OKRs are a terrible fit for most startups.
Popularized by Andy Grove of Intel Corporation in the 1970's, they were successful in clarifying the responsibilities and goals of his direct reports.
Many modern day venture capitalists got their start at Intel, or the many organizations that sprang from it. Now, as investors, advisors, and board members of tech companies, they are recommending a tool that they found useful.
However, the context is massively different.
Intel already had tens of thousands of workers.
The business was fairly mature, with scaled processes and tenured leaders.
The outputs were largely measureable (# of chips processed).
Startups with under 100 employees are often implementing OKRs.
They are changing rapidly in search of product-market fit.
Therefore, roles and priorities are also changing.
And, we are in an age of team-based knowledge work with fewer obvious measurables at a department level.
Futher, most startups are trying to apply OKRs at an individual level, not just at the top of the organization.
This results in massive bureaucracy, with #fakegoals being set at the individual level that don't really ladder directly to anything - and the activity taking months to complete, at which time it is time to do it again.
It's time to get back to basics.
1. Set a FEW clear goals and priorities at the top of the org
2. Ensure that team/function/department initiatives tie closely and directly to those company goals
3. It's ok to try to continue to do all the other things to keep the business running, as long as it's clear that the #bigrocks need to come first
If you'd like to learn more, get some help refreshing your goal and priority-setting for your organization, or get an editable version of this document - just comment below!
