Dear Andy,
We’ve been testing OKRs this year and gained organization-wide support as a tool for collective understanding, accountability, work, and project planning. However, we feel that our current OKRs are a bit too much. We have 5 organizational-level Objectives, with 3-5 Key Results per Objective. Those cascade down to 6 departments (some departments are a staff of 1), with each department having 5 Objectives (which are one of the organizational KRs), and 3-5 Key Results per Objective. In full, this is a lot of OKRs to manage, track, and focus on.
How can we simplify in the coming year to help our small team stay focused and remain enthused about OKRs?
Sincerely,
Megan
Hi Megan!
Thanks for writing in with such a great question.
Wow – that does sound like a lot of OKRs. If I’m doing my math correctly, that’s… carry the 7… over 40 OKRs for (after doing a quick LinkedIn search for your company) fewer than 50 employees? I can definitely see how that would be, to borrow a phrase, ‘too much’ – and then some. As John Doerr would say, “If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.”
Trying to include everything in your OKRs is overwhelming and ineffective. Less is more, especially when starting out with OKRs. OKRs ask leaders to make tough choices and to focus on your company’s top priorities for the next cycle. While work may involve many different aspects, prioritize the few things that will have the most impact within your cycle. Whittling down priorities allows teams to clearly define what matters most, increasing their chances of achieving meaningful progress.
It sounds like a strict cascade isn’t serving your team. This approach of handing down Objectives layer by layer can easily compound the number of OKRs into something that’s, frankly, unmanageable. Don’t feel pressured to turn every single top-level KR into its own OKR! In general, we recommend cascading less than 50% of the time. A well-written top-level OKR is more than enough to guide several layers of the organization. Encourage teams to ladder to other OKRs, giving them the freedom to define how they can align to make the most impact. Laddering is how Intel, the birthplace of OKRs, focused on beating Motorola in manufacturing microchips, as described in Measure What Matters.
We realize prioritizing is challenging, but it is necessary to achieve operational excellence.
Set yourself up for success by having the team come to OKR setting sessions prepared with what they think will best help achieve the company-wide Objectives. As dissenting opinions arise, have them pitch their case, ideally providing proof points to back up their reasoning. Some OKRs will be selected and some won’t – this is natural. High quality dialog about what matters will help everyone own the final result.
Thanks for writing in, Megan, and best of luck to you and your team on your OKR journey.
Sincerely,
Billy from the What Matters Team
