Christina Wodtke

OKRs stands for Objectives and Key Results. The form of the OKRs has been more or less standardized. The Objective is qualitative, and the Key Results (most often three) are quantitative. OKRs are used to focus a group or individual around a bold goal. The Objective establishes a goal for a set period of time, usually a quarter. The Key Results tell you if the Objective has been met by the end of that time.

How to Write a Good Objective
Your Objective is a single sentence that is:
Qualitative and Inspirational
The Objective’s job is to get people jumping out of bed in the morning with excitement.

If they want to use slang and say “own it” or “kill it,” use that wording. If they say “delight” and “transform,” that’s the language for that team.

Examples such as “Bring our world-class product to the world” and “bring our world-class product to Canada” show how hard sizing can be.

Can we really bring our product to all of Canada in three months? Or can we bring it to British Columbia? Maybe just Vancouver? You just have to make your best guess, and learn at the end of three months if you over- or undershot.

An Objective is like a mission statement, only for a shorter period of time. I think of it like this: A mission is an Objective for five years, and an Objective is a mission for three months. A great Objective inspires the team, is hard (but not impossible) to do in a set time frame, and can be done by the person or people who have set it, independently.
Here are some good Objectives:
Own the direct-to-business coffee retail market in the South Bay.
Launch an awesome MVP that delights product managers.
Transform Palo Alto’s coupon using habits.

poor Objectives:
Sales numbers up 30%.
Double our userbase.
$2 million in revenue.
Why are those bad Objectives bad? Probably because they are Key Results.

Key Results can be based on anything you can measure, including:
Growth
Engagement
Revenue
Performance

Launch an awesome MVP” might have these Key Results:
40% of users come back twice in one week
Recommendation score of 8
15% email newsletter open rate

Start by looking at your Objective, for example, “Our customers love us so much they are our sales team.” Now ask, “If our customers were our sales team, what numbers would move?” I often look at the Objective and see if there are words that could be quantified. In the example above, “love” becomes NPS4 and “sales” becomes referrals. Both are measurable outcomes.
KR: NPS >7
KR: Referrals +25%
KR: “How did you hear of us” survey results: Friends and Family up 20%