Measure What Matters (by John Doerr) — Bullet Summary
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Note: This bullet-point summary is part of a startup & product book series, take a look at the full list here.
What is the OKR System
The OKR System — “[is] a collaborative goal-setting protocol for companies, teams, and individuals. [The OKR system] is the polar opposite of the conventional management by objectives (MBO) systems, which tend to be top down, hierarchical, annual, and linked to compensation. Contributors are most engaged when they can actually see how their work contributes to the company’s success. Quarter to quarter, day to day, they look for tangible measures of their achievement. Extrinsic rewards — the year-end bonus check — merely validate what they already know. OKRs speak to something more powerful, the intrinsic value of the work itself”
An effective OKR system connects team goals to the organization’s broader mission — leading to alignment and clarity for everyone. John Doerr argues that the OKRs system is built on four superpowers:
- Focusing and committing to priorities
- Aligning and connecting for teamwork
- Tracking for accountability
- Stretching for amazing results.
What are Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)
Objectives — “Objectives are the WHAT (we’re trying to achieve). Key results are the how. If I achieve those hows, those key results, I will provably get to the objective. Objectives are significant, concrete, action oriented, and (ideally) inspirational. They are typically longer lived. They’re bold. When properly designed and deployed, they’re a vaccine against fuzzy thinking — and fuzzy execution.”
Key Results — “Key results are the HOW (we’re going to achieve it). The key results are aggressive, but always measurable, time-bound, and limited in number. They’re aggressive but realistic, but most of all, they’re measurable and verifiable. It’s not a key result unless it has a number.”
