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Why OKRs Are Sometimes the Worst Thing Ever and What To Do About It
Originally published on www.Ben-Staples.com
This article might make it sound like I hate OKRs, but I am actually a really big fan. You could call me an OKR nerd, relying on them heavily for work as a Product Manager for Nordstrom’s digital business, AND making them outside of work in an effort to try to corral my hopes and dreams into actionable goals.
So what are OKRs?
OKRs first popped up in the 1970s and Andy Grove at Intel gets the credit for creating the framework.
OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. They are a goal setting framework that many companies use to define objectives (ideally between 3 and 5 of them), and then 3–5 key results for each of those objectives. Generally OKRs are defined over a certain time frame, for example I make my own OKRs for a quarter (3 months) at a time.
OKRs should generally follow the SMART format (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound) to make them as action oriented as possible.
OKRs are awesome, they have significantly helped me accomplish what I set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year, and I believe they make many organizations more and more successful. But boy, can they go sideways.
