Googlers are encouraged to use their OKRs in self-assessments—as guides, not as grades. As Shona Brown, former SVP of business operations, explained it to me, “It wasn’t that they got a red or yellow or green, but here was a list of what they’d delivered on that was above business as usual and connected to the overall goals of the company.” The point of objectives and key results, after all, is to get everyone working on the right things.
