Introduction to OKRs
A goal setting framework that has helped organizations of different scales perform to achieve exponential growth with every quarter, OKRs are becoming popular today, even more so, with the advent of OKR Software. Through a focus on priority, alignment between teams, regular check-ins and sustainable growth, we see several big names turning to OKRs and practicing successful OKR implementation.
Which company first used OKRs?
The origin of OKRs happened in the form of an MBO-adapted model first introduced by Andy Grove, one of the foremost employees at Intel, who had a huge role in shaping how the organization went on to function. While OKRs were initially extensively used by technology companies, several non-tech companies today use them for goal setting and execution strategy.
Why Choose OKRs?
Relying on mechanistic and outdated systems is a thing of the past, for organizations have been quick to understand that this no longer yields results. What then, must be done? The answer is simple. These outdated systems must be replaced with suitable alternatives. The problem arises because most business leaders are unaware of alternatives and have little means to explore what can work best for them. After all, not every person can think like a strategic management consulting firm would. Everybody is bound to their limitations and this proves to be a challenge.
In today’s world, where businesses grow at an exponential rate, change is frankly the only constant. Not knowing how to deal with it, several businesses exhibit sluggish responses to these changes. They can’t therefore help but end up feeling vulnerable and this in turn poorly affects their bottom-lines in terms of sustainability, profitability and employee engagement.
This is where OKRs come in. They enable one’s business to stay responsive, agile and relevant in order to achieve exponential growth. Let us take a look at how some of the world’s biggest companies have turned to OKRs and exhibited successful OKR implementation.
OKRs at Google
Especially in areas such as sustainability, Google still publishes their OKRs and every single employee across all levels exhibit transparency and accountability with respect to their OKRs.
A rather aggressive-yet-achieveable strategy helps when it comes to setting targets, and we see that the success rate of Google’s OKRs stands at 70%! The feed-forward culture is extremely essential when it comes to learning from failure by the time that it’s not too late. You can read more about it here.
But in essence, creating a culture where failure is acceptable and encouraged to a degree, helps create a learning culture in turn. How else can employees experiment and innovate?
OKRs at Intel
A long-growing brand, Intel is famously known for using OKRs to enable the shift from traditional memory storage in order to stand as the leader in microprocessors.
As discussed previously, Andy Grove’s adaptation of MBOs that resulted in OKRs brought forth this realization that one could set stretch goals in order to effectively drive innovation. The very logic behind stretch goal states that while the outcomes are not guaranteed, the path to success is also not defined and teams are expected to experiment and therefore learn along that process.
Another one of Grove’s greatest takeaways that he is revered for, is that in order to make sure OKRs were truly effective and that there was a degree of successful OKR implementation, they had to be disassociated from compensation/ benefits. The latter is essentially something that companies can surely use while giving performance reviews, but making them the primary parameter for evaluation implies that OKRs are something to base your performance off of which misses the whole point!
OKRs at Netlix
Having been known for its productive company culture, it is no surprise that Netflix makes the list on being known for using OKRs too.
Their famously known transparency that offers visibility into every single team as well as employees at an individual level tells us that accountability is a virtue heavily practiced by this organizarion. All of these are crucial to successful OKR implementation. In different words, one can describe the OKR culture there as radically transparent.
What do you infer when about 94% of your employees confidently state that their company’s goals are clear and they are invested in them? -That they are using their OKRs the right way!
So, how do you embark on your OKR journey?
Before embarking on your OKR journey, make sure that your organization values principles of transparency, accountability, accessibility and all that OKRs stand for. One of your foremost intentions behind implementing OKRs should be to enable employee access to companywide objectives and to be able to understand how it connect to the work that they do, to ensure alignment and collaboration.
To begin your OKR Journey today, click here.
OKR International is one of the leading strategic Management Consulting Firms that provides services in OKR Management Systems in India and in more than a dozen locations globally. OKR International is a consulting company that offers services in OKR Accreditation, OKR Consulting & Advisory Services and OKR Coaching services to companies across the globe.
