Does it ever seem like for every goal you achieve an additional two or three goals are added to your list? The next thing you know your goal list begins to grow and have a life of its own. It seems impossible to make meaningful progress.

There’s a great book called "Measure What Matters" by John Doerr. In the book, he introduces a goal-setting system called OKRs. 

OKR stands for objectives and key results. An objective is a clearly defined goal. And, each objective has 3-5 key results. The key results have to be measurable ways to achieve the objective. Many times our goals are vague and unmeasurable. And, often we don’t attach a specific time frame to them. Key results must be specific, measurable, and time-bound. 

With this measurable and definable system, you know with certainty if you've achieved a goal or not.  

Once you've defined them, OKRs are meant to be transparent and shared within the organization. Sharing increases accountability and encourages teamwork to achieve set goals. It provides clarification to team members as to what is most important to the organization. If leadership teams create clear OKRs and share them with the rest of the organization, then each department can create their own OKRs that align. This trickle-down effect ensures that everyone is working on key results, and the actions of everyone on the team are positively impacting the most important goals.

This may sound complicated, but it’s much simpler than it seems. At Spark, we began this process at the start of 2021 and it has dramatically improved our processes and performance. If you’d like to achieve more goals and align your organization, it’s time to incorporate OKRs. They have the power to take you, your teams, and the whole organization to the next level.

Happy Goal Setting!