Outcomes Over Output: Why customer behavior is the key metric for business success

by Josh Seiden

So how do you write better OKRs? One way is to think of Key Results as outcomes. If you express your Key Result as a measurable customer behavior, you almost automatically have a well-written OKR. For example, your objective might be to Successfully Launch our New Product. Your key results might be 25 positive reviews in app store in first day. 3 mentions on industry blogs before launch. 1000 new user registrations in first week 25% of new users convert to repeat users All of these are measures of user or customer or stakeholder behavior that result from your product launch effort. Now you’ll notice that none of this is about what features your product has. It leaves open the “how.” That gives you room to experiment with your tactics, but it aligns the team with the business result you’re generating.