preface

Recently, I learned OKR and tried it in a small team for a quarter. Now I plan to expand the scope of implementation, so I prepared the following introductory content and some practical feelings and suggestions, just to make up for the update of eleven. This article will start with an introduction to what OKR is, what OKR does, how OKR is used in practice and finally give some impressions after using it in practice for some time.

What is a OKR

Intuitive definition

OKR is a goal management tool that consists of Objectives and Key Results. At the same time, OKR is also known as the Goal and Key Results approach, or OKR approach for short. OKR is the product of a combination of frameworks, methodologies, and philosophies that originated at Intel and grew out of Google.

A brief history



In 1954, Peter Drucker, The “father of modern Management”, wrote a classic book, The Practice of Management, in which he introduced The concept of “Management by Objectives”. A Management By Objectives framework named MBO (Short for Management By Objectives) is also designed.

In 1971, Intel CEO Andy Grove, in an effort to help transform the company from a dying memory company to a microprocessor company, modified Drucker’s MBO framework to make it easier to land and named the new management by objectives method “iMBO”. Indeed, this method is easier to understand and operate. At that time, Intel had a brilliant engineer named John Doerr, who witnessed the implementation of the MBO. After leaving Intel, Mr Doerr joined a venture-capital firm, which probably named it “OKR” to promote this easy-to-use approach to management by objectives. Doerr then started sharing the basic concepts and usage of OKR with these companies.

In 1999, Doerr brought the OKR to a small Silicon Valley company he had invested in, co-founded by two geeks: Larry Page and Sergey Brin. That’s right! That company is Google. Doerr is also known as the “king of venture capital” for investing in successful companies such as Google.

In fact, very few people knew that Google was using OKR until 2013, 14 years later, when Google Ventures partner Rick Crow posted a YouTube video about OKR and OKR became a global phenomenon. In addition to Intel and Google, Oracle, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Adobe, LinkedIn and other companies have successfully launched OKR.

Why is OKR useful

It is better to say it than to say it ten times in your mind, and better to put it in hard print.

  1. OKR As Huang yong explains in Huang Yong’s OKR Combat Notes, OKR uses a psychological suggestion of commitment.
  2. Its special information structure features, so that you can see the direction of KR and can clearly measure your specific progress.
  3. The fact that everyone has spent a lot of time thinking about O and KR itself is a huge boost to your growth.
  4. OKR’s alignment, evaluation, and review processes make organizational goals and individual growth visible, which in turn fosters team culture.

What does OKR do

For organizations:

  • OKR provides clarity and focus for an organization’s goals and direction
  • OKR can make communication more transparent
  • OKR can make incentives more effective

For individuals:

  • OKR helps you align your organization’s goals and avoid getting bogged down in ineffective work
  • OKR helps you know where you are now, and where the change was before

How should OKR be imported

The basic process

  • Team learning
  • Manager support and OKR coach support
  • Cultivate a team culture
  • Develop an organization-level annual OKR,
  • Organization level OKR publicity and discussion
  • Develop personal annual OKR
  • Refine personal quarterly OKR
  • Discuss and align personal OKR
  • OKR released
  • Monthly OKR adjustment
  • Quarterly OKR evaluation and review
  • Annual OKR evaluation and review

OKR of sample



O goal:

  • Become the market leader
  • Launch the most popular iPhone app
  • Generated more revenue than last year KR
  • It’s worth $100 billion
  • Get featured on the App Store
  • Completed 10 transactions over $1 million

Real feeling

  • It’s really hard to really use OKR. Effective organization-level OKR requires defining a team’s vision, mission, and implementing a transparent team culture, all of which are seemingly easy but extremely difficult to do.
  • OKR needs a strong driven team culture as the soil to do well, and OKR can in turn promote the progress of team culture

reference

  • Huang Yong’s OKR Combat Notes