OKRs provide a simple framework for setting and actively working on objectives in a transparent way at the organizational or team level.

• Objectives - Where do I want to go? This is the WHAT

Short, crisp and simple qualitative description of the goal. Approximately 1-4 objectives per team.

• Key Results - How do we see the goal getting closer? What do we need to accomplish along the way?

List quantitative metrics with baseline and target values. Approximately 2-5 Key Results per Objective.

Old work or management paradigms are currently reaching their limits as they face today's challenges in a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA for short). 

OKRs provide a simple framework to overcome these obstacles by helping you set and actively work towards goals in a transparent way.

• Focus: OKRs enable a team to set clear goals, prioritize and say "no" at times.
• Alignment: OKRs provide the framework by which the entire organization can align its goals and make strategic alignment actionable.
• Commitment: OKRs require a collective commitment from stakeholders to select and adhere to agreed-upon priorities
• Tracking: OKRs enable a team or organization to track its progress toward a goal and respond early to challenges
• Stepping out of the comfort zone: OKRs empower teams to set goals that go beyond BAU - or "business as usual" - and drive significant, meaningful change

Vertical Alignment: 

• OKRs are aligned with the purpose and vision of the company
• They support the implementation of the strategy
• Management teams play a central role by guiding the process through the definition of the company's OKRs 
• Each team thinks about how they can support the company's OKRs

Horizontal Alignment:

• In addition to this vertical alignment, there is also full transparency between teams
• This allows them to coordinate with each other, avoid duplication, and work together on an OKR when appropriate

The best goals are useless if they are defined once a year and then put in the drawer. Things are so dynamic today that we need to be flexible while maintaining some stability. 

OKRs address this by working with different time horizons. Best practices show

• that six months to a year is useful for enterprise-level OKRs, 
• for most teams, a horizon of about three months has proven useful.

The OKR cycle can be divided into three phases:

• Planning phase: the team jointly defines which topics need to be prioritized for the quarter. For this, 1-3 OKR sets are defined and aligned with the organization.
• Check-in phase: after planning, work is done on the focus topics and progress is checked in regular check-ins.
• Review and retrospective: at the end of the cycle, we look at what has been achieved. On the other hand, we reflect on what went well and where changes are necessary.

The approach with OKRs not only changes the way we set goals, but also touches other issues related to the development of the whole organization.

An important part is the new understanding of management through lateral leadership. Complexity is high and steering from the top does not work at all anymore or not efficiently enough. OKRs are created by the teams, guided by the company's OKRs and supported by the team leader. 

This approach supports intrinsic motivation and leverages the full creative and intellectual potential of the entire organization.

When working with OKRs, one sets fairly challenging goals with no connection to financial reward systems.

This allows for gently stepping out of the comfort zone to learn and grow.

• We have not prioritized our goals
• We do too many things at once and have no focus
• We always want to have the perfect solution instead of just starting, learning quickly and making adjustments
• There is no transparent communication about our goals
• We want to make the strategy actionable
• It helps us to communicate, measure and achieve our goals