than output.
Minimise unnecessary work
We can always ask the question will this activity help move the needle on a key result? This avoids some forms of wasted work. Please don’t confuse this with work that never makes production. A failed experiment is not a waste, it’s learning!
Increase accountability
When teams commit to outcomes and publish OKRs it can help you build accountability, but it comes with a word of caution. If teams are measured by their attempt to achieve outcomes, some teams will sandbag. They’ll set goals which are too easy to attain. You should also keep in mind that while OKRs inform annual reviews, by no means should they be the only input. While our goal for people is to drive outcomes, in a world where we are encouraging innovation, there are no guarantees.
Highlight the need for lead measures of success
Identifying good lead measures of success is a challenge I’ve wrestled with across a range of industries, cultures and organisations. Finding the metrics that presage our desired outcome is rarely easy. It takes collective skill and collective will. OKRs help teams understand why they are so important. The regular check ins and periodic setting of the key results depends on defining lead measures.
Improve corporate outcomes?
This is by far the biggest claim and the hardest to achieve. Improving corporate outcomes is a composite of the benefits discussed above. The good OKR coaches tell us that setting OKRs are hard, well implementing them successfully across an organisation is even harder! I’ll talk more about that in another article.
This is my view of this multi-tool at our disposal. Do you have other examples or do you disagree with some of these? Please let me know.
