THE OKR GUIDE:

FROM STRATEGY TO EXECUTION

Executives and corporate leaders,

it’s time to unite your team, rally towards a
unified goal, and actualise the real mission
and vision of your company!
The OKR Framework is a Tool that Will Ensure a
Unified Cadence of Progress in Your Company
and Build the Gap Between Strategy and
Execution among Your Workforce in a Year
Without Having the Need to Constantly “Boss
Everyone Around”

Your company is not the only one suffering from it. It’s everywhere. The messy and exhausting
journey of steering people towards a common goal is palpable in every corporate environment.
And sometimes, as a leader, even if you’ve tried everything to take everyone on the same page,
most people in your team are still lost in the woods not knowing how they can effectively bring a
positive impact in the company. Thus, they perform poorly and use the company’s resources
without delivering actual value that will contribute to the goals you’ve set.

The truth is, even if your colleagues would want to contribute to the goals that the company
have set, they seem to lack the needed directions to effectively help. If not, they are
underwhelmed by the degree of undervalued responsibilities that they are given to
contribute to the team. And most often than not, the way organisations are structured is
often not the most empowering environment to encourage employees to take responsibility
and share the initiatives they have in mind.

While the most established organisation in the past century have seemingly benefited from this
common corporate milieu, the best and most profitable are the companies who make their teams
feel valued and the leadership emanates from a top-down and bottom-up structure where the
workforce focuses on contributing to the overall strategy, mission, and vision of your company
genuinely and without being told to do so.

For years, we at Evolution4All, have worked with many companies which had been struggling with
a disarray directionless workforce. Throughout these years, the only winning formula that has
stood the test of time is having a top-down and bottom-up goal setting mechanism that
empowers every member of your team to act based on the best interest of the company. We
believe that the Objective, Key Result Framework is the tool that best embodies this framework.

Imagine a workforce that works together bringing in cumulative and compounding development
and progress in your company’s without the usual leadership strains. Imagine if your team, in their
best abilities, proactively try to complement the long and short term goals of your company with
the enthusiasm to deliver the highest result possible. Imagine a company where your colleagues all
have an internal navigator pointing towards common goals. Think about people who are
wholeheartedly putting in the work to reach ambitious goals by regularly monitoring their
progress. That is the power of OKR.
OKR Overview

If there is something so distinctive about OKR, it is the fact that it is both a goal setting tool and a
management framework that efficiently synchronizes everyone in an organisation to strategically move
towards its short and long term goals.

In a company that is composed of at least 500 people, keeping tabs with everyone is a common challenge
that every growing company faces. A growing workforce also means facing the question of keeping the
teams engaged and motivated to contribute to achieving the long term goals of the company. Given the
traditional structure of companies where goal setting is a process that is solely exclusive to the people in the
top of the organisation, the workforce is left to follow without fully internalising the value of their
contribution to achieving the goals set by their superiors. This is a recipe for a disengaged and unmotivated
workforce. This is also the reason why many employees cannot perform at their best because of the
fundamental disconnect to the work they do. There is no sense of ownership. And when employees don’t
feel this sense of ownership, they eventually disengage from the work they do and feel that they won’t make
that much of an impact in the company.

Also, the plans and goals of a company are often too abstract and high-level that regular employees fail to
grasp the concepts. This makes them feel insignificant and further drifts them away from the fundamental
direction that their company is heading to. Remember that employees are social and thinking beings. We all
have the need to have the sense of purpose. And more often than not, it’s the very reason why we want to
work for specific companies. When we don’t understand the the direction that our work or company is
heading to, this creates uncertainty that will eventually lead to being disengaged from work.

Employees fail to see the big picture and even if they sometimes do, they can barely relate to it. And when
they don’t understand something, this creates uncertainty. The uncertainty creates the gap and eventually,
the gap becomes the very reason why they can’t perform at their very best.

This is where OKR bridges the gap between the very human nature of every workforce of the 21st century
and the strategic goals that a company wants to achieve. The framework aims to unify and synchronise
every member of a company to understand and internalise its long term objectives by letting each person
set and achieve a clearly defined set of targets s/he has to achieve in a period of time. These “set of targets”
are obviously in relation to the long term goal/mission/vision of the company. With each person having an
individual compass to guide his actions in order to contribute to the main objectives of the company, the
workforce operates in a way that everyone complements each other’s work. The workforce, geared with
each individual OKRs, is now a functional cog in a wheel that supports the grand scheme of everything that
the company stands for.
That being said, here are some of the most common qualities
that encapsulate the characteristics of OKR as a framework:

Goals become agile.
The goals in OKRs are never
designed to be static, stale, or
even rigid. The objectives
should adapt to many
changing factors inside the
organisation. The regular
reviews also ensure that this
framework will never go stale.
OKR is meant to be simple.
It’s very straightforward. The
simplicity ensures that no one
will be confused if they happen
to read an OKR in a corridor.
OKR embraces transparency.
Since one of the goals of OKR
is to embrace alignment and
synchronicity, transparency is
an essential element.
OKR is dynamic.
OKR doesn’t shy away
from changes. It sways
with the needs of your
organisation. Albeit, it also
make sure that everyone is
on the same page with
every change made.

OKR is a bi-directional goal-setting.
It’s a top-down and bottom-up goal setting
model that everyone should embrace in a
company. Top-down because the main
objectives of the companies are formulated
by key executives. Bottom-up because
even though the missions, visions, and
other long term goals are formulated from
the upper level of the organisational
structure, the workforce’s OKR which start
from the bottom, ensures that everything
will be carried out.
OKRs embraces ambitious goals.
By aiming for the stars, OKRs
facilitate the extra stretch that
everyone needs in order to grow in a
company. So even if an employee
falls short from his OKRs, it would
still be a performance that will be
well-appreciated because it’s a given
that OKRs are almost an impossible
task.
OKRs welcomes failure
with open arms.
Since the framework is only effective
when the workforce stretch their
capabilities to the very limit, failure is not
something people frown upon. It gives
the employees environment they need
to grow. By setting ambitious goals and
not discouraging failure, progress is
achieve without them even knowing it
that they’re actually making significant
development.

Now that you have a clear understanding of how OKR and

impact your company, let’s now dive into the details of
creating OKRs.
The Basic Structure

A usual OKR is composed of 3 to 5 high-level Objectives. Under these objectives are 3-5
Key Results which signify that if achieved, that means that the Objective is also
accomplished. The key results should be measurable through a defined set of standards,
result, indicators, or scores. During the assessment period of OKRs, the key results is best
assessed by using a numeric scoring system between 0 and 1.0. Let’s dig further. . .

Objectives
The O in OKR stands for Objective. For the company, the whole process of setting OKR
starts with creating three to five (3-5) key objectives. These are ambitious goals at the
organisational level. Your departments will also set their own objectives and so as the
teams under the departments and the members of each team. Structurally, each
department, teams, and individuals, should base their objectives in the structural level they
belong. For example, a department will base its objectives on how it can help the company
reach its main objectives. The teams in that department will also set objectives based on
how they can help the department fulfil its objectives. The objectives of each team
member is also anchored in helping the team fulfil its team objectives. It’s a trickle down
effect with a clear alignment structurally speaking.

Key Results
Key Results are signifiers that an objective is accomplished. Ideally, 3-4 measurable Key
Results should be under one objective. This enables everyone to evaluate each objectives
using the key results. The key results are in turn evaluated using an internal scoring system
set by your company. The scoring system for each key result, makes it easier to determine
if the Key Result has been achieved or not.

But how does it look structurally? Here at Evolution4All, here’s how we see it:
In this diagram you can see the following:

COMPANY MISSION – The company mission is a brief description of the company’s

vision and purpose, and how they should be implemented.

MID-TERM-GOALS – Mid-term goals (so-called MOALS) are the link between the
company mission and the OKR. They are usually defined for one year.

OKR PLANNING – At OKR Planning the respective objectives and key results become
defined for the entire cycle and at all levels. This is done both top-down and
bottom-up.

OKR WEEKLY – The OKR Weekly helps to synchronise the implementation of the
OKR framework and supports self-responsibility as a solid ritual
of the teams during the cycle. The weekly should only take about 15 minutes and
should give an overview of the current status of the OKR.

OKR REVIEW – Review meetings are used to determine the degree of achievement at
the end of an evaluation cycle. The scoring should be consistent with team standards.

OKR RETROSPECTIVE – During a retrospective, the teams analyse the OKR process
from a systematic point of view. What did the team learn? What should be improved
in the next cycle?

OKR COACH – As experts, coaches, facilitators, change agents are OKR Coaches
responsible for the smooth implementation of the OKR framework in the company
and support their teams in the Definition of OKRs and other regular events.

These components of OKR implementation makes it easier for your

company to adopt and implement the OKR framework. With the help of
OKR Retrospective and OKR Coach, the continuous evolution and
improvement of your OKRs is ensured.
Step By Step Guide to setting
up OKR for your team

1 Introducing the Fram

Introduce OKR as a framework and how it will affect and contribute to the growth
of your company. Best if you can furnish everyone a copy of this report. Once they
have a full understanding on how this will help the entire company, they will be
able to adapt quickly.

2 Creating Objectives
You can lead a brainstorming session with your teams. Using the predetermined
Company Objectives, you can ask the team in each department on how they can
contribute in achieving the Company Objectives. You have to encourage them to
step out of their comforzones. Their objectives should be aspirational and
something that is connected to their role inside the company. The objective,
although ambitious, should still be measurable.

3 Identify your Key Results.

List down the outcomes or Key Results that will signify or indicate whether an
objective is achieved or not. Remember that this is not a To-Do list tasks. The Key
Results are real results that the team/individual has to achieve.
4 Review, analyse, and revise.
It’s ok to revise the initial draft OKRs. A good way to test if the objective is being
too safe or not ambitious enough is if the team is confident that they can deliver
the Key Results. If this the general sentiment of the team, revise the Objective and
move away from the comfort zone of the team. You can do this by increasing the
target or completely refocusing on other aspects of the company’s OKR. For the
Key Results, make sure that it’s properly articulated in a way that it can be scored
using a sliding scale.

5 Getting feedback.
Initiate to get feedback from other department, teams, and other executives. It’s
a good practice that will minimise the possibility of having a blind spot.

6 Scoring
Scoring is essential for OKRs. Usually, the widely accepted scoring system is a
number between 0 to 1. If your team scores a .7 in a KR evaluation, it is better
than having a 1. A perfect score means that you’ve set the objective of the KR too
low and should be adjusted next time.

The OKR framework is meant to have ambitious yet measurable goals. This
keeps a culture of progress and helps everyone to keep aspiring to achieve
higher heights.
InfoGraphics: OKR in Bullets

History

1954 - Peter Drucker invented Management by Objectives or MBO. It’s the predecessor
of Objectives in OKR.

1970s - Andy Grove popularised the use of Objectives in Intel.

1974 - John Doerr joined Intel where he learned about OKRs. When Doerr become an
advisor to Google, he introduced OKR to Google.

OKR was introduced to the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, by
Doerr. These two implemented OKR to Google which up to this day is still in use.
Soon after Intel and Google, OKR was then adopted by hundreds of companies and
organisations follow suit Zynga, Sears, Twitter, Oracle, and so much more.

Composition
Objectives - Typical 3 to 5 high-level goals under which 3-5 key measurable results are listed.
Key Results are signifier that the Objective is accomplished.
The said key results is popularly measured using a sliding scale between o to 1.
Organisations should include OKR as part of quarterly planning and progress review.
No specific regular time to set OKRs. It can be done on a monthly or annual basis
depending on the internal cadence of an organisation.
Each cycle has many opportunities for improving teamwork, communication and strategic goals.

The following events help:

OKR Planning Weekly OKR Review OKR Retrospectives

Science Behind OKR
Many studies have shown that committing to a goal helps drive performance among
employees. More importantly, setting challenging goals motivate them to perform well to
achieve those goals.
40%
Gallup in 2016, only 40% of
millennials feel connected to the
visions and goals of the company
they work for.
12-15%
Gallup in 2016, only 40% of
millennials feel connected to the
visions and goals of the company
they work for.
13%
Worldwide, employee engagement
is only 13% according to Gallup.
OKR increased overall performance
by 11.5% - Sears Holdings
24%
24% of “Workers are Actively
Disengaged”. Actively disengaged
workers - people who demoralise other
workers who are making an effort to
achieve results for a company.
50%
50% of employees quit jobs to get
rid of their managers - Gallup survey.
58%
58% of executives see their
Performance Management
framework fail to increase Employee
Engagement
OKR can save companies
$520,000 a year
Companies That Are Using OKR

OKR is already a household name in many companies especially in the tech

industries. Atiim published a long list of companies that are using OKR already. If
you’re curious, here’s the list:

Accenture Gap Rackspace

Adobe GE Salesforce.com
Amazon Google Samsung
American Global Logistics GoPro Schneider Electric
Anheuser-Busch InsideSales Sears
Asana Instructure Siemens
Baidu Intel Slack
Bradstreet ISO Energy Spotify
Box Juniper Networks Splunk
CareerBuilder Kelly Services SunEdison
Capco KupiVIP Tableau
Cap Gemini LG Twitter
Datto LinkedIn Trello
Dell Lookout The Guardian
Deloitte Lumeris UpWind Solutions
Department of the Navy Malwarebytes Viacom
Domo Microsoft Vmware
Dropbox Moz Vox Media
Edmunds Mozilla Walmart
Eli Lilly Nerd Wallet Yahoo
Eventbrite Netflix Zendesk
Facebook Oracle Zynga
FiServ Panasonic
Flipboard Paperless Post
OKR at Google
In the first year of Google, John Doerr became an investor and proposed the use of OKRs. Fast
forward today, Google is a multi billion company with more than 60,000 employees and still uses
OKR in their operation. How do they do it at Google? Check out this post from Google Venture
Partner Rick Klau.

OKR at Nasa
Another ultimate OKR example is the one set by former US President John F Kennedy when they
decided to put a man on the moon. The project was called “Moonshot Goal” and their OKR was
continuously evolving for 10-25 years until they achieved their ultimate goal in 1961.

OKR at Amazon
Amazon is another big company that has adopted OKR in their operation. One of the key driving
factor for the adoption of OKR was the sheer number of workforce of the company that often lead
to many miscommunication, unmet expectations, management strains and confusions.

OKR at LinkedIn
For LinkedIn, OKR is a tool that gives everyone inside the company the sense of urgency. According to
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, they can focus better on what matter most using OKR because of the short
and long term timelines for the respective objectives they set for the company.

OKR at Twitter
Twitter primary use of OKRs is on the side of transparency and communication. They make sure
that there’s a way for everyone to see and check on what others are working on.
Advantages Of Using OKR

Studies have already shown that companies which use OKR tend to have a
more effective workforce. OKR addresses many organisational concerns
such as the following:

Awareness Since OKRs are meant to be seen by everyone and should be

put to a conspicuous area, there is a sense of awareness and transparency on that people
are actually working on. The awareness of everyone’s OKR in the structural levels of an
organisation makes it easier for employees to align themselves with the OKRs. This also
helps in reminding employees the the vision, mission, and other ideals of a company.

Communication OKRs identifies the priorities of an organisation. Thus,

the communication is very much open to everyone to contribute to the dialogues in
achieving common goals.

Interpersonal OKR becomes and interpersonal mechanism because

everyone has to communicate and work with other people to achieve the key results
they’re aiming for their objectives.
 Culture OKR fosters many positive culture like: transparency, getting out
of the comfort zone, accountability, and teamwork. This ingredients ensures that there is
a high employee engagement and the morale is high.

Accountability The regular review in OKRs make it sure that everyone is

accountable to the objectives they set. There is a focus on metrics and KPIs which also
keep everyone in touch with the progress they’re making.
The regular implementation of OKRs ensures that everyone is reminded of the long and
short term vision of a company. These clarifies any confusion in an organisation.

Proactive Qualities of OKRs

Companies in different industries are religiously implementing OKRs because of its many
distinct proactive qualities that guarantees the transformation of any organisation.

Strategic goals are cascaded from top-down to bottom up in an organisation. The

company are encouraged to share its objectives to the employees and the employees
from the bottom are empowered to align their actions to the objectives of the company.

OKRs provide organisations with clarity so they can focus their resources.

Alignment between the company and the workforce.

The performance are always ensured to be measurable.

There culture of excellence is encouraged by empowering employees to go beyond

their comfort zone.

Regular assessments and check ins foster the culture of accountability.

People are encouraged to focus on results and not the tasks. This means they are
trained to know the difference of providing result rather just doing things blindly.

The creation of OKR is a way to tap into the collective intelligence of an organisation.
 Proactive Qualities of OKRs

Companies in different industries are religiously implementing OKRs

because of its many distinct proactive qualities that guarantees the
transformation of any organisation.

Strategic goals are cascaded from
top-down to bottom up in an
organisation.
The company are encouraged to OKRs provide organisations
share its objectives to the with clarity so they can focus
employees and the employees from their resources.
the bottom are empowered to align
their actions to the objectives of the
company.

Alignment between the company The performance are always There culture of excellence is
and the workforce. ensured to be measurable. encouraged by empowering
employees to go beyond their
comfort zone.

Regular assessments and check ins
foster the culture of accountability.
People are encouraged to focus on
results and not the tasks. This means
they are trained to know the difference
of providing result rather just doing
things blindly.
The creation of OKR is a way to
tap into the collective intelligence
of an organisation.
 Some Templates and Examples

Now that you understand the value and power of OKR, let’s seem OKR in action. Below are
some powerful and effective OKR templates fe.

OKR Template

Company Name
Objective
Fulfillment
Company Objective One Progress 23%
Measurable Key Result1 10%
Measurable Key Result2 20%
Measurable Key Result3 40% Objective
Fulfillment
Company Objective Two Progress 15%
Measurable Key Result1 5%
Measurable Key Result2 15%
Measurable Key Result3 25% Objective
Fulfillment

For example, if your company’s objective is to develop the business’ reputation and improve
the Customer Relation Department, you can say that your objective should include
measurable elements that signify those goals. Example:

Objective: Increase the company’s reputation by improving the Customer Relation

Department Performance score to 95%

Key Results that signifies success of the objective above can be:

Key Result 1: implementing a First-Call Resolution policy.

Key Result 2: Shorten the Queueing Time by 1 minute
Key Result 3: Increase the net customer satisfaction rating by adding a feedback mechanism
Here’s an example OKR from Google’s blogging platform, Blogger:

OBJECTIVE: To improve Blogger’s reputation

KEY RESULTS:

Re-establish Blogger’s leadership by speaking to at least 3 industry events

Coordinate Blogger’s 10th anniversary PR efforts
Reach out personally to Blogger’s users
Fix DMCA process and eliminate music blog takedowns

OBJECTIVE: Increase profit by 10% in 2019

KEY RESULTS:

Launch seasonal campaigns by using referral marketing (summer promos, Valentine’s

Day, Holiday fares, ) and triple the revenue from the past year.
Add the ash discounts on suppliers to save 15% on purchases.
Hire other cost effective fleet distribution service provider stores to reduce cost by 20%.

OBJECTIVE: Create A Superb Customer Experience

KEY RESULTS:

Maintain Customer Acquisition cost under Y

Raise Repurchase Rate from X to Y.
Improve Net Promoter Score from X to Y.

OBJECTIVE: Delight our customers

KEY RESULTS:

Lower order cancellation from A% to D%.

Increase Net Promoter Score from A to C.
Improve average daily visits per active user from X to Y.
Increase Organic traffic from X to Y.
Example By Companies

Company: Deverus
Industry: HR
Source: https://blog.weekdone.com/deverus-improved-collaboration-combining-okrs-weekly-ppp-reporting/
Company: BMAT
Industry: Music
Source: https://blog.weekdone.com/bmat-when-your-company-grows-weekdone-lets-you-get-closer-to-everyone/

Company: Humanitec
Industry: Saas
Source: https://blog.weekdone.com/humanitec-creates-alignment-objectives-key-results/
Company: Exxact Corporation
Industry: Hardware/Software
Source: https://blog.weekdone.com/exxact-corporation-simplifies-with-goal-setting/

If you want to see more examples, go to this website http://okrexamples.co

and see other OKR examples for different organisational departments.

To get a copy of these templates, go to this website http://okrtemplates.com

Common Best and
Bad Practices for OKR

Here are the best practices in creating, maintaining, and revising

your company’s OKR. These are not hard and fast rule but a set
of guidance to help you craft a viable OKR for your company.

Failure to achieve OKR doesn’t mean that you have to revise it. You can only do so in times of an
extreme event or reason to justify revision.

You will notice the positive changes of OKR after 3-4 cycles. Be patient.

A well-designed OKR implementation plan makes it easier for your company to adapt to this
framework. This is why it’s recommended to work with an OKR coach.

OKRs though ambitious and inspiring should still possess the following: Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Time Bound (SMART).

Company and departmental OKRs should be clearly communicated down to the very bottom of
organisational structure. It’s better for it to be rephrased if not properly understood by other
employees. Again, one of the goals of OKR is to communicate the goal of the company to all of its
employees.

Ideal score for Key Results is between 70% and 75%. Anything above means you’ve set a very easy
low goal.
Review the OKR regularly. Most companies would review their OKRs with their regular
reports. Annual, Midterm, Quarterly and even Monthly are the most common regular
review timeline.

Objectives answers the question “What?” The Key Result corresponds to the “How?” When
the “hows” are achieved, so is the “what.”

Objectives are strategic themes. Key Results are the tactical means.

Setting Key Performance Indicators are also a good means to measure Key Results.

OKRs are meant to be concise and easy to understand. It is ambitious and

challenging but still measurable.

Common OKR Mistakes/ Bad Practices

Avoid the following mistakes in setting your own OKRs. These practices lower the
effectiveness of this framework.

Don’t use OKR as a task list. OKR measures the value delivered of each employee in an
organisation, not the number of tasks accomplished.
Don’t set too many OKRs. It will overwhelm everyone in your team and won’t deliver the
focus embedded in the system of OKRs. Set only the top three top goals of the company in
a period of time.
Follow the Top-Down approach when setting OKRs. Team OKRs should be aligned with the
Departmental OKR. Department OKRs are aligned with the Company’s OKR.
Don’t set and forget. Continuously review your OKR and ask for a progress report on regular
meetings. Goals are only goals without measurable actions.
Here at Evolution4All, we created 3 transformative core products
that promises to deliver the goal setting evolution that every
modern day company should have:

OKR ROLLOUT PROGRAMME - A 12-Month programme is designed to

solve one of the biggest problems CEOs have: the ability to effectively execute strategy. The OKR
Implementation Programme assists organisations close the gap between strategic intent and strategic
outcomes by implementing the right OKR framework to drive execution within the organisation.

OKR CERTIFIED COACH - By having an OKR Certified Coach, your

company will learn the essential basics of this Agile leadership method: Objectives and Key Results
(OKR). The workshop is suitable for agile coaches, directors and executives who want to learn more
about this framework and how to use it effectively for results. You will be able to accelerate your
organisation’s progression towards success.

OKR STRATEGY SESSION - This is a one-day hands-on OKR session.

Whether you’re a CEO, an executive, Ops manager, or a direct manager, using a proven system of
OKRs is an effective and efficient way to increase your team’s alignment with the company goals,
measure performance, provide adequate feedback to your team, and to bring out better results.

All of these products are designed to help your company adopt the powerful framework of
OKR seamlessly with the guidance of an expert. We will literally hold your hands and
implement and facilitate these programs so your company can actualise the fullest of its
potential. Unlike other management consulting firm, we don’t charge by the hour or day. We
charge based on the result we deliver. All of our programs are an investment that will deliver
tangible result and exponential development.

In order to fully visualise the power of OKR, we created this short report to help you get
acquainted with the potential impact of OKR to your company. Regardless of the challenges
that you’re facing now, it is essential that you take action now and face it head on. And one of
the best ways to do this is to unify your team using the OKR framework.

Please read this report thoroughly and if you have any question, feel free to reach out and ask
questions using this contact form. Additionally, we published numerous articles about OKR on
our site and we highly suggest that you cross reference to it for in-depth discussion on the
different facets of OKR.