Have you heard of the OKR system?

An unerring method to nail down your performance targets.

OKR can literally be your guiding force for consistent achievement.

In this post we will be answering some basic questions like:

What is OKR?

What is the difference between an OKR and KPI?

What are the 2 components of OKR?

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What is the 3*5 principle of OKRs?

And more.

First, let us deal with what an OKR is.

It is an acronym that stands for Objectives and Key Results.

OKR is a powerful system of:

setting,
measuring and
improving

on performance targets.

Incidentally, this is Part 2 of a 3 Part Series on Leadership and Productivity for hotel middle managers (and actually everybody else!).

If you missed the first part, click below to get up to speed.

You will have a better understanding of this Part 2 on OKR.

Systems Vs Goals – The New Achievement Paradigm

Let me backtrack a bit to provide you a background to OKR.

More specifically, this is about how I use OKR for:

my performance targets and
achievement system.

This Blog Post will cover:

My PPP Manifesto

This manifesto guides me in everything I do both in my business enterprise as well as my personal life.

I consciously adhere to the manifesto at all times.

The PPP Manifesto is anchored by three powerful achievement mindsets:

Process
Planning
Progress

The Process role is all about steps and rituals.

The Planning role is about mapping your journey and destination.

I Use OKR for my planning (more shortly)

Planning window is quarter based (more shortly).

The Progress Role is about measuring how I am doing against the plan.

In other words, identifying milestones of progress.

It is week / month based for each quarter planned.

I have divided my PPP Manifesto into two major paths of progress measurement:

Setting OKRs and
Execution of OKRs

The OKR System

OKR or Objectives and Key Results is an amazing framework for achievement.

The OKR system straddles all 3 Ps - Process, Planning and Progress.

Watch this short video (less than one minute!) for a quick overview of the OKR system.

You will notice that process comes ahead of both planning as well as progress.

I will explain why I use this sequence with examples.

There are 2 Key Components of an OKR system:

Objectives and
Key Results

Objectives are broad directions to take on a particular area or project.

You could say that objectives are the Why in a OKR system.

Important ingredients of objectives are

they should be brief,
inspirational and
be a stretch.

Objectives in an OKR system are not mere targets to aim for.

They are often aspirational.

Key Results on the other hand are metrics that measure progress toward achieving the objective.

You could call them the How in a OKR system.

It is this combination of Why and How that makes the OKR system powerful.

TIP 1

Whatever approach you adopt ensure that you give it your own unique flavor.
That taps into how you think.
The way you work best.
And most of all, that harnesses your skill sets.
Your OKR system of goal setting must be yours and only yours.

My Use of the OKR System

I use the OKR system in both my business as well as personal life.

OKR - Objectives and Key Results

For my business, I use OKRs for:

Content creation
Course creation and
Video creation

These are three areas I will use to explain how I go about the OKR system.

I also use the OKR system in my personal life for example in my following areas:

Wellness
Reading & Relaxation
Travel
Passion Pursuits like video editing, gamification of training
Building Net Worth

to name some major ones.

If you remember from Part 1 of this 3 part series, I had talked about the role of process in my PPP Manifesto.

This is where the systems approach which represents process varies from the goal approach.

Systems Vs Goals - The New Achievement Paradigm

Let me elaborate with examples you can use for setting up your own OKR system.

OKR System Example

Let me illustrate with an example.

I will use content creation in my business.

My objective for content creation is stated as:

Create and publish periodical high ranking content for my target audience.

Notice a few things about the objective:

The objective is precise
It is qualitative, as in, it talks about high ranking content but does not mention quantum of content to be created
The objective is inspirational as it mentions content to be high ranking

Given the above broad direction for content, here is how my Key Results for content are laid out:

Posts should be at least 2,000 words
Publish posts weekly on Friday
Select keywords for the posts to rank on Page #1 on Google

Here a few things to notice about the Key Results:

There are 3 Key Results laid out for the content objective
They are quantitative (first two are about word count and regularity)
Key Results are measurable (unlike objectives which are qualitative)
Key Result 3 is qualitative although it is also measurable (content should rank high)

Also notice that the combination of the 3 Key Results will deliver the objective for you.

The 3*5 principle of OKR is something that kind of rules this world.

Broadly, it means to have:

3 to 5 high-level objectives,
under which 3-5 key measurable results are listed.

Tip 2

Set up an OKR system that is achievable for you.
Lay out objectives which are motivational.
Decide on key results which allow you to measure progress toward achievement

My Planning in the OKR System

So you have set up an OKR system consisting of objectives and Key Results.

OKR - PPP Manifesto Overview

Now, you can flesh out your planning.

Quarterly Plan
Monthly Focus
OKR Set Up

Quarterly Plan

It is generally accepted that annual goals are too long in the planning process.

You cannot wait until the end of the year to figure out how you fared.

You need a shorter time frame.

A quarter is such a time frame.

It is long enough for activities and projects to be completed.

And it is short enough to check progress.

In my OKR system for content example, I have it set for a quarterly target.

Meaning, my content creation plan window is for a quarter.

Once you get into the process, you will see the magic of the OKR system.

What I mean is your system will deliver the key results for the objectives if they are consciously followed.

In Part 3 of this series I will lay out the details of the monthly and quarterly reviews for the OKR system.

OKR - Quarterly Plan, Monthly Focus

The beauty of a quarterly OKR plan is it allows three full months of performance.

A month is a great balance between too short and too long.

On the one hand, it allows you to plan activities within a quarter.

It on the other hand provides you with a good measure for progress (more later).

The other advantage is that three solid periods (month) can be used within a quarter for performance management.

In my content example, I lay out my content for each of the three months in a quarter.

I plan a month within a quarter based on weeks.

My plan is to publish content every Friday (like today!).

OKR Set Up

OKR literally supercharges your planning process.

They provide a big picture overview as well the nuts and bolts.

And you will see their role in the measurement of progress as well.

OKR - Your Guiding Force

Now on to the 3rd P in the PPP Manifesto.

Tip 3

Spend some time thinking about your quarterly plan.
You can break it down into the 3 months in each quarter.
Be comfortable with what you plan.
Don’t put pressure on yourself with unrealistic plans.

My Progress in the OKR System

Peter Drucker the father of management once said:

If it cannot be measured, it cannot be improved.

And so, you have set up an OKR system and have done your quarterly planning.

This will be useless if you do not address the third P in the PPP Manifesto - progress.

This is easier said than done.

You will see how again the OKR system will come to your rescue.

In particular, measurement and rituals will again be key.

How is that you ask?

All in good time.

There are two parts to the progress role in my system:

OKR Measurement
OKR Reviews

OKR Measurement

This is pretty obvious as an activity.

You compare your plan with what you achieved.

You want to know whether you accomplished what you planned.

Or if you fell short.

If so, by how much and why and so on.

Let us use the content example.

Here, monthly focus will be critical.

For example, say, your objective was set for Q2 2023.

Your month focus will be April.

Why you ask?

As of May 5, 2023 (today), you will measure for that completed month.

So, I need to measure myself against the 3 Key Results I laid out.

Two of them are straight forward.

Did I publish content every week of April month?
Were my posts (content) in April at least 2,000 words each?

The third one about SEO Rank may need a different approach.

What I mean is that one month may not be conclusive about ranking high for post keywords.

However, nothing stops you from making that measurement for April.

Based on whether you achieved your Key Results or not, you can plan further corrective action.

Milestones play a big part in OKR Measurement.

You could literally call them the building blocks of progress.

They tell you where you are currently in the OKR journey.

While I have talked about OKR Measurement in general, the process is much more involved.

That is because measurement has its own process.

And that process is called a review.

It is the most important process in OKR measurement.

I will be devoting most of the concluding Part 3 of this series in describing what the OKR Reviews are all about.

However, I will briefly lay out what reviews achieve in my OKR system.

Reviews

Reviews are one of the most powerful rituals you can perform.

Remember rituals in the systems part of this post earlier?

Well, you make a habit out of measuring your progress versus your plan.

By doing the reviewing on the same day over a period.

For example, I conduct a review of my progress every Saturday.

So, you could say, it is a weekly ritual.

Reviews are powerful if you again set up a system for it.

In Part 3 of this series I will give you examples of how reviews work for my content example.

Tip 4

Be honest with your progress measurement.
If you did not achieve your plan this month, continue and do so in the next.
Make your reviews an enjoyable activity.
Celebrate small wins.

Benefits of OKR system

So, what are the benefits of the OKR system to me.

I have been following my OKR system In the last 4-5 years.

Over that time I can genuinely say I have reaped the following clear benefits:

I do not get overwhelmed by the pressure of goals (destination)
I keep my focus on the process (journey) and finally
I have allowed my OKR system to dictate achievement

After we go through the concluding Part 3 of this Series on Reviews you will reap the benefits of the OKR system.

How do You Manage Your Performance?

How do you manage your performance?

Do you agree with my approach?

Is there anything I can do to improve my system?

Comment below, I am keen on knowing how you handle your performance.