The Importance of Goals

To begin, let's consider a powerful quote from Seth Godin, a leading expert in marketing and business strategy:
"The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, grow, and make an impact. Those people have goals."

This quote underscores the crucial role that well-defined goals play in personal and organizational success, setting the tone for our discussion on OKRs.

Traditional goal examples

To protect the innocent, we've had to adjust these goals. Rest assured, they are based on real examples.

The non-specific - no outcome goals

• Become the number 1 Bank in Australia (yes, this was real)
• Solve our customer need on time and on budget
• Define our new innovation customer journey
• Launch the Billing App by October
• Run Leadership Training for all Level 3 leaders

Not sure if health-based KPI or strategic change KPI

• Generate sales of $20M in FY15
• Average call handle time in less than 2 minutes
• Reduce technology costs by $5M

Personal goals that might be fun, but totally outcome-less

• Attend Scrum Master training
• Run fortnightly Business Analyst community of practice
• Write 10 Business Requirement Documents
• Give more feedback to staff

Why OKRs?

Objectives and Key Results come into play as a sophisticated tool overcoming the limitations of traditional goal setting:

1. Transcending Activity-Based Goals: Traditional goals often focus merely on activity rather than outcome. OKRs shift this focus to value creation, encouraging efforts that lead directly to significant, measurable impacts.
2. Correcting Misalignment Across the Organization: Unlike traditional goals that may only illustrate individual tasks, OKRs foster organizational alignment. They encourage a holistic view, aligning team efforts towards unified business outcomes.
3. Elevating Teams to a Higher Purpose: OKRs not only aim for direct results but also connect team members to a larger, shared mission, enhancing motivation and coherence within the team dynamics.
4. Improving Visibility and Clarity of Goals: Often in many organizations, goals can become siloed or misunderstood among the workforce. OKRs help in clearly articulating and communicating strategic goals, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Overcoming Challenges in Goal Comprehension

Research by Franklin Covey reveals startling statistics about goal understanding within companies:

• 15% of employees can’t name a single organizational goal.
• More than 50% of the remaining employees misinterpret the goals.
• Misunderstandings increase with distance from the leadership team.

These insights underscore the need for a method that not only clarifies goals but ensures they are universally understood and embraced at all levels of the organization.

Living the Vision, Purpose, and Strategy Daily

OKRs are not just about setting goals; they are about integrating these goals deeply into the day-to-day activities and strategic pursuits of your teams:

• Continuous Alignment: OKRs link day-to-day operations to long-term strategic visions, ensuring every task contributes to overarching objectives.
• Regular Check-Ins: Teams engage with their OKRs frequently (weekly or even daily), which keeps goals relevant and top-of-mind, unlike traditional goals which may only be revisited quarterly or annually.
• Leading Indicators: The metrics used in OKRs are designed to provide ongoing insights into progress, helping teams adjust tactics swiftly to stay on track.

Conclusion

This introductory module sets the groundwork for a deeper exploration into implementing and benefiting from OKRs. By understanding the core principles and addressing common pitfalls of traditional goal-setting, your organization can harness the full potential of OKRs to drive substantial, sustainable growth. Stay tuned as we delve further into the practical application and real-world case studies of OKRs in subsequent modules of this course.

Resources

We would like to hear your thoughts!

At OKR Quickstart, we're continuously working to improve our materials. We would like to hear your thoughts on how we can do better by leaving a response in the form below:

The problem with traditional goal-setting Feedback Survey