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Objectives and Key Results: Driving Focus, Alignment, and Engagement with OKRs
Everything you need to implement Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) effectively "OKRs" "Step-by-Step" is the first full-fledged reference guide on Objectives and Key Results, a critical thinking framework designed to help organizations create value through focus, alignment, and better communication. Written by two leading OKRs consultants and researchers, this book provides a one-stop resource for organizations looking to quantify qualitative goals and ensure each team focuses their efforts to make measureable progress on their most important goals. You'll learn how OKRs came to be and how leading companies use them every day to help teams and employees stretch their thinking about what's possible, build their goal-setting muscles and achieve results that reflect their full potential. From the basic framework to a detailed dissection of best practices, this informative guide walks you through real-world implementations to help you get the most out of OKRs.
OKRs help employees work together, focus effort, and drive the organization forward. Key results are used to define what it means to achieve broad, qualitative goals, and imperatives like 'do it better' are transformed into clear, measureable markers. From the framework's inception in the 1980s to its popularity in today's hyper-competitive environment, OKRs make work more engaging and feature frequent feedback cycles that enable workers to see the progress they make at work each and every day. This book shows you everything you need to know to implement OKRs effectively. Understand the basics of OKRs and their day-to-day use Learn how to gain the executive support critical to a successful implementation Maintain an effective program with key assessment tips Tailor the OKRs framework to your organization's needs
"OKRs Step-by-Step" is your key resource for designing, planning, implementing, and maintaining your OKRs program for sustainable company-wide success.
OKRs help employees work together, focus effort, and drive the organization forward. Key results are used to define what it means to achieve broad, qualitative goals, and imperatives like 'do it better' are transformed into clear, measureable markers. From the framework's inception in the 1980s to its popularity in today's hyper-competitive environment, OKRs make work more engaging and feature frequent feedback cycles that enable workers to see the progress they make at work each and every day. This book shows you everything you need to know to implement OKRs effectively. Understand the basics of OKRs and their day-to-day use Learn how to gain the executive support critical to a successful implementation Maintain an effective program with key assessment tips Tailor the OKRs framework to your organization's needs
"OKRs Step-by-Step" is your key resource for designing, planning, implementing, and maintaining your OKRs program for sustainable company-wide success.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2016
249 people are currently reading
682 people want to read
About the author
Paul R. Niven
13 books20 followersPaul Niven's latest book is BALANCED SCORECARD EVOLUTION (Wiley, August 2014).
He is a noted speaker and writer on the subjects of Strategy, the Balanced Scorecard, and Performance Management. He has delivered keynote addresses at conference events around the world and has published in a number of noted journals.
His first book, Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step: Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results has been translated to over a dozen languages around the globe.
He is a noted speaker and writer on the subjects of Strategy, the Balanced Scorecard, and Performance Management. He has delivered keynote addresses at conference events around the world and has published in a number of noted journals.
His first book, Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step: Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results has been translated to over a dozen languages around the globe.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
November 7, 2017
The best resource i found on OKRs so far. I found particularly interesting the sections covering the value of connecting OKRs trough the different levels of the company, as well as all the practical tipis on what to make sure to incorporate vs what to stay away from. Definitely recommended to anyone interested in deploying and make the best out of OKRs.
April 24, 2017
This book, co-written by Paul Niven and Ben Lamorte, is a fantastic handbook for the OKR implementer. OKRs stands for "objectives and key results," and there are doubtless other reviews that spell out what OKRs are, so I won't do that here. OKRs are in fashion now because they are effective but also because they are used by companies like Intel, Google, etc. Full disclosure, Ben Lamorte consulted for my company as an OKR coach and did a great job getting us launched. Thanks, Ben!
The audience here is likely a member of a company's executive team and her staff who needs to get an organized process going for OKRs. For a bit more of the experiential feel of OKRs for a small group, try Christina Wodtke's book Radical Focus. The only reason I'm giving this a 4 rather than a 5 is because I think this book benefits from being accompanied by the narrative in Wodtke's book. It's hard to capture the texture of what OKRs feel like without that story.
If you're in a company with more than, oh, 100 employees, I think this book will bring significant benefit. It will help you understand what needs to be done by whom and when. Everywhere we even diverged slightly from the counsel of this book (for instance, we have probably not been diligent enough having weekly meetings) -- it provides the plan. It will also tell you about things you might forget. For instance, you must coordinate your OKRs with your peers, be they functional areas or individuals. Another: At the end of the quarter when you present your OKR results, you must *discuss them*. Don't just end the meeting with the results.
If another version ever comes out . . . a few concerns (which I hope to address in a blog post):
1. There really aren't enough examples of key results here. I think that finding good inspirational objectives gets a lot of guidance, but the KRs are largely sales metrics or derived from them. We implementers need more. Having said that, as someone involved with defining KRs, Ben contributes a critical question for finding those KRs. After you've defined your object, he asks: "How will you know when you've reached it?" That's the big question. Once you've heard it, it's obvious. Otherwise: Not obvious. Thanks, Ben.
2. I am very skeptical now of the "milestone" OKR. If it isn't clearly numerical on a scale that works nicely from 0% done to 100% meeting the "amazing" stretch goal . . . dunno. Haven't seen milestones work very well. They seem like deliverables or tasks to me.
3. Niven and Lamorte also talk about breaking the score down into 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0. If the KR is numerical, do we really need this? I think the provision of the 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0 draws attention away from the numerical quality of the KR. The KR ought to be good enough itself to provide the high-level guidance for completion.
4. OKRs and agile can be an awkward fit. We need to hear more voices on OKRs from engineering groups.
The audience here is likely a member of a company's executive team and her staff who needs to get an organized process going for OKRs. For a bit more of the experiential feel of OKRs for a small group, try Christina Wodtke's book Radical Focus. The only reason I'm giving this a 4 rather than a 5 is because I think this book benefits from being accompanied by the narrative in Wodtke's book. It's hard to capture the texture of what OKRs feel like without that story.
If you're in a company with more than, oh, 100 employees, I think this book will bring significant benefit. It will help you understand what needs to be done by whom and when. Everywhere we even diverged slightly from the counsel of this book (for instance, we have probably not been diligent enough having weekly meetings) -- it provides the plan. It will also tell you about things you might forget. For instance, you must coordinate your OKRs with your peers, be they functional areas or individuals. Another: At the end of the quarter when you present your OKR results, you must *discuss them*. Don't just end the meeting with the results.
If another version ever comes out . . . a few concerns (which I hope to address in a blog post):
1. There really aren't enough examples of key results here. I think that finding good inspirational objectives gets a lot of guidance, but the KRs are largely sales metrics or derived from them. We implementers need more. Having said that, as someone involved with defining KRs, Ben contributes a critical question for finding those KRs. After you've defined your object, he asks: "How will you know when you've reached it?" That's the big question. Once you've heard it, it's obvious. Otherwise: Not obvious. Thanks, Ben.
2. I am very skeptical now of the "milestone" OKR. If it isn't clearly numerical on a scale that works nicely from 0% done to 100% meeting the "amazing" stretch goal . . . dunno. Haven't seen milestones work very well. They seem like deliverables or tasks to me.
3. Niven and Lamorte also talk about breaking the score down into 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0. If the KR is numerical, do we really need this? I think the provision of the 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0 draws attention away from the numerical quality of the KR. The KR ought to be good enough itself to provide the high-level guidance for completion.
4. OKRs and agile can be an awkward fit. We need to hear more voices on OKRs from engineering groups.
September 15, 2017
This book was a solid overview for those brand-new to the concept of OKRs, but lacked a lot of the substance I was looking for after 3 quarters of OKR implementation at our company. The sections on the process of setting OKRs and driving alignment felt particularly brief relative to the time and energy our organization devotes to those areas. I would loved to have seen more content on those topics in particular.
December 15, 2016
Generally useful to get background and tips for implementing OKRs but I would have preferred if it was more concise, maybe half as long.
June 9, 2018
More like a manual for implementing OKRs in a business. Not worth reading for individuals.
November 16, 2022
Good overview and advise but I would have wanted more examples for objectives and key results.
September 6, 2018
Emerging from Intel's early days, Objectives & Key Results (OKR's) is a goal setting method that is simple in its approach to solving for complexity. Objectives are the umbrella aspiration, key results are measurable outcomes that indicate the aspiration is achieved. This book explains the elements and how they work together in a powerful system.
I liked the book. The third I have read on the topic. While informative, there was nothing outstanding about it. The writing was basic, the examples also basic. Was hoping for more but got what was advertised.
Recommend
I liked the book. The third I have read on the topic. While informative, there was nothing outstanding about it. The writing was basic, the examples also basic. Was hoping for more but got what was advertised.
Recommend
February 25, 2019
Have been researching Okrs and found this book provided more detail than most. Having said that it seemed unnecessarily long in places lime when the book takes a detour to start explaining the importance of organizations having a mission and vision. The authors really push working with an OKR consultant, which isn't surprising since they are consultants themselves. All in all a good book on OKRs.
January 26, 2018
Very useful and informative. Helped me to identify issues in how I approached OKRs. Influenced my course of action in an attempt to implement them in my org. OKRs seen from various perspectives with honest and - in my opinion - relatively unbiased analysis of pros and cons.
I especially liked case studies from various companies.
I especially liked case studies from various companies.
November 29, 2017
I you want to implement OKR in your organization or just with any areas this book is for you.
Based on the book and following the different examples that you will find in the book it would be quite easy to understand the principles of OKR. Then you have to implement and learn.
Based on the book and following the different examples that you will find in the book it would be quite easy to understand the principles of OKR. Then you have to implement and learn.
September 20, 2016
I am biased since I am a co-author but I actually liked reading it in its final form even after writing and editing section after section!
February 1, 2017
This is a really good book. If you want to know what OKRs is and how to use it, I would recommend you to read this book.
July 30, 2017
Unsurprisingly, this book reads a little bit like a text book. There aren't a ton of alternatives to read about OKR best practices, and I may reference this in the future.
September 19, 2018
The best guide about OKRs that you can find - very insightful and practical.
October 28, 2018
Clear, practical and well-structured with a refreshing impish wit.
September 16, 2024
This book is a great introduction into the world of OKR and also entertaining in its writing. One of the general problems with frameworks like OKR is there is no real recipe and no wrong way, you just have to find your own way with it and for me this book kind of eased my struggle and put the core ideas in their respective place and relation.
June 2, 2022
I highly recommend this book and its concepts to managers and business leaders who are into productivity and creating the highest value possible for their career or company.
One of the best, most insightful books for understanding and implementing OKRs as a critical thinking framework and ongoing discipline.
The book takes a step-by-step approach to preparing your OKRs journey, creating effective OKRs, and connecting OKRs to drive alignment by using case studies, explicitly using case studies from various countries in different industries.
The book is easy to understand and concise. Stretch goals and OKRs & performance review sections are my favorites!
One of the best, most insightful books for understanding and implementing OKRs as a critical thinking framework and ongoing discipline.
The book takes a step-by-step approach to preparing your OKRs journey, creating effective OKRs, and connecting OKRs to drive alignment by using case studies, explicitly using case studies from various countries in different industries.
The book is easy to understand and concise. Stretch goals and OKRs & performance review sections are my favorites!
March 17, 2023
This book could have been condensed to 10 pages. There are other, more helpful books on this topic.
May 27, 2022
A must read book in case you want to either facilitate or take participate in an OKRs adoption initiative. I am going to resort to it for sure in the future
March 22, 2020
If you are looking for a book that can offer a broad overview of OKR, I genuinely recommend this read.
The authors structured the book presenting functional pieces of advice on how to roll out OKRs programs, how to design inspirational objectives, what are the different types of key results, and why it is vital to connect OKR with the mission, the vision, and the strategic panorama.
I would highlight the explanation made by the authors about connecting OKRs with compensation systems and performance reviews as useful contributions.
Finally, the case studies presented in the last chapter provide suitable lessons learned from a diverse set of organizations.
I summarize the main messages of the book on the following topics:
- OKR will succeed when you have the support from executives;
- Without a strategy, OKR is ineffective;
- OKR is top-down and bottom-up;
- Limiting the number of objectives. A few extremely well-chosen goals impart a clear message about what you say "yes" to and what we say "no."
- OKR should match the sequence of creating, refining, aligning, finalizing, and transmitting;
- Determine where to deploy (company-wide; business unit; team-level; individual-level).
- The collaboration will arise when relating OKRs throughout the company;
- Reporting the results to promote transparency;
- OKR is not static. Create communication systems that disseminate the progress;
- Don't start the OKR implementation by selecting tools;
- Before beginning a new OKR period, define the scoring systems that will evaluate the results at the end of the cycle;
- Capturing key learnings, this is the key to continuous improvement.
The authors structured the book presenting functional pieces of advice on how to roll out OKRs programs, how to design inspirational objectives, what are the different types of key results, and why it is vital to connect OKR with the mission, the vision, and the strategic panorama.
I would highlight the explanation made by the authors about connecting OKRs with compensation systems and performance reviews as useful contributions.
Finally, the case studies presented in the last chapter provide suitable lessons learned from a diverse set of organizations.
I summarize the main messages of the book on the following topics:
- OKR will succeed when you have the support from executives;
- Without a strategy, OKR is ineffective;
- OKR is top-down and bottom-up;
- Limiting the number of objectives. A few extremely well-chosen goals impart a clear message about what you say "yes" to and what we say "no."
- OKR should match the sequence of creating, refining, aligning, finalizing, and transmitting;
- Determine where to deploy (company-wide; business unit; team-level; individual-level).
- The collaboration will arise when relating OKRs throughout the company;
- Reporting the results to promote transparency;
- OKR is not static. Create communication systems that disseminate the progress;
- Don't start the OKR implementation by selecting tools;
- Before beginning a new OKR period, define the scoring systems that will evaluate the results at the end of the cycle;
- Capturing key learnings, this is the key to continuous improvement.
February 4, 2019
After watching John Doerr Ted talks about OKR I've begun to search for books that cover guide on implementing it. If you are running your own company and wanted to start to implement OKR, the book might interest you.
I think it's longer than it should. Reminds me of business textbooks with acronyms that feel forced.
Some of the chapters tell a personal story that has little to add to the Idea of the chapter. Some information is repetitive. I suggest skimming it first and get back to the specific section when you need more details.
The writers are a business consultant. Probably explain the tone of the book. Never the less it provides a good basic understanding and the key point that we need to think about before implementing the OKR. Such as: understand the "WHY" we need to have the ORK, make sure we have the mission and vision set up correctly before, tips on writing effective Objective and Key results etc.
I recommend seeing Rick Klau's (Google venture) video on youtube that explains how Google does OKR in details. I'm also currently ready "Measure What Matters" from John Doerr. That book is more general and talks about how current big companies, team, and as a person may benefit from OKR
I think it's longer than it should. Reminds me of business textbooks with acronyms that feel forced.
Some of the chapters tell a personal story that has little to add to the Idea of the chapter. Some information is repetitive. I suggest skimming it first and get back to the specific section when you need more details.
The writers are a business consultant. Probably explain the tone of the book. Never the less it provides a good basic understanding and the key point that we need to think about before implementing the OKR. Such as: understand the "WHY" we need to have the ORK, make sure we have the mission and vision set up correctly before, tips on writing effective Objective and Key results etc.
I recommend seeing Rick Klau's (Google venture) video on youtube that explains how Google does OKR in details. I'm also currently ready "Measure What Matters" from John Doerr. That book is more general and talks about how current big companies, team, and as a person may benefit from OKR
March 3, 2019
A thorough explanation of OKRs, how to use them, and how to build support across an organization to leveraging OKRs to be more than just rows on a spreadsheet/slide-deck.
I've used OKRs before, but I previously focused too much on the artifacts of that process, ie the actual OKRs. I now understand that the conversations, whiteboarding sessions, and even disagreements are the most important part of the OKR process. Getting your organization to talk about, care about, and drive this process is how you make change your company for the better. OKRs are also very agile, when used in as iterative and incremental learning opportunity to explore how best to achieve the company's mission/vision.
If you want to lead your team to accomplish more, aspire to greatness, and come together towards common objectives, then read this book on how to make OKRs a powerful tool in your leadership toolbox.
I've used OKRs before, but I previously focused too much on the artifacts of that process, ie the actual OKRs. I now understand that the conversations, whiteboarding sessions, and even disagreements are the most important part of the OKR process. Getting your organization to talk about, care about, and drive this process is how you make change your company for the better. OKRs are also very agile, when used in as iterative and incremental learning opportunity to explore how best to achieve the company's mission/vision.
If you want to lead your team to accomplish more, aspire to greatness, and come together towards common objectives, then read this book on how to make OKRs a powerful tool in your leadership toolbox.
December 27, 2022
Книга представляет собой подробный самоучитель по внедрению OKR в компании. При этом охватываются все смежные области, без которых выполение данной задачи будет невозможно. Начинается все с общего описания принципов OKR, а затем вся основная часть книги посвящена деталям внедрения начиная с формирования стратегии, постановки целей и заканчивая конкретными примерами внедрения в различных крупных организациях.
Но важно также понимать, на кого нацелена эта книга. Вы можете почитать ее либо просто для общего развития, либо если вы реально хотите и главное - можете, внедрить данный подход в своей компании. Хотя как мне кажется, если все-таки говорить о реальном внедрении OKR в организации даже среднего масштаба, вряд-ли вы сможете обойтись без консультантов. Но подготовиться к этому сложному процессу данная книга однозначно поможет.
Но важно также понимать, на кого нацелена эта книга. Вы можете почитать ее либо просто для общего развития, либо если вы реально хотите и главное - можете, внедрить данный подход в своей компании. Хотя как мне кажется, если все-таки говорить о реальном внедрении OKR в организации даже среднего масштаба, вряд-ли вы сможете обойтись без консультантов. Но подготовиться к этому сложному процессу данная книга однозначно поможет.
November 16, 2020
A good companion for a OKR implementation. Especially if you are managing one yourself.
This book gives clear, level headed instructions on how to get okrs working well, the chapters are clear and they provide answers where they can, giving you some much needed support as you ponder things like:
- what are 'good' okrs?
- should I set individual okrs?
- how do I manage increasing complexity in the cycle as the quarters progress?
- should I get leadership to sponsor my OKR plans?
It's a very dry read so if you want to get enthousiastic about okrs I'd recommend going for Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke instead.
This book gives clear, level headed instructions on how to get okrs working well, the chapters are clear and they provide answers where they can, giving you some much needed support as you ponder things like:
- what are 'good' okrs?
- should I set individual okrs?
- how do I manage increasing complexity in the cycle as the quarters progress?
- should I get leadership to sponsor my OKR plans?
It's a very dry read so if you want to get enthousiastic about okrs I'd recommend going for Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke instead.
August 19, 2021
Great explanations on how to implement OKR. It clarifies the benefits of using OKRs and how you can leverage them, by connecting them in different levels of your organization.
However, when the authors try to address "The Building Blocks of OKRs", they make a botched attempt to provide a brief introduction to important topics such as strategy, that they themselves call it "an enormous subject". I believe defining a good strategy is out of the scope of this book and this section might be totally misleading.
However, when the authors try to address "The Building Blocks of OKRs", they make a botched attempt to provide a brief introduction to important topics such as strategy, that they themselves call it "an enormous subject". I believe defining a good strategy is out of the scope of this book and this section might be totally misleading.
June 17, 2020
This book really has no reason for existing when there is "Measure what matters" published.
That being said if you read this first there is useful information here, but it is quite surface level. The other issue I have is the writing style - it reminds me very much of a college essay. Lots of declarations and statements, but not much facts and examples to back it up. I would suggest skipping this one.
That being said if you read this first there is useful information here, but it is quite surface level. The other issue I have is the writing style - it reminds me very much of a college essay. Lots of declarations and statements, but not much facts and examples to back it up. I would suggest skipping this one.
September 7, 2019
Great guide OKR's
Excellent for those companies wanting to implement OKR's. Good details and examples. Totally recommended if you are willing to lead or be part of OKR deployment in your organization
Excellent for those companies wanting to implement OKR's. Good details and examples. Totally recommended if you are willing to lead or be part of OKR deployment in your organization
December 29, 2017
I liked it. A good overview of what OKRs can offer and how to get them into your normal rhythm of working.
May 20, 2021
A few good insights, but not well structured. Could use some shortening. Quite tedious to read at times.
October 15, 2018
Metodisk guide för hur man börjar med OKR och vilka svårigheter man kan vänta sig att stöta på.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews