Writing Effective OKRs

The difference between OKRs that drive results and OKRs that get ignored comes down to how they're written. This guide covers the principles and techniques for crafting objectives and key results that actually work.

The Anatomy of a Good Objective

Objectives answer the question: "Where do we want to go?" They should be qualitative, inspirational, and memorable.

  • Qualitative, not quantitative — Numbers belong in key results. Objectives describe outcomes in words.
  • Inspirational — If your team isn't at least a little excited by the objective, rewrite it.
  • Actionable — The team should know what kind of work would move toward this objective.
  • Time-bound — Tied to a specific cycle (quarter, month, etc.).

The coffee test

Can you explain this objective to a colleague over coffee in one sentence? If not, simplify it.

Objective Examples

Compare these weak objectives with their stronger alternatives:

Weak objectives

  • Increase revenue by 20%
  • Launch the new feature
  • Improve customer satisfaction

Strong objectives

  • Become the go-to solution for mid-market teams
  • Deliver a seamless onboarding experience that users love
  • Build a customer success engine that creates advocates

Notice how the strong objectives paint a picture of success without specifying exact metrics. The metrics come in the key results.

The Anatomy of a Good Key Result

Key results answer: "How will we know we're getting there?" They're the measurable evidence of progress.

  • Measurable — Must have a clear number or state that can be verified.
  • Specific — No ambiguity about what counts as success.
  • Ambitious but achievable — Aim for 70% confidence you can hit it.
  • Outcome-focused — Measure results, not activities.

Key Result Examples

The best key results are outcomes. Compare these:

Activity-based (weak)

  • Launch 3 new features
  • Publish 10 blog posts
  • Conduct 20 customer interviews

Outcome-based (strong)

  • Increase weekly active users from 1,000 to 2,500
  • Reduce time-to-first-value from 7 days to 2 days
  • Achieve NPS score of 50 (up from 35)

Activities are things you do. Outcomes are the results of doing them. You can complete every activity and still fail to achieve your objective — that's why outcomes matter.

How Many OKRs Should You Have?

Less is more. The power of OKRs comes from focus, not from comprehensiveness.

  • 3-5 objectives per team per cycle (maximum)
  • 2-4 key results per objective
  • 1 owner per objective and per key result
If everything is a priority, nothing is. Resist the urge to add "just one more" objective.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Confusing tasks with key results — "Ship the redesign" is a task. The outcome of shipping it is the key result.
  • Setting sandbag targets — If you're 100% confident you'll hit it, aim higher.
  • Too many OKRs — Five objectives with four key results each means 20 things to track. That's too many.
  • No owner — If no one is accountable, it won't happen.
  • Set and forget — OKRs need weekly attention to drive behavior.

The Writing Process

  1. Start with the objective — What do you want to be true at the end of this cycle?
  2. Brainstorm possible key results — How would you prove the objective was achieved?
  3. Set specific targets — What numbers represent ambitious but achievable progress?
  4. Assign owners — Who is accountable for each key result?
  5. Review with the team — Does everyone understand and commit to these?

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