Objectives: qualitative, memorable
Written in language the team would use in a hallway. If a report can't paraphrase it a week later, rewrite it.
Key results: outcomes with numbers
- Measurable — a number and a direction
- Time-bound to the quarter
- Ambitious — 70% attainment is a win, not a failure
Initiatives beneath
The projects that will move the KRs. Kept separate from the OKRs — initiatives change; OKRs shouldn't during the quarter.
Mid-quarter check
6 weeks in, red/yellow/green each KR, and decide what to reforecast vs. what to double down on. This is where OKRs stop being theater.
Common pitfalls
- — Setting activity KRs ('ship X'). KRs are outcomes, not roadmap items.
- — Five objectives. That's a list, not a strategy.
- — Grading only at end of quarter. The mid-quarter check is where behavior actually changes.