In this post, we will dive into the pages of John Doerr’s book Measure What Matters.

Context

John Doerr is a well-known American venture capitalist who works for Kleiner Perkins, a leading venture capital firm. He rose to prominence as an early investor in technology companies such as Google, Amazon, and Netscape.

Doerr is also associated with popularizing the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) goal-setting system, which is covered in the book and will be discussed in depth in this post.

Disclaimer: Because I read the portuguese version, the terms used here are translated and may differ from the original.

1.OKR’s in Action

1.01.Google, Meet OKR’s

Yogi Berra: If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.

What I learned:

An objective (O) is a goal that must be met. Because it can be a broad statement, key results (KR) will be used to monitor and predict when the goal will be met, and they must then be measured and concisely expressed in a number.
OKR is a protocol for defining goals that is useful for businesses, teams, and individuals. Even though he uses the term “saves”, the methodology is merely a guide, not a replacement for aspects such as leadership, creative culture, and common sense.

1.02.The Father of OKR’s

Andy Grove: There are so many people working so hard and achieving so little.

What I learned:

Less is more, a few (3 to 5) good objectives are enough, and with of 5 KR maximum each;
From the ground up, begin defining goals from the ground up, rather than from the top;
Team play, you can impose goals, but discuss the key results;
Be brave, comfortable goals can be a safe zone for the team;
Be adaptable;if external factors change, why not update our OKRs?
Not a weapon, OKR’s are tools to monitor our goals, and they should not be used as performance indicators.

1.03.Operation Crush: An Intel Story

What I learned:

OKRs provided cohesion and transparency to the company operation, creating a sense of urgency but not despair, and they were able to reclaim their position as number one through this organization.

1.04.Superpower#1: Focus and Commit to Priorities

What I learned:

Key results must be measurable, either in terms of quantities to measure and achieve, or in terms of factual accomplishments that can be checked to see if they were completed or not by a yes or no question;
To not become overly focused on unidimensional OKRs, as this may cause us to overlook other points of view. However, excessively greedy OKRs increase the risk of overlooking a critical aspect;
In dynamic markets, OKRs can be set every three months, but the period is flexible and must be tailored to each situation;
Measure both the effect and the side effect to avoid unanticipated consequences of achieving your goal;
To avoid the implication of having only a number to achieve, link a quantitative goal to a qualitative one;
Set three levels of OKR goals: achievable, possible challenge, and desire.
Avoid the temptation to have multiple objectives by limiting them to the most important ones.

1.05.Focus: The Remind Story

What I learned:

Three preliminary steps to create a businness:
- Solve a problem;
- Build a simple product;
- Talk with your users.
You will not get everything right the first time, but you must begin;
Consider your capabilities and be realistic when setting your goals.

1.06.Commit: The Nuna Story

What I learned:

Do not try to implement OKR at all levels at the same time; it must be viewed as a tool rather than a necessary evil, so the high level must embrace it and it will spread organically;
If a goal is too difficult to achieve, it is easier to give up on him;
Perhaps the first attempt will fail, but keep trying and correcting previous errors.

1.07.Superpower#2: Align and Connect for Teamwork

Steve Jobs: It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

What I learned:

Public goals can increase transparency while also facilitating corrections and criticism. This reduces redundancy, which is especially important in larger organizations where two people working on the same task can be common;
A KR can also be an objective in another level of OKR, but do so with caution because we risk losing velocity and flexibility, as well as the horizontal aspect, because the vertical approach will be used to establish the levels hierarchy.

1.08.Align: The MyFitnessPal Story

What I learned:

Do not treat OKRs as islands; they are interconnected, so it is critical to share and discuss the goal, particularly when it impacts or is impacted by another area;
Companies that frequently change priorities may find the method useful, since it can give you the focus;
You can assign an owner to the OKR and be the primary person to discuss it.

1.09.Connect: The Intuit Story

What I learned:

You will have a great tool to connect your entire organization if you automate your OKR;
If a prioritization is required, raise the importance of the relevant OKR to demonstrate your seriousness while also ensuring that the methodology is accurate.

1.10.Superpower#3: Track for Accountability

William Edwards Deming: In God we trust. All others must bring data.

What I learned:

OKR are living organisms that can be born, changed, adapted, stopped, and died. Even though they allow for this flexibility, understanding why each action is taken is critical.
It is fundamental to regularly review your OKRs and have a plan in place in case some of them fail;
To gain a sense of progress and a better understanding of your overall objective reality, you can assign partial achievement to your KRs.
Because metrics cannot show the entire story, it is critical to self-assess your progress with the context. Here are some questions to help:
- What factors contributed to my success?
- What challenges did I face if I failed?
- What would I change if I could rewrite a completed goal?
- What did I learn that will change my approach to OKRs in the next cycle?

1.11.Track: The Gates Foundation Story

What I learned:

OKR can assist you in making a decision by providing a path, but it also carries a higher risk because it emphasizes the importance of setting good goals;
Avoid conflating goals and missions; an overly greedy OKR may lose credibility.
Setting lofty goals is easy, but dismembering them is more difficult.

1.12.Superpower#4: Stretch for Amazing

Mellody Hudson: The biggest risk of all is not taking one.

What I learned:

Conservative goals stifle innovation, while non-conservative goals accelerate it.
You can categorize your objectives, such as the ambitious ones, but defining how many objectives remain in each category is a crucial decision and need to be based in your business, market and culture.

1.13.Stretch: The Google Chrome Story

What I learned:

Even if you fail, a crazy ambitious goal will teach you something;
As a leader, you must challenge your team while not making the goal appear impossible.

1.14.Stretch: The Youtube Story

What I learned:

When setting a large and/or long goal, it is also important to set markers along the way to see if you are on the right track.

2.The New World of Work

2.01.Continuous Performance Management: OKR’s and CFR’s

Sheryl Sandberg: Talking can transform minds, which can transform behaviors, which can transform institutions.

What I learned:

Numbers are wonderful, but they can easily fail when used to measure people;
CFR stands for “Conversations, Feedback, and Recognition” and refers to a one-on-one conversation between employees and their managers;
Separate OKR and performance evaluation because they have and require different rituals;
Conversations, the leader to:
- promote discussion, define and remember goals, and reflect on them;
- talk about performance and must be updated on a regular basis;
- update and discuss the development of one’s career.
Feedback:
- it must be incorporated into culture and progress;
- it is necessary to be specific as well as constructive, rather than focusing solely on negative or positive aspects.
Recognition:
- establish recognition among colleagues as part of the culture, and not just for the leader. Make it frequent and friendly to accomplish this;
- if at all possible, connect it to the company’s goals.

2.02.Ditching Annual Performance Reviews: The Adobe Story

What I learned:

Annual evaluations can take too long and leave it too late to act;
To transition from traditional evaluation, leaders must take on HR responsibilities, but they must be trained to do so, so HR has evolved into a team that prepares leaders rather than hands-on.

2.03.Baking Better Every Day: The Zume Pizza Story

What I learned:

OKR can provide assistance in areas where project methodologies and management tools cannot;
OKR can help a company stay on track with its goals.
OKR is unlikely to work unless the highest levels of the organization invest in them.
The most focused leaders are the best leaders.

2.04.Culture

What I learned:

Culture is difficult to change, and while it is related to goals, they are not the same;

A company’s culture is what moves and signifies its work; a bad culture can stymie any methodology’s ability to work.

2.05.Culture Change: The Lumeris Story

What I learned:

A culture change may be required before implementing a major process change (e.g., OKR);
OKR require action; simply collecting data and analyzing metrics will not result in any changes;
Big changes do not happen overnight.

2.06.Culture Change: Bono’s ONE Campaing Story

What I learned:

Although culture is required for OKR to work, it can also change the culture once implemented;
You must listen to and understand your client;
Take care not to let the OKR suffocate you and prevent innovation.

2.07.The Goals to Come

Muhammad Ali: What keeps me going is goals.

What I learned:

Although the concept of OKR is simple, successfully implementing it requires a significant amount of effort and involvement, and when done correctly, can provide substantial returns.