This is a quick and easy introduction to OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) - a performance management system that’s popular in Silicon Valley. The book is another one of those ‘business fables’ (a la Patrick Lencioni) that gets its points across via a fictional story. As for most of these books, dont expect a work of art, but its an effective way to get information across and more enjoyable than reading a dry treatise on a management topic. At the end the book has a section that reviews the model presented in the ‘fable’.
I like the concept of OKRs and they seem like a simple yet effective way to set goals for a team or organization.
Model
O = Objective
This is what you want to accomplish. Should be qualitative and inspirational, make you want to get out of bed in the morning.
KR = Key Results
These are how you know you’ve achieved your objective. They should be quantitative stretch targets (difficult to achieve, but not impossible). Each KR starts out with a 50% confidence level that it will be achieved. The confidence level is adjusted every week to indicate how close to achieving the KR you are. OKRs are set at the company or team level either annually or quartlerly. For small companies/teams, a single OKR is preferable; 2-3 are probably acceptable for a larger organization; 5 is too many to remember and track.
Health Metrics
These are metrics you want to protect while achieving your OKRs.
Weekly Priorities
These are the 3 to 5 things you need to do each week to help achieve the OKRs. They are marked as P1 - must do, - and P2 - should do.