Book review: “Measure What Matters”
Some light vacation reading
Every time I take more than a few days of vacation, I bring at least one book for professional development. (And try to finish reading it before I binge on sci-fi and beaches.) This time, I thought I’d share my learnings with you.
For this trip, I chose “Measure What Matters,” a recently released book by John Doerr, the influential venture capitalist and godfather to many successful silicon valley companies. “Measure” introduces the OKR system, a management tool for aligning, inspiring and stretching organizations to peak performance and unity of action.
The tagline is catchy: “How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs.” Wouldn’t you like your team to have the impact those groups have had on the world?
What’s in it?
The book is split into three main sections, each of which comprise several chapters, weaving stories of how organizations have implemented OKRs to great success, along with principles and lessons.
OKRs stand for “objectives and key results.” Objectives are your organization’s near-term goals to push you towards a vision, with key results being the indisputable yardstick of achievement.
The main principles, or superpowers, covered between the stories are: focus and commitment to priorities, align and connect for teamwork, track for accountability, and stretch goals.
There are two chapters on another useful and related management tool: CFRs, or conversations, feedback and recognition. This is worthy of its own book (even though much has been written on the topic), and I’m glad “Measure” introduced it and tied it in with the OKR system.
What it means to me
I was first introduced to OKRs during my time at Intel, where some parts of the organization used MBOs in classic Drucker fashion, and others used OKRs, which owe their genesis to Andy Grove. (There are several important distinctions which I’ll completely skip over.) Reading “Measure” gave me a deeper understanding of the principles and benefits of the OKR system.
“Measure” also subtly interweaves an important set of concepts: input, activity, output, outcome, and impact (see logic model). The best OKRs measure outcome and/or impact (settle for output if you have to), since inputs and activities can just waste resources (the “activity trap”). Input and activity goals are easy to avoid with a little bit of effort (and “Measure” has some practical tips).
Going from output- to outcome/impact-oriented can be challenging in particular for engineering teams, since we usually focus on completing projects within the context of known cross-functional programs and organizational goals, and take great pride in shipping. OKRs for maintaining infrastructure and product quality metrics are usually easier to frame. Practically, your OKRs will probably include a mix, but whenever possible, phrase the goal in terms of the impact you’re looking to get from achieving it, and you will measure up to your full potential.
I wish I had access to this book when I took on my first leadership role about a decade ago. The combination of narrative examples and principles created a powerful learning experience that I hope to draw on in my work. Go read it, or learn more at whatmatters.com, and let’s compare notes.
If you read it carefully and reflect, you’ll get a practical guideline to introducing structured goal setting in any organization to get more better results per unit of effort, along with some inspirational stories that convey nuances and options you have to customize it. If you’re already doing OKRs, read the book and re-review your current set of OKRs; you’ll probably see a lot of room for improvement. (I did!)
OKRs at Motiv
At Motiv, we use the OKR system (with a right-sized tool for our company size: a Google Sheet). It’s provided a level of transparency, accountability, and alignment that otherwise gets lost when you grow beyond a small team.
If you are interested in rocking the world with us and using OKRs, check out our careers page — we’re hiring!
