The OKRs Field Book: A Step-by-Step Guide for Objectives and Key Results Coaches

by Ben Lamorte

Three Questions to Ask: Which teams do your objectives depend on? Which teams do you collaborate with most often? Which teams depend on you? How? Tips If there is a critical dependency on another team in the upcoming OKRs cycle, consider creating a shared OKR. While five minutes may suffice to check alignment, allow more time for highly engaged clients.

We advise the following three guidelines to help your clients develop objectives: (1) Write as a single sentence, (2) Begin with a verb, and (3) Define a focus area for improvement, not maintenance. We also advise presenting one or two sample objectives that are relevant to your client.

Three Questions to Ask: Fundamental objective question: What is the most important area to focus on making measurable progress in the near term? Why is this objective so important now? If the team had to focus on a single objective, what would it be? Tips When struggling to define objectives, consider going back to Step 1 to revisit the team mission. Do not copy top‐level key results and paste them as team‐level objectives. Include several sentences that answer the question: “Why is the objective so important now?” In addition to educating and motivating staff, the explanation of “Why now?” should clarify how the objective is aligned (i.e., vertically to higher‐level goals or horizontally to other teams.)

Three Questions to Ask: Fundamental key result question: At the end of the period, how will we know “the objective” will be achieved? What metric needs to move to reflect progress on the objective? How will we make the objective measurable? Tips Give your client time to write silently when drafting key results. Ask each participant to write as many ideas as possible in a few minutes. Then, have them compare their draft key results in groups of two and share their best key result. Specify the baseline! Instead of writing a key result in the form “Increase metric A to Y,” specify the baseline so that the key result takes the form of “Increase metric A from X to Y.” If the current value is unknown, encourage your client to explore a baseline key result. Focus on the essence of key results when drafting. Do not obsess on the exact values of X and Y at this stage. You can use an approximation, so that the draft key result takes the form of “Increase metric A from ~X to ~Y.”

Three Questions to Ask: Fundamental task‐to‐key result question: What is the intended outcome of the task? If we complete the task, does that mean we've achieved the objective? What is the best possible outcome you can imagine that could result from completing the task? Tips Remind your client that it's important that each key result has an action plan, but that these action items need not be listed as key results. To ensure your client feels heard, consider creating a list of tasks below the OKRs drafting document. For example, several of our clients call their critical task list “Just Do Its!” Explain that the list of “Just Do Its!” can include activities that consume significant team resources. A given action item may drive a health metric or key result or reflect a high‐priority compliance activity that just needs to get done (e.g., “complete the audit” or “update security software”).

Key results should be complementary. They should represent the minimal set of important metrics required to define the achievement of an objective. If an objective has three key results that are all highly correlated, the overall set of key results may be redundant. Each key result should add value. A good set of key results work together to tell different parts of the objective story.

Three Questions to Ask: If all key results are achieved, is the objective also achieved? How can the set of key results be reduced? Do the key results capture quantity and quality? Leading and lagging? Tips If a given objective has several key results that appear to be highly correlated, eliminate at least one key result. Apply the less is more mantra! Look for a balanced set of key results that include both quality and quantity as well as a mix of leading and lagging indicators. As the set of key results evolves, revisit the objective. The seven steps are not meant to be perfectly sequential. Remember to iterate as illustrated in Figure 5.2.

Prior to publishing OKRs, use the characteristics of effective key results as a checklist to further refine key results. The eight characteristics of key results are: “Key,” not “all.” Will the key result inspire action that will move the needle, or does it reflect business‐as‐usual maintenance work? Specific. Use specific language to avoid ambiguity. Measurable. Progress should not be subject to opinion. Results, not tasks. Key results are results/outcomes, not tasks. Clear. Use high school English with only standard acronyms. Aspirational. You achieve more when you set the bar high. Scored. Use confidence scores to manage expectations. Champion. Each key result has a champion who updates progress and ensures the key result does not slip through the cracks.

While I present the generic OKRs tracker as part of deployment coaching, I deliver the tracker populated with the OKRs from their training workshop to set the stage for their first cycle. The tracker ensures they ask the right questions about each key result to drive value at each step of the cycle. Adoption is amazing. My clients now start team meetings with a review of their OKRs tracker and are focused on the right questions. Three Questions to Ask: “Key,” not “all.” Is this a focus for improvement now or is it already in an acceptable range? Measurable. Rather than writing the key result as “Increase metric A to Y,” can it be written as “Increase metric A from X to Y?” What is the baseline? Scored. What is a commit level of progress within our team's control that feels 90% likely to be achieved? What is a stretch outcome that represents a 10% confidence level? Tips Use the characteristics of effective key results when refining key results. Consider reviewing OKRs with leadership to confirm vertical alignment. Load final OKRs into a single location to ensure visibility throughout the cycle.

STEP 2: CHECK IN AND MONITOR Pitfalls Zero OKRs review – “set‐it‐and‐forget‐it” Too many OKRs‐specific meetings and processes Solutions Conduct a mid‐cycle review with multiple OKRs teams. Integrate OKRs into existing team meetings and reports. With OKRs published in your client's OKRs tracker, you are ready to coach your client through Step 2, check in and monitor progress. Without a coach, teams often do not integrate OKRs into their daily work.

Teams fill out their canvas and sign it at the bottom. While the canvas can be customized, all include team name, mission, OKRs review cadence, who will attend reviews, and how we celebrate OKRs. When each team creates their own working agreement and commits to a cadence for reviewing OKRs throughout the cycle, they avoid the set‐it‐and‐forget‐it pitfall. I now create a one‐page OKRs working agreement canvas for each team member to review and sign at the start of the OKRs cycle. Based on its initial success, I now use this with every team I coach.

We advise teams to begin their weekly or biweekly team meetings with a quick OKRs review. If you are starting the engagement exclusively with top‐level OKRs, you have an advantage.

There are two types of team‐level coaching sessions that you can facilitate to optimize your client's check‐in process: (1) single‐team sessions with the members of one team deploying OKRs, and (2) multi‐team sessions with members of several teams.

Champions provide updates on key results as part of a structured check‐in discussion. As a coach, you bring structure to your client's check‐in process. You facilitate at least one check‐in session with each team deploying OKRs.

When facilitating check‐in sessions, it helps to ask structured questions. I begin by asking if we are on track to achieve the key result. (This is expressed as a probability of achievement by end of period or color‐coded with green or red.) If yes, how do you know? What gives you confidence we're green or have a probability of x%? (Avoid excessive “progress updates” about recently completed work. Instead, focus on whether we're on track to hit the target.) If not, what's happened to change our confidence? Where are the blockers? (This might be a conflicting priority, dependency on another team not participating, resources not engaging, or simply a lack of focus on the OKR.) What alternatives have you considered to getting back on track? (The team should have considered what choices they have – could be redeploy resources, add capacity, clear conflicting priorities, etc.) What is your recommendation? What decision do you need from this team to proceed? (The team should be prepared to act on the recommendation(s) during the check‐in process. That's what allows the OKR framework to add tremendous value, especially for teams not used to acting so nimbly.) Finally, once we have confidence that key results marked “green” are on track, most clients focus their check‐ins on the red items, making check‐ins more efficient.

STEP 3: REFLECT AND RESET Pitfalls Skipping this step entirely Conducting a retrospective that only looks back Solutions Schedule reflect and reset sessions with clear agendas. Ensure that teams apply learnings to inform next cycle's OKRs.

We used our client's OKRs tracker tool to facilitate the session. The tracker included three fields for reflect and reset: (1) Final Score, (2) Learning, and (3) Keep, Modify, or Remove?

Ending the cycle with a draft set of OKRs for the next cycle positions your client for success as they begin Step 1 of the next cycle. Here are tips for making the reflect and reset session a success: Purpose. (1) Agree on final scores for key results, (2) capture learnings from the OKRs cycle, and (3) apply these learnings to the next cycle. Duration. Depending on the number of key results, 30–60 minutes. Limit the time per key result to 10 minutes. If more time is required, agree who will meet after the group discussion to resolve. Attendees. Key result champions must attend this session; ideally, the entire team attends. Consider conducting a reflect and reset coaching session with two teams to optimize learning.

Coaching Takeaways Get a commitment to complete all three steps of the OKRs cycle from every team you coach. Ensure your client's OKRs tracker enables them to monitor OKRs at each step of the cycle. Step 1: Set and Align OKRs Apply the seven steps for creating team‐level OKRs. Help teams define long‐term missions as context for drafting their OKRs. Ensure key results meet each of the eight characteristics of effective key results. Step 2: Check In and Monitor Populate your client's OKRs tracker with their OKRs for the first cycle. Integrate OKRs into existing team meetings/reports. Conduct a mid‐cycle review with an expanded group; keep it short. Step 3: Reflect and Reset Help clients create an email to announce their first reflect and reset session. Take at most 10 minutes to reflect and reset on each key result. Emphasize learning and drafting OKRs for the next cycle.

OKRs Cycle Step 1: Set and Align OKRs Questions about mission Whom do we serve? Who is our customer? Why do we exist? What is our purpose? What do we offer? What is our core offering? What is the long‐term impact we make? Questions about alignment What teams do we depend on? Which teams do we collaborate with most often? Which teams depend on us? How? Questions about objectives Fundamental objective question: What is the most important area to focus on to make measurable progress in the near term? Why is this objective so important? Why now? If we could only focus on one objective, what would it be? Questions about key results (when drafting) Fundamental key result question: At the end of the period, how will we know “the objective” will be achieved? What metric needs to move to make progress on the objective? Questions to convert tasks into key results (when drafting) Fundamental task‐to‐key result question: What is the intended outcome of the task? If we complete the task, does that mean we've achieved the objective? What is the most amazing outcome you can imagine that could result from completing the task? Questions about key results (when refining) Measurable: Rather than “increase the metric to Y,” can we specify where we are now? Can we write in the form “increase the metric from X to Y”? Clear: Can any jargon or acronyms be removed or clarified? Would a high school graduate understand the key result? Scoring Stretch: What is the most amazing outcome you can imagine...

OKRs Cycle Step 2: Check In and Monitor What is the actual progress right now for this key result? What have we done to move the key result? What do you predict we will achieve by the end of the cycle? Why did your confidence for this key result change? What is the risk and how can we mitigate it? What is the action plan going forward? Is this key result driving the right behaviors?

OKRs Cycle Step 3: Reflect and Reset What is the final score for this key result? What is the business impact of this key result, looking back on it? Was the amount of effort put into moving this key result justified? As you think about the upcoming period, do you feel like we should keep, modify, or remove this key result? Why? What did we learn about how to deal with dependencies or blockers? How can we apply what we learned to OKRs for the next cycle?

Coaching Takeaways An alternative‐focused approach may limit clients to the set of metrics that are already being tracked. A value‐focused approach can make Step 1 of the cycle more effective and may help your client develop baseline key results.

Coaching Takeaways A draft key result like “Establish a baseline for NPS” needs to be refined; it is not measurable, therefore its achievement is subject to opinion. When refining baseline key results, specify the number of data points or the measurement period required to “establish a baseline.”

THE FIVE OKRs COACHING MANTRAS We've embedded five mantras into this book. They are based on our collective coaching experience with hundreds of organizations. Organizations that follow these mantras consistently experience more success with OKRs than those that do not. Here is each mantra with a brief description: Less is more. Define a small set of OKRs. Crawl‐walk‐run. Deploy OKRs piecemeal. Begin with pilot teams rather than a full‐scale deployment across an entire organization. Outcomes, not output. Write key results that mostly reflect outcomes (results) rather than output (amount of work delivered). OKRs are not everything. Write OKRs that reflect the most important areas to make measurable progress rather than attempting to reflect everything you do. Distinguish OKRs from tasks and health metrics. The only way to learn OKRs is to do OKRs. Allocate most of an OKRs training workshop to drafting your client's real OKRs rather than discussing theory and presenting OKRs from other organizations.