Growth & development
Objectives and key results (OKRs)
We set objectives every quarter. OKRs are the mechanism we use to achieve our KPI goals. The framework was pioneered by Andy Grove at Intel and later adopted by Google and many others. OKRs connect directly to our How We Work process and feed into Learning & Development plans.
Four superpowers of OKRs
- Focus -- concentrate on what matters most
- Alignment -- connect everyone to the same goals
- Tracking -- measure progress with data, not gut feeling
- Stretch -- push beyond what feels comfortable
OKRs are not used for performance feedback or compensation review. They're a planning tool, not an evaluation tool. Performance is tracked separately through the Expectations framework.
What makes a good objective
- Ambitious -- should feel slightly uncomfortable
- Meaningful -- connected to real business impact
- Inspirational -- people want to rally behind it
- Aligns teams -- creates shared purpose across groups
- Clear responsible party -- someone owns it
- Focused -- max 3 objectives per quarter
- Transparent -- visible to the whole company
What makes a good key result
- Aspirational -- hitting 70% means you aimed right. 100% every time means you're not ambitious enough
- Linked -- clearly tied to the objective
- Clear owner -- one person is accountable
- Influenceable -- the owner can actually move the needle
- Time-bound -- has a deadline within the quarter
- Measurable -- a number, not a feeling
- Mutually exclusive -- no overlap between key results
- Collectively exhaustive -- together they cover the full objective