OKRs or Objectives and Key Results, is a goal management framework.

OKRs help organisations answer three key questions:

Objective
Key result
Initiatives

What is our goal?
How do we know we are getting there?
What are we doing to get there?

A simple example to better understand OKRs

Let’s take a real-life example: let’s say you’re unwell and have a fever. What do you do? – You go to the doctor.

What does the doctor do? She asks you about your symptoms, measures your temperature, and looks at your tongue (maybe gives you a candy).

She then gives you prescription medicines which you take twice a day after meals, she asks you to drink lots of water, and get good rest (no computers). Most importantly, she asks you to measure your body temperature every few hours and to report back to him. Let’s see what your doctor’s OKRs might be:

Example Doctor’s OKRs:

Objective: Help patients recover and stay fit

Key Results

  • Bring body temperature below 99.6°F
  • Bring the weight back up to 70 Kgs

Initiatives

  • Eat healthily, with lots of fruits and veggies
  • Take medicines on time after meals
  • Get rest and stay away from screens


Let’s take another example

Objective: Get fit to have more energy to do things I love

Key Results

  • Reduce body fat from x to y
  • Climb 5 floors in 3 minutes
  • Walk 1km in 10 mins

Initiatives

  • Hire a personal trainer
  • Eat healthily
  • Walk 10k steps
  • Get more sleep

What do we want to achieve?

In Summary, OKRs answer 3 key questions

  1. Where do we want to go or what do we want to achieve?
    1. Improve and restore your health
  2. How do we know we are getting there
    1. Bring body temperature below 99.6°F
    2. Bring the weight back 70 Kgs
  3. What are we doing to get there
    1. Eat healthy, especially fresh fruits, and drink lots of water
    2. Take medicines after every meal
    3. Get enough rest

Next: Are OKRs right for my company?


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