Objectives and Key Results

The term OKRs stands for Objectives and Key Results. It's a critical thinking framework and a goal-setting methodology for teams and individuals that helps to set challenging and ambitious goals with measurable outcomes. 

The OKR implies setting the main overarching Objective and tying relevant Key Results to it. This allows organizations to align goals, track progress, and direct everyone’s collaborative efforts towards achieving the key objective. 

OKRs work the same for setting goals at different levels of a company and can also be used for personal goals. Due to its efficiency, many tech and multibillion organizations like Google have used the OKR methodology. Try it for your business, too!  

Simply put, an Objective is the What and Key Results – the Hows of your project. An Objective is what must be accomplished. By definition, Objectives are important, concrete, action-oriented, and inspiring. 

Key Results serve as a benchmark for determining how to achieve your goal. Properly set and effective Key Results are precise and time-bound, and, above all, measurable and verifiable. 

There is no gray area, no room for doubt when it comes to meeting the criteria of a key result. We do a regular check and grade the key results as fulfilled at the end of the allocated period, which is usually a quarter. There is no gray area, no confusion when defining if the criteria, or a KPI, of a Key Result, is met or not, when the deadline arrives. 

KeepSolid Goals uses the OKR framework to help you effectively achieve your most challenging goals. Besides letting you visualize your Objectives and Key Results, it offers a set of other handy features as the icing on the cake. For instance, it is a web-based app, which means you can work on your project on any internet-capable device. Besides, the Goals app features automatically generated reports so you always keep track of the progress and make timely adjustments if required. 

Tips for writing your Objective

• An Objective must be in line with the company's strategy. So when you write an Objective, always keep in mind the company's goals and vision.
• Set a time frame and include quantifiable results. The Objective “increase revenue” for example is too vague to be useful, while “increase revenue by 20% by the end of the quarter” is both quantifiable and time-bound. 
• Write in an understandable way. OKR goals should be clearly understood by your employees and other parties involved. Writing your Objectives and Key Results, strive to make them as clear, precise, and unambiguous as possible. 

Tips for writing Key Results

• Remember that Key Results are actionable steps to complete the OKR Objective. They indicate smaller goals, the results you need to reach to meet the global Objective. 
• For the OKR framework to work for you, Key Results should also be measurable. Quantifiable Key Results help to understand how much of an Objective has been achieved and whether you need to correct anything. 
• Split your Key Results into digestible chunks – Sub-Key Results and Tasks. This way, you craft a well-thought-out path to success.