Objective and Key Results

(OKR)
A New Method of Control of Large and Small
Organizations
Kathmandu City as Example
Let us say that the city of Kathmandu has set the
objective “to achieve fiscal sustainability”
For almost every government, state or local, fiscal
sustainability is a great goal but it has to be
measurable
There is a need to use some system of measurement to
keep track of the goals and whether it is on track to
being attained
Objective : Achieve Fiscal Sustainability
KEY RESULTS 1
Reduce the general fund budget variance from the
current level of 11% to 5%
KEY RESULTS 2
Spend 95% of authorized capital project Rupees by the
end of the fiscal year
KEY RESULTS 3
Spend 95% of grant Rupees for grants from prior fiscal
years
Personal Goal OKR
Have More Quality Time with Family
KEY RESULT 1
Getting home for dinner by 6 pm, 20 nights a month
KEY RESULT 2
Remove all distractions by internet router and
telephone
KEY RESULT 3
Do not bring any topic to elicit debate
Become the #1 free mobile banking app for
developing countries
KEY RESULT 1
Improve weekly sign-ups by 15% by July
KEY RESULT 2
Launch a marketing campaign in every language by
August
KEY RESULT 3
Establish at least one ATM-access point across all
countries by September
Objective: Make SAIM the number 1 brand
in MBA and BBA Colleges
KEY RESULT 1
Ensure at least 50% of prospective students in all colleges are
aware of SAIM

KEY RESULT 2
Double the number of MBA students who come to explore about
MBA and BBA

KEY RESULT 3
Ensure at least 50% of students who have heard about SAIM
recognize it as the best college for faculty, extra -curricular
activities, and prospects for jobs
OKR
Objective and key results (OKR) is a management
framework to pinpoint the most important thing to be
accomplished and mode of checks to ensure objectives
are realized
To realize any objective there must be key results that
need to be obtained for the objective to be realized
Focus
An organization with good OKR focus on the most
important thing has several advantages
- It makes the leader choose
- Brings a clear communication to unit
- A clear communication to a team
- A clear communication to individual
Transparency
The system is transparent and everyone’s work
becomes transparent
Individual connects his objective to the company
strategy
The relations between departments and the work of
individuals to the overall objective of the department
becomes transparent
The inter-relationship of work of one department to
the other becomes transparent
Tracking
OKR is based on data and regular periodic tracking
Objective evaluation and continuous assessment make
it live
Avoid subjective view and make responsibility very
clear
Take actions if OKR is not being met or adjust if
required especially if deviations from factors
uncontrollable
Stretch
The OKR encourages staff to achieve greater
performance or in other words stretch performance
OKR drives creativity and aspiration in an individual
mindful of limitations and also accepting failures
especially when circumstances causing the failures are
beyond the control of the individual
OKR and Evaluation
Key Result Progress Evaluatio Assessment
n
Acquire 10 New 70% 5 The economy went down and
Customer The market was very tough.
Acquiring 7 new customers is
a good performance
Acquire 10 New 100% 4 He achieved the KR in 6
Customer weeks instead of the slated 12
weeks so OKR not stretching
enough
Acquire 10 New 80% 3 He acquired 8 new customers
Customer by luck because one customer
brought in 5 new customers

Acquire 10 New 90% 2 He acquired 9 new customers

Customer but 7 customers do not create
any revenue
Conversation, Feedback and Recognition
(CFR)
CFR’s and OKR’s reinforce each effectively
CFR Provides transparency, responsibility,
empowerment and teamwork
C – Exchanges between managers and employees w
goal of driving performance
F – Bidirectional to evaluate progress and course
correct if necessary for future efforts
R – Expressing appreciation to individuals for their
contributions
Start Earlier and Go Smaller
OKR can also work for a smaller group but it can take
time to implement it properly in the organization so
better to start early
Start OKR with a plot plan like starting between the
management team or department so start in a small
group to avoid friction among employees
 A small group helps in understanding pros/cons of
the system that helps rollout
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
KPI are performance metrics that evaluate the success
of an activity and by implication the organization
KPI can apply to projects, programs, products and a
variety of activities or initiatives
They can measure the success of a lot of metrics from
sales goals to increase in sales from advertizing for
example
Difference Between OKR and KPI
OKR’s and KPI’s are similar but there are important
and subtle differences
OKR’s help you break out of the status quo and often
into uncharted territory depending on what objectives
and ambition is set for the company
OKR’s translate big dreams and vision into reality
A KPI merely measures the progress or performance of
an existing activity or program
Key Features of OKR
Objective
What we want to achieve and may be a bit beyond
what we are doing today
Key Results
Measurements to monitor to what extent we have
attained the objectives
Good Key Results are measurable and clear and the
evaluation is whether achieved or not
Evaluations
Review Cycle Quarterly

Measurement Quantitative

Openness Almost everyone opens

and shares
Success Rate Almost 50%
SMART Framework for Key Results
Defining proper objectives and the Key Results that
properly measures whether objectives were attained,
the Key Results must have following characteristics:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Timed
Key Points for Developing Key Results
Good Key Results follow the SMART Framework
mentioned in the previous slide
Key Result Types:
- 0 – 100% progress
- Any % Value or X% to Y% Change
- Numbers
- Items, Units, articles, people
- Grade, Rating
- Milestones, Project Phases, deliverables
Who Should be In Charge in Implementing
the OKR Program
A person in a senior leadership position or a team with
senior leadership participation should drive the
initiation & implementation of the OKR program
Once it is rolled out then after a while it can be
handed to person in senior management position who
can serve as single contact point
The single person then becomes responsible for
program management and sorting out problems that
may arise in early implementation
Difference Between Objective and Goal
The main difference between a goal and an objective is
that goals usually contain metrics and objectives never
do
For example “Grow revenue by 15% in a year” is a goal
Be the Number 1 business college in Nepal is an
objective and goal would break that into certain
attainable metrics that can be measured
What if Strategy Changes?
If strategy changes then sticking to the old OKR
makes no sense
Main objective of OKR’s is to create a link between the
strategic objectives and the day to day tactical actions
that attain short term goals and attain the overall
objectives of the company
Strategic shifts are a regular occurrence
Some More Examples
OBJECTIVE: Grow our business by increasing sales
revenue
Key results:
Grow revenue to Rs. 1 crore
Launch the new product
Reduce churn to <5% annually through customer
success
Increase new customers by 10%
OBJECTIVE: Strengthen our corporate culture
Key results:
Roll out a continuous two-way feedback loop via
weekly surveys
Maintain an average employee satisfaction score of 8
or higher
Create & launch new mentorship program by the end
of Q3
OBJECTIVE: Grow our corporate global business
Key results:
Hit company global sales target of $100 Million in
Sales
Achieve 100% year-to-year sales growth in the EMEA
geography
Increase the company average deal size by 30% (with
upsells)
Reduce churn to less than 5% annually (via Customer
Success)
OBJECTIVE: Delight our company customers
Key results:
Interview 20 customers per month and get feedback
Achieve an NPS of 9 from our customers
Increase customer retention to 98%
Achieve a product engagement of 80% WAU
OBJECTIVE: Generate more Marketing Qualified
Leads (MQLs)
Key Results:
Generate 150 MQLs from email marketing
Generate 100 MQLs from AdWords
Generate 50 MQLs from organic search
Generate Net-New Unique leads via Account-Based
Marketing
OBJECTIVE: Launch the new product successfully.
Key Results:
Finish all the new product website updates
Work with PR to provide technical product specs
Give an exclusive pre-launch update to customers and
partners
Finalize product datasheets, feature briefs and sales
enablement info
OBJECTIVE: Grow Our Sales in the Central region
Key Results:
Develop relationships with 50 new targets or named
accounts
Onboard 10 new resellers that focus on the Central
region
Offer extra kicker to AEs to achieve 120% focusing on
the Central region