Objectives and Key Results John Doerr: A Comprehensive Guide

John Doerr, a renowned venture capitalist, popularized the OKR framework, which has been widely adopted by companies like Google and Intel.

The OKR framework helps organizations set and achieve ambitious goals by setting clear objectives and measurable key results.

A key characteristic of OKRs is that they are ambitious, yet achievable, and provide a clear direction for the organization.

Objectives should be inspiring, specific, and measurable, while key results should be measurable, time-bound, and challenging.

By using OKRs, companies can align their teams and departments around common goals, foster a sense of accountability, and drive growth and innovation.

Doerr's OKR framework has been instrumental in helping companies achieve their goals and drive success.

If this caught your attention, see: Key Objectives

OKRs are a popular management strategy that defines objectives and tracks results. Introduced in the 1970s at Intel, they help create alignment and engagement around measurable goals.

OKRs are a refinement of management by objectives (MBO), but they're a more collaborative process. Teams within the organization take high-level objectives and refine them for each specific area, and sometimes even collaborate with other partners to ensure proper alignment.

The OKR process involves combining clear objectives with specific, measurable results and a regular process of reviewing progress. This makes OKRs truly useful, unlike static goals that become stale and meaningless.

An OKR has two important parts: the objective and the key results. Objectives are memorable, qualitative descriptions of what you want to achieve, and should be short, inspirational, and engaging.

Key results are a set of metrics that measure progress towards the objective. There should be a small number of metrics to track, ideally two to five.

John Doerr is a pioneer in the field of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). He learned about OKRs from Andy Grove at Intel and later taught them to his colleagues. Doerr's experience with OKRs has been instrumental in popularizing the strategy.

Doerr has a personal OKR to spend quality time with his family. He sets a goal to be home for dinner by 6:00 p.m. 20 nights a month and be present, turning off the phone system and internet router. This shows that even leaders prioritize family time.

Doerr's OKR presentation template is a great resource for creating compelling presentations on OKRs. His template includes an objective to build a planning model for a company, with three key results: finishing the presentation on time, creating a sample set of quarterly OKRs, and gaining management agreement for a three-month OKR trial.

Doerr's OKRs are quarterly, not annual, and are divorced from compensation. This is a key difference between OKRs and Management by Objectives (MBOs).

Setting up OKRs can be a straightforward process, especially when you have a clear understanding of what you're aiming for. To start, identify three or four objectives you want to achieve for the entire year, usually done at the CEO level.

This approach helps the organization learn how objectives in one particular area contribute to the entire organization. For instance, having a big yearly target with smaller quarters can aid in understanding the impact of objectives in one area on the overall organization.

To set effective OKRs, you need to identify measurable key results. This means setting key results that can be checked regularly, not just once a year. As organizations deal with the increasing pace of change, checking progress once per year isn't enough.

Here are some key steps to set up OKRs:

By following these steps, you can establish a solid foundation for your OKRs, ensuring everyone is working towards the same goals. Remember, OKRs are not just about setting big goals, but also about measuring progress and making adjustments along the way.

The city of Syracuse, New York recently set an objective to achieve fiscal sustainability, which is a great goal for any government. This objective is measurable, which is essential for OKRs.

Syracuse's OKR looks like this: Achieve fiscal sustainability, with Key Results including reducing the general fund budget variance from 11% to 5%, spending 95% of authorized capital project dollars, and spending 95% of grant dollars for grants from prior fiscal years.

Some high-level objectives include improving customer satisfaction, increasing recurring revenue, scaling system performance, increasing the number of customers served, and reducing the number of data errors in the system.

Examples of OKRs can be seen in various industries and even personal goals. The city of Syracuse, New York recently set an objective to "achieve fiscal sustainability" using Objectives and Key Results (OKR).

Syracuse's OKR looks like this: Achieve fiscal sustainability, with Key Results such as reducing the general fund budget variance from 11% to 5%, spending 95% of authorized capital project dollars, and spending 95% of grant dollars.

Some high-level objectives are: improve customer satisfaction, increase recurring revenue, scale system performance, increase the number of customers served, and reduce the number of data errors in the system.

The key is to identify objectives that are relevant to a specific context, such as market forces, customer requirements, or competitive landscape. This helps guide the activities of each team within the organization.

Objectives should be framed in terms of what can be achieved in the next quarter to help reach long-term goals. This allows teams to focus their efforts into smaller steps, enabling regular reflection and realignment of activities.

Here are some examples of objectives:

OKRs can be two things: committed or aspirational. Committed ones are like their name suggests—commitments. They're expected to have a passing grade when graded at the end of a cycle. Aspirational ones, on the other hand, are sometimes called stretch goals or “moonshots.” The pathway to an aspirational OKR is expected to be forged since no one else has gotten there before. They may be long-term and live beyond an OKR cycle.

Tracking and Measuring OKRs is a crucial part of the OKR process. You'll want to score your key results using a sliding scale between 0 and 1.

A score of .3 means you missed the mark by quite a lot, while a score of .7 indicates you didn't hit your target but made great progress. Scoring 1.0 on a key result is considered a success, but it might mean your targets are too easy. At Atlassian, they use a simple confluence template to score their OKRs and communicate progress to the broader org.

To effectively communicate about your organization's top priorities, you'll use CFRs (Conversation, Feedback, Recognition). You'll also track, grade, and set up for the next cycle. This process involves tracking OKRs, using OKR tools (if needed), and OKRs in daily practice.

Here's a rough guide to the time required for each step in the OKR cycle:

Tracking OKRs involves using a system to monitor progress and adjust as needed. You should be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances and adjust your OKRs mid-cycle if necessary. Grading OKRs is also an essential part of the process, where you evaluate your progress and set new targets.

Jira Align is a tool that helps connect your business strategy to technical execution. It provides a clear insight into objectives, key results you track, and the work toward delivering objectives.

OKRs, or Objectives and Key Results, can be tracked using Jira Align's native features. This helps your team get aligned, stay aligned, and instantly connect work with value delivery.

Jira Align's OKR features can help focus your organizational strategy and drive alignment on an ongoing basis.

The city of Syracuse, New York, is a great example of how OKRs can be used in real-world settings. They set an objective to achieve fiscal sustainability.

Syracuse's OKR is measurable, with specific key results that help them track progress. Their key results include reducing the general fund budget variance from 11% to 5%.

Here are some key takeaways from Syracuse's OKR:

This approach can be applied to personal goals as well. For instance, a personal OKR might aim to "achieve fiscal sustainability" by reducing expenses and increasing income.

OKRs are used by leaders, managers, and employees in organizations large and small across the world. Google uses OKRs to drive their goals and objectives.

Notable organizations with an OKR practice include Google, 23andme, LinkedIn, Airbnb, Walmart, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the U.S. government. Any organization will benefit from the focus, communication, and alignment that OKRs provide.

One common misconception is that OKRs are only for technology companies. This is not true, as organizations from various industries use OKRs to achieve their goals.

CFRs and OKR Cycles are crucial for effective OKR implementation.

In this module, you'll learn how to effectively communicate about your organization's top priorities using CFRs (Conversation, Feedback, Recognition). This includes understanding the components of a full OKR cycle, including tracking, grading, and setting up for the next cycle.

You'll need to involve the right people in the process. The Key Players of OKRs, for example, take around 3 minutes to learn about.

A full OKR cycle involves tracking, grading, and setting up for the next cycle. This process can take around 10 minutes for Committing to the Calendar and around 10 minutes for Tracking OKRs.

To make OKRs work, you'll need to adapt to different communication preferences. Adapting to Communication Preferences, for example, takes around 5 minutes.

The 3 Kinds of Dialogue: Cs, Fs & Rs, are also essential for effective OKR implementation. Understanding these kinds of dialogue takes around 4 minutes.

Here's a breakdown of the key components of an OKR cycle:

Incorporating CFRs into your daily practice can take around 4 minutes.

Personal OKRs can be a powerful tool for achieving personal goals.

Setting a personal OKR is not much different from setting one for a company, as seen in Syracuse's goal to achieve fiscal sustainability.

To make a personal OKR effective, it needs to be measurable, just like Syracuse's goal.

Syracuse's OKR for fiscal sustainability includes three key results, each with a specific target.

Here's a breakdown of Syracuse's OKR for fiscal sustainability:

You can apply a similar approach to your personal OKR, making sure it's specific and measurable.

John Doerr, a well-known advocate for OKRs, shared his personal OKR in an interview.

His goal was to have more quality family time, which he measured by two key results.

Doerr's personal OKR looked like this:

O: Have more quality family time as measured by:

Being transparent about your personal OKR, like Doerr was, can also help you stay accountable.