OKRs: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Avoid Using Them Wrong
A practical guide to understanding OKRs, their original intent, and why tying them to performance reviews can backfire.
I saw the above meme shared in work the other day and it really struck a chord. Performance management is a very touchy subject, especially as a manager of teams whose job often involves “calibrating” individuals into various buckets based on their performance levels (e.g. missing expectations, exceeding expectations etc.). Rightly or wrongly, these performance levels are then often used to feed into other considerations such as compensation reviews and bonus payouts. Getting this stuff wrong can really make or break an individual’s motivation and confidence to do their job, but equally there has to be some candid discussions if progress is to be made.
From a personal side, performance management can often feel like a bit of a game. There always feels a need to be singing your own praises all of the time in a bid to make your voice and efforts seen and heard, otherwise you may fall into the dreaded “missing expectations”. It goes without saying that there is still a need for individuals (managers included) to do some form of self promotion, otherwise their line manager may remain unaware at all the things they achieve and learn as part of their development. There’s a balance to be had, and it can often (to me at least) be pretty hard to achieve.
Enter the OKR 🎯
For the uninitiated an OKR is an Objective and Key Result(s). The very idea of an OKR is pretty simple - set an ambitious objective and define a set of measurable key results that can define whether the objective has been hit.
The idea itself came from Intel’s ex-CEO Andy Grove, who in the 1970s introduced a goal-setting system known as the iMBO (Intel Management by Objectives). Grove also wrote a book on this very thing titled High Output Management:
In this book Grove talks about using the iMBO system to create alignment across teams, defining measurable outcomes to know if objectives have been met and to stretch people, but most importantly not crush them. This is often something which is entirely misconstrued when it comes to OKRs - stretching people to the extremes to the point it causes unnecessary anguish.
Beyond Grove’s work on iMBO system, venture capitalist John Doerr was the person responsible for making OKRs become more mainstream within businesses. In 1999 he worked with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, pitching OKRs as as way to:
create focus and commitment on priorities
align and connect on teamwork
track accountability
stretch for the amazing
The interesting thing about Google’s adoption of OKRs is that they were not to be tied to performance evaluations. This is still written into their re:Work1 set of guides and principles and still stands to this day. In fact, the very words Google use are as follows2:
OKRs are not synonymous with employee evaluations
It begs the question as to whether the lines have actually been blurred in reality, as it is far too easy for management to use OKRs as a measure for an individual or team’s “success”. Even if it’s not formally factored into performance discussions, I wonder if the mere presence of OKRs leads to an unintentional bias from managers simply being aware of the outcomes even if they shouldn’t let them taint their impression.
On the other hand, if an OKR is missed and it’s obvious that a performance-related issue was the cause then is this not a valid reason to make them synonymous? Let me know your thoughts.
Gamification
When OKRs are intrinsically linked to performance reviews, bad things will happen.
Quickly taking us back to the meme I posted at the start of the article, it is very easy to see how linking performance to OKRs can result in an imperfect situation of gamification. In turn this destroys the very purpose that OKRs set out to achieve, as well as forcing people into a role where they are more conservative in their performance.
Context Is Key 🔑
On face value, a missed OKR presents a lens through which a person may appear to be underperformance - after all, why haven’t they hit their goal?
In reality there could be a plethora of different variables which meant they didn’t quite get where they wanted to be. e.g. two leavers in the team put more pressure on them to pick up the slack; a dependent team couldn’t collaborate as frequently as anticipated; they were hit with an illness that took them out of action for a month - you get it.
The OKRs are there to create alignment and help move things in the right direction, not necessarily as a means to ensure 100% success. Individual performance cannot be measured simply through the single interpretation of outputs from objectives, but instead through a collection of behaviours and capabilities that are exhibited and evidenced through many other means such as collaboration, thought processes, adaptability, communication, problem-solving, and the ability to uplift those around them.
A high-performing individual may miss a stretch goal but have demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, or resilience in the process - all things a binary OKR score will never capture. That’s why OKRs should guide the what, but performance assessment must consider the how and why too.
With this all said, let’s take a look at how to use OKRs the right way.
10 Tips on Using OKRs Effectively ✅
There are some schools of thought which say OKRs can be ignored altogether - after all, we still managed to achieve things without them.
With all the things about OKRs in mind, I suggest thinking about the following things should you want to get the best out of them:
Separate them from performance reviews 👈 👉
Keep OKRs focused on alignment (e.g. with business or personal goals) and stretch, not judging individuals.Aim for ambition, not perfection ☁️
Hitting ~70% of a well-set OKR is still a great win.Make them visible to everyone 👀
Transparency breeds alignment and cross-team support, especially if others are working towards similar things.Keep it simple 😀
3-5 objectives max, each with 2-4 key results. Remember you have a job to do in between putting focus on your objectives.Write inspiring Objectives 💡
These should be motivational, not just tasks. Think: “Delight customers with blazing-fast load times” not “Improve server response by 300ms” (that’s a key result).Make Key Results measurable 📈
Numbers, not vibes. “Reduce onboarding time from 10 days to 3” is clear. “Improve experience” isn’t.
Check in regularly 📋
OKRs aren’t set-and-forget. Do weekly or fortnightly check-ins to assess progress and adjust focus.Use them to learn 🧑🎓
Missed a key result? That’s okay, but be sure to reflect on why and carry the insight forward.
Don’t turn them into a task list ❌
OKRs should drive outcomes, not actions. Focus on impact, not inputs.Cascade with care 🫶
Let teams translate high-level goals into localised OKRs that make sense for their work.Thanks for reading this week’s edition of The Manager’s Mindset. I really appreciate you taking the time to follow along amongst a sea of other great content.
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Until next time,
Mike 👋
https://rework.withgoogle.com/en/
https://rework.withgoogle.com/en/guides/set-goals-with-okrs?utm_source=chatgpt.com#introduction