transformation

In this series on OKRs, we’ve been through the set up on what OKRs are. Now it’s time to begin crafting our OKRs.

Typically this happens during our strategic planning cycle. For small-to-medium business, this planning cycle might be something we do as a retreat-style experience at the culmination of planning. Or it might happen as part of a series of planning exercises, much like how I work with my clients.

So let’s look at my tips for actually crafting Objectives.

1. Define Your Objectives All At Once

The temptation is great to follow a pattern that looks like…

Define Objective… Define its Key Results… Define next Objective… Define its Key Results…

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Don’t do it. Just take my word for it. Don’t do it.

Every time you move from “define objective” to “define key results” you make a context switch where your brain is focused on different kinds of information. And I’m pretty sure there’s a rule in physics that says “A brain in motion tends to stay in motion,” meaning when you’re focused on one type of information, it’s just easier to keep thinking about that type of information.

For that reason – and since we’re talking about small-to-medium businesses here – I like to break the OKR definition process into two pieces. I like to go through and identify all the Objectives first. Then I go back through each OKR and define all the Key Results. I find that staying focused at the Objective level allows me and the team I’m working with to “flow” better and identify more and better Objectives. But you do you. Give either a try and see what works for you.

2. Use Objectives for Transformative Change

OKRs are meant to be used to create transformative change in your business. Put another way, they’re not meant to capture the work you’d be doing anyway. As a core strategic tool, OKRs are the tangible piece of your strategy that defines the work that will make a material difference in the trajectory of your business.

Right, so what does that actually mean.

It means that you should focus on defining Objectives that make you and your staff stretch and reach.. Your Objectives should be inspirational (also known to some people as “a bit scary” and to others as “scary as hell.”) Your Objectives should paint a clear picture of your business in a better place than it is now.

That’s a tall order. And that’s the point of Objectives.

 

3. The 3 S’s – Specific, Succinct, Stimulating

A great Objective serves to inspire people around a specific goal. To that end, Objectives are best when they are short, direct, inspirational, and paint a picture of the improved state in the future.

That means a short Objective like the following is perfectly fine:

Objective: Achieve Total Customer Satisfaction with Product Deliveries

If you’re new to OKRs, that Objective might make you nervous because it doesn’t sound like a goal. It certainly doesn’t fit the pattern of a SMART goal.

Objectives set the direction of the work in a specific, succinct, and stimulating fashion. The work of setting numeric goals – what you would recognize as SMART goals – is where Key Results come in. And that’s the next article.

Having said that, if you prefer to set Objectives using a SMART format, that’s fine, too. For example, this Objective could just as easily say, “Achieve CSAT (customer satisfaction) scores of 95% or better by end of Q1.” Depending on your perspective, that may sound more or less inspirational than the traditional Objective format.

4. Source Objectives from Strategic Planning Pre-Work

If you’re to the point of crafting OKRs, in theory, you’ve already worked your way through some strategic planning pre-work. Inspiration for your Objectives would come directly from that work.

That work would include things like internal and external customer surveys, SWOT analyses, financial studies, and various other things.

If you haven’t done any of this pre-work, it’s certainly still possible to generate Objectives. Just keep in mind that yo might have some blind spots.

5. Size Objectives for One Quarter

I’m not strict about this.

But technically, one quarter is best. If you’re using my free workbook, you’re free to use whatever time frames work for you. If you’re thinking about using a third-party software tool for OKRs, know that some of them literally force you into one quarter time frames.

Think about it this way. If you’ve got an OKR that’s going beyond one quarter, chances are good you’ve actually got two or more OKRs. That is, chances are good you could split the work apart and make it more manageable. If so, you should break it down.

Bringing it All Together

Once you’ve flushed out a solid set of Objectives, you’re ready to move on to Key Results. Invariably, additional Objectives will pop up. Great. Write them down and keep moving. This is an imperfect process and the goal is to keep moving.

Speaking of which, let’s move on.

Back to Index | Setting Key Results in OKRs