Do you use OKRS (objectives and key results) in your business? They are a great way to crystalize your strategic goals and decide on measurable tactics for the near term.
If you want to turn them from good to great, consider these 4 secrets. Small tweaks are can go a long way and are easy to implement.
👉 The first SECRET to great OKRS is pick an interval that works for you.
I review and reset my business’s OKRs every 4 months. At the start of January, May and September.
There is something about unhooking it from a quarterly metrics that makes it a unique activity.
It’s plenty of runway to achieve the result. It doesn’t feel like I am forever doing a review and reset.
👉The second SECRET to great OKRs is to be always evolving your process
This September I tweaked my OKR process with something I learned in the HubSpot Inbound course. To expand the strategic view with something called MSPOT. Mission – Serving – Plays or Projects – Omissions – Targets.
I used a template of:
Mission: the business why. the so that.
Serving: who the business is doing it for
Plays: the initiatives in terms of Objectives, Tactics and Targets. The OKR details.
Omissions: what to stop doing that distracts or what needs to be deferred.
👉 The third SECRET is that your value proposition anchors your OKRS
The mission and serving is the bookends of my value proposition. The who (serving) and so that (mission)
Setting this at the top of the MSPOT page anchors my why. The OKRS are then the what and how, part of the value proposition.
It helps in cascading OKRS. M and S remain constant, while the team’s individual OKRS may vary in what and how.
👉The fourth SECRET is that identifying what you’re not going to do is key to getting focused.
Like many people, I’m guilty of setting OKRS and then doing extra things as well. Giving into distractions. Yet, if they aren’t a priority, why do it?
Stating omissions is committing to not doing things that aren’t a priority.
Spelling it out helps you get really focused!
Do you find these secrets useful? I also posted this on LinkedIn. Join the conversation and comment on the post to share your thoughts.
