OKRs are frustrating but not mandatory
We don't like to waste our time and we want great results indeed.
That's why we plug & play OKRs as soon as we get familiar with the acronym.
O = Objective = what do we want to achieve
KR = Key Result = how we know we've achieved what we wanted to achieve
But OKR is not a plug & play solution. It comes with a manual we're not OKtoRead.
Warning: implementing OKRs as a tool, and with haste, generate dull results and skeptics.
Take a Tech company for instance. In a month, they deployed a company-wide OKR rollout. That allowed them to deliver...
...more pet projects faster, with no way to link such effort with benefits. Ouch!
They've missed the "So what?" acid test.
When it comes to OKRs, the whole exercise has less to do with delivering (outputs) and more to do with achieving (outcomes). That was one key "sentence" this company "skipped from the manual." It took them an entire year to course-correct their early interpretation, and move from dull results (expressed in things they've got done–aka outputs) to great ones (expressed in measurable remarkable benefits worth celebrating–aka outcomes).
Are you open to plug & play something in 30 days that might hurt your business for the next two years?
"Of course not!" That's what a financial institute said when I shared the Tech company cautionary story with them.
In stark contrast, they spend 3X the time (3 months) to "read the outputs vs outcomes troubleshoot section." They were able to link their contribution at the P&L level in less than 9 months.
So, what's the pro-tip here, to take your time to craft your OKRs? Yes!
Now, OKRs are not mandatory. Next week, I'll share a way to hack the OKR dogma, so you don't need to read the "manual" and decode what we really mean to say when we talk about OKRs.
Stay tuned for next week's pro-tip. In the meantime, if you want me to audit your OKRs, hit reply and let me know :)
Have a great day!
Alberto
PS: I've learned the "So What?" power question from Felipe Castro, an OKR advisor I recommend to check out.
