7 Deadly Sins That May Derail Your OKR Program

So, you’ve watched John Doerr’s video on goals and read his book, Measure What Matters. Your organization is pumped and feels ready to dive headfirst into objectives and key results (OKRs). Great! BUT before doing so, understand that more than half of OKR programs fail within the first year of launch. For a methodology that is catching on like Agile did 10 years ago, it’s critical that companies are aware of lessons learned to increase the odds of success. Here are the 7 deadliest sins to avoid committing when launching OKRs at your company:

1.??????Poor executive buy-in and leadership messaging

Rolling out anything new that changes employees’ day-to-day routines is always going to be an uphill battle. We are creatures of habit, and change is uncomfortable. With the speed of change in today’s world, businesses have become accustomed to latching on to anything that may give them an edge. In other words, “chasing shiny objects.” Make no mistake, adopting OKRs will initially be received by the broader org as such. It’s important that OKRs are not seen as a fleeting, shiny new object, but as a new and improved vehicle to link strategy and execution. Communications should include:

• Why your company is moving to OKRs
• The difference between OKRs, SMART goals, and KPIs
• The benefits of adopting OKRs - transparency, alignment, and engagement
• How OKRs will directly impact people’s daily work

Provide templates and speaking points to leaders to make it as easy and seamless as possible. Consistent messaging must come from the top to give OKRs the appearance of staying power. John Doerr writes in Measure What Matters,

“OKRs are a shared language for execution. They clarify expectations: What do we need to get done (and fast), and who’s working on it? They keep employees aligned, vertically and horizontally.”

2.??????Too many objectives and key results

OKRs help to prioritize strategic work that matters most for the organization grow. It’s important to avoid scope creep and make everything a priority. Karen Martin, author of The Outstanding Organization: Generate Business Results by Eliminating Chaos and Building the Foundation for Everyday Excellence, writes,

“When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.”

There’s no shame in starting with one quarterly objective to keep the team focused and learn your lessons throughout execution. For reference, a standard practice is to have 3-5 objectives with 3-5 key results, per team. People are going to want to throw everything they are working on into OKRs. Do not fall prey to this! Business as usual (BAU) work should not be included in your company’s OKR structure. OKR work is strategic and should align with your vision, mission, and strategy. Remember, strategy is working ON the business; BAU is working IN the business.

3.??????Outputs versus outcomes

One of the biggest challenges you’ll face is changing people’s mindset from focusing on delivering outputs to thinking through the downstream impact of the work (outcomes). It is only through education and practice that this shift will occur. People will default to wanting to measure the things they can put a checkmark next to instead of the impact that those outputs generate. As Peter Drucker said,

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

Key results should be quantitative, from “x” to “y” for example, and not binary. If faced with a situation of a key result written with an output, respond with, “So what,” meaning what downstream impact will this output have on the business. With that said, there are occasions where there’s no measurement in place, so the key result could be to identify the metric or baseline.

4.??????Pushing (cascading) instead of pulling (localizing)

It’s easy to fall into the trap of cascading objectives or key results down to the next level. There are even times when the lower level wants to bring down an objective or key result so they can easily align and don’t have to take the time create one on their own. Don’t push objectives down. Instead, allow teams to localize (create) their own strategic goals that will accomplish upline objectives. This allows the teams to feel empowered to make their own decisions and have tighter engagement with the overall strategy. They will be able to directly see how their work supports the larger strategic machine. As Christina Wodtke writes in Radical Focus,

“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what you need done and let them surprise you.”

Additionally, OKRs should only be done by teams and levels where the value outweighs the effort; not all teams should stretch and have OKRs. A good practice is to pilot to specific levels before scaling.

5.??????Fearing red

OKRs are about stretching and getting uncomfortable, meaning it’s OK for your key results to be yellow or red. We’ve been conditioned to want everything green to show it is all going as planned. However, with OKRs consistently being green most likely means you didn’t stretch enough and are playing it safe. Ideally all key results should be hard to complete and aspirational. However, if you are faced with requiring committed key results as well, a good practice is to have a mixed ratio of 75% aspirational and 25% committed key results. Make no mistake, this is a cultural shift and will take time. Leaders changing this habit first will help to expedite the process. ?

6.??????Lack of OKR oversight

To help reinforce buy-in, it’s important to manage and communicate compliance to your established standards of practices. Figure out the best set of ceremonies and cadence for your OKR process. Don’t try to be Google. Stand up your own process of OKR ceremonies that make the most sense for your organization. Pilot first, then scale. Once you have an operating rhythm in place, start measuring compliance to agreed-upon practices. These practices could include vertical and horizontal alignment thresholds, check-in statuses, and ceremony attendance/engagement. Layering in governance and building a dashboard to collect and share these metrics will help keep the teams accountable and the program on track.

7.??????Attempting to adopt OKRs and an OKR platform at the same time

Adopting OKRs AND a new tool at the same time typically isn’t the best idea. Keep in mind you’ll be adding this effort on top of your employees’ current workload. Not to mention everyone’s tech stack seems to continually grow. It’s critical for adoption that you are sensitive to your employees’ time and what other tools they are currently working with. To increase your chances for adopting OKRs successfully, focus on the methodology first. OKRs must be a common language and ingrained into your operating rhythm and culture for them to take root and flourish. Adopting OKRs is a journey, not a quick, flip-the-switch process. Roll out OKRs when you are prepared, can gain buy-in, and are ready to learn lessons. Once you have your own OKR rhythm down, find a tool that best matches your company’s OKR process. It’s ok to use Excel or PowerPoint first to initially track OKRs.

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