Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs

by John Doerr

Conversations: an authentic, richly textured exchange between manager and contributor, aimed at driving performance Feedback: bidirectional or networked communication among peers to evaluate progress and guide future improvement Recognition: expressions of appreciation to deserving individuals for contributions of all sizes Like OKRs, CFRs champion transparency, accountability, empowerment, and teamwork, at all levels of the organization. As communication stimuli, CFRs ignite OKRs and then boost them into orbit; they’re a complete delivery system for measuring what matters. They capture the full richness and power of Andy Grove’s innovative method. They give OKRs their human voice. Best of all, OKRs and CFRs are mutually reinforcing. Doug Dennerline is CEO of BetterWorks, the pioneer in bringing both of these tools to the cloud and smartphones and in helping hundreds of organizations make the processes their own. “It’s the marriage between the two—that’s the real home run,” Doug says. “If a conversation is limited to whether you achieved the goal or not, you lose context. You need continuous performance management to surface the critical questions: Was the goal harder to achieve than you’d thought when you set it? Was it the right goal in the first place? Is it motivating? Should we double down on the two or three things that really worked for us last quarter, or is it time to consider a pivot? You need to elicit those insights from all over the organization. “On the other...

CFRs!