Measure What Matters | OKR Resources

You’ve got your strategy. You’ve got your initiatives. What’s missing? OKRs of course! When Techramps Group, Poland’s leading designer and builder of skate parks, reached out to Elena Zhukova, founder of OKR Poland, their strategy was a 50-slide deck and their initiatives were a 100-row spreadsheet. What they needed was a way to connect the two. For Techramps, that meant narrowing hundreds of projects down to a handful of strategic priorities. The result? Starting with one annual OKR and two quarterly OKRs. Within three quarters the team was setting sharper, more strategic OKRs, moving faster, and seeing tangible business results.

Numbers matter. But numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. In our profile of Pinterest, Former Chief Product Officer Products Naveen Gavini explained the limits of purely quantitative goals: They didn’t always capture the experience they wanted users to have. That’s where qualitative Objectives came in. They gave the team a way to define the why—like creating a positive and inspiring experience in a noisy internet—before layering in the Key Results with metrics. Quantitative Objectives provide clarity. Qualitative Objectives provide soul. Together, they turn OKRs from a checklist into a compass. Balance measurable with meaningful.

Ever set an OKR and realize halfway through the cycle that it’s no longer working? Here’s the thing: OKRs aren’t meant to be set in stone. Their flexibility is part of the value. But changing them mid-cycle should be rare and deliberate, not a reflex when things get hard. So when IS it the right move? Two good reasons: > External circumstances shift so dramatically that the original OKR no longer makes sense. > Early data shows your Key Results are way off, and adjusting course could drive better results. Here’s a good test: > If revising the OKR will dramatically improve performance or impact — change it. > If it’s just to soften the blow of missing the mark — let it stand. Why? Because there’s value in seeing where you really stand. A “miss” can spark better conversations, highlight weak spots, and teach you far more than shifting the bullseye after the fact. Bottom line: OKRs should help you focus on what matters most — and sometimes, what matters changes. The art is knowing when to adapt and when to stay the course.

“OKRs are Swiss Army knives, suited to any environment,” wrote John Doerr in Measure What Matters. “In today’s economy, change is a fact of life. We cannot cling to what’s worked and hope for the best. We need a trusty scythe to carve a path ahead of the curve.” That’s the power of OKRs: they help teams navigate uncertainty, align on what matters most, and stay focused even as conditions shift. What’s the biggest change your team is going through? What tools are you using to carve your own path through change?

“How many OKRs should we have?” Sometimes the simplest question is the trickiest to answer: too many OKRs, and your team spreads itself thin. Too few, and you risk missing out on meaningful progress. The sweet spot? Most organizations should aim for 2–3 top-level Objectives per cycle, each with 3–5 measurable Key Results. That’s it. What goes through your mind when you aim for the minimum number of OKRs? What would happen if we prioritized only a small number of high-level goals? Amazing things happen when you stop trying to do everything—and start pooling your energy where it matters most.

Do you use Conversation, Feedback and Recognition (CFRs) as part of your OKR practice? Too many organizations fall into the trap of “set it and forget it” when it comes to goals. The result? Misalignment, missed targets, and a lot of wasted potential. There's a better way. CFRs are day-to-day practices that bring OKRs to life. When you embed them into your team culture, you shift from task management to performance momentum. In this article, learn: ⚫How ongoing conversations help teams course-correct in real time. ⚫Why timely, constructive feedback increases your odds of success ⚫The power of recognition to build culture and reinforce what’s working.

Struggling with an OKR and can’t quite find the answer you’re looking for? Write to “Dear Andy!” Lovingly named in honor of Andy Grove, the creator of OKRs, our advice column tackles tough questions—whether you're unsure how to measure success, align across departments, or inspire teams to go beyond business-as-usual goals. We’ve helped readers wrestling with ⚫What to do when your OKR sounds like your job description ⚫Setting OKRs that inspire, not intimidate ⚫Balancing team alignment with individual accountability ⚫Deciding whether to update or abandon a Key Result No OKR dilemma is too small or too niche. Send us your question—we’re here to help.

Have you ever worked for someone who needs to exercise a lot of control? Not only over their own work — but everyone else’s work too? If you or someone you work with find it difficult to delegate, believe it or not, OKRs can help. Leaders want results. But tightening control on teams rarely works in the long-run, and it doesn’t scale. Consider using OKRs to help ease up on the reins. Instead of trying to track everything all the time, OKRs allow you to focus on leading: providing direction and the waypoints. Knowing - in writing - that you and your team have the same idea of the outcomes and the measures of progress helps recovering micromanagers gain peace of mind. Any micromanagers out there? It’s a safe space — tell us in the comments how you’re learning to step back.

It's time to talk about sandbagging. You’ve probably seen it—teams setting goals they know they can hit, just to say they’ve succeeded. It might boost confidence in the short term, but it undermines the real purpose of OKRs: to stretch, to learn, and to grow. This is especially common when teams correlate OKRs with compensation.  When we play it safe, we miss out on innovation, ambition, and the insights that come from aiming higher—even if we fall short. So how do you balance ambition with accountability? Have you seen sandbagging in action? How do you encourage teams to set meaningful, stretch goals without burning out? Let us know in the comments.

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