I Analysed Goals Set by 35 Companies and Discovered…

…that 87% of teams either set vague OKRs or treat them as glorified to-do lists. Want to avoid these traps and use AI to create goals that actually drive results? Let’s dive in.

(and yes, I Need Better Hobbies)

What Are OKRs and Why Do They Matter?

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are your company’s GPS for growth. They:

• Focus efforts on 1–2 ambitious goals (Objectives).
• Measure progress with 3–5 quantifiable outcomes (Key Results).
• Align teams around shared priorities.

Example:

Objective: Become the #1 SaaS platform for small businesses in the U.S. by 2026.

Key Results:

• Increase monthly recurring revenue (MRR) from 200k to 1M.
• Reduce customer churn rate from 12% to 5%.
• Launch 3 AI-powered features that 80% of users adopt.

If your OKRs look like “Complete 10 tasks for Project X,” you’re doing it wrong.

Why OKRs Work: The Data Doesn’t Lie

Companies using OKRs report 30% faster goal achievement and 2x higher employee engagement compared to traditional goal-setting methods (Weekdone). Here’s how industry leaders leverage OKRs:

1. Google’s 10x Growth: OKRs helped Google scale Chrome to 1 billion users. Former CEO Eric Schmidt credits the framework for creating a “culture of accountability and ambition” (Measure What Matters by John Doerr).
2. Intel’s Pivot to Dominance: Under Andy Grove, OKRs guided Intel’s shift from memory chips to microprocessors, capturing 90% of the global market by 1997 (Intel Culture).
3. LinkedIn’s Hypergrowth: Jeff Weiner used OKRs to grow LinkedIn from 200M to 500M users, citing “alignment and agility” as key drivers (Forbes).

Even smaller teams win: Startups with OKRs are 40% more likely to hit revenue targets within 18 months (PwC Strategy).

Step-by-Step: Use AI as Your OKR Coach

Step 1: Craft a BHAG-like Objective (Prompt 1)

Goal: Create a “Future Headline” objective (think 10X bigger).

Prompt for ChatGPT/Claude:

“Act as a seasoned OKR coach. Ask me questions one at a time to understand my company’s goals, then propose 30 ‘future headline’ objective ideas. Start by asking your first question.”?        

Example Workflow:

1. AI: “What’s your company’s core mission?” You: “We help remote teams collaborate better.”
2. AI: “What’s a problem your customers complain about most?” You: “Inefficient meeting culture.”
3. After 5–7 questions, AI generates headlines like:

“Forbes: [Your Company] Redefines Remote Work with AI-Driven Meeting Tools Used by 10,000+ Teams.”

“TechCrunch: [Your Company] Slashes Meeting Time by 50% for Fortune 500 Clients.”

Pro Tip: Pick the headline that excites your team.

Step 2: Turn Your Vision into a News Article (Prompt 2)

Goal: Add specificity to your “future headline.”

Prompt:

“Act as a reporter writing a feature on my company. Ask one question at a time to detail our vision, niche, and roadmap. Show how many questions remain. Start now.”?        

Example Workflow:

1. AI (Q1/5): “What makes your solution unique?” You: “We use AI to analyze meeting patterns and suggest optimizations.”
2. AI (Q2/5): “What’s your 3-year milestone?” You: “Power 25% of U.S. remote teams by 2026.”
3. After 5 questions, AI generates a draft article like: “[Your Company] is poised to transform remote work with its AI meeting assistant, already adopted by 1,200 teams. CEO Jane Doe reveals plans to…”

Pro Tip: Use this article to align leadership and investors.

Step 3: Transform the Article into Measurable OKRs (Prompt 3)

Goal: Break the vision into weekly-trackable results.

Prompt:

“Ask questions about my company’s current structure, challenges, and resources. Then, convert the article into an OKR with 3–5 weekly-measured Key Results. Include how to present this to my team.”?        

Example Workflow:

1. AI (Q1/4): “What’s your current user base?” You: “1,200 teams.”
2. AI (Q2/4): “What’s the biggest barrier to scaling?” You: “Onboarding time.”
3. Final OKR Output:

Objective: “[Your Company] Powers 25% of U.S. Remote Teams by 2026 with AI-Driven Efficiency.”

Key Results:

1. Increase active users from 1,200 to 15,000 (track weekly sign-ups).
2. Reduce onboarding time from 2 hours to 30 minutes (measure via user surveys).
3. Secure 5 enterprise contracts with 1,000+ employee companies (track pipeline weekly).

Pro Tip: Present this OKR in a kickoff meeting with visuals (e.g., “Here’s the Forbes headline we’re chasing”).

Tools to Automate OKR Tracking

• Microsoft Vivo Goals: My favourite. Inexpensive but fully featured.
• ClickUp + AI: Auto-updates progress dashboards and predicts risks.
• Notion AI: Generates weekly status reports from OKR data.
• Lattice: Aligns team goals and measures sentiment around OKRs.

“But We’re Already Using OKRs!”

If your OKRs feel stale, ask:

1. Do they inspire? If not, rerun Prompt 1.
2. Can we measure them weekly? If not, add quantifiable metrics or refine the ones you already have.
3. Does everyone see their role? Use AI tools like Tability to map team contributions. But, to be true, Excel is still doing its job.

P.S. If you’re thinking, “We need to try this,” start today. As Silicon Valley’s favorite mantra goes: “Fail fast, but fail with data.” AI gives you the data to fail less and win more.

P.P.S. Want my free OKR examples for your business? DM me — we’ll organize a free call to help you with your goals.

About the Author: Constantine Koptelov, Strategic Growth Advisor, MBA, TEDx speaker, and author of 4 books. Helping teams with 10+ members to find out what's holding them back from scaling up and resolve that with proven frameworks.