Ben on OKRs

How to Fail with OKRs: Start with a List of KPIs

One of the fastest ways to mess up your OKRs program is to start with a list of KPIs and then try to decide which ones should become Key Results. It sounds logical. And many smart teams (including me in my early days!) can fall into this trap.

This episode explains why starting with KPIs can deraily your OKRs program and how the right way is to start with values and critical thinking rather than a list of metrics.

Early in my own OKR journey, I made this exact same mistake!

I began sessions by showing teams standard industry KPIs and asking them to choose which ones should be their Key Results. I thought I was adding value, but in reality, I was limiting their thinking.

This episode introduces the distinction between alternative-focused thinking and value-focused thinking and shows how this concept applies directly to drafting OKRs. To make this practical I share a simple example from everyday life involving how we choose something as ordinary as salad dressing. Do we begin with the available options or do we begin with what really matters to us

You will learn how starting from existing metrics can trap teams into maintaining what they already measure instead of improving what truly matters. I describe two clear warning signs that your OKR drafting process may be broken and driven by alternative thinking rather than value driven clarity.

I also share a real coaching example with a marketing team that illustrates the shift from focusing on existing email metrics to identifying what truly mattered improving the return on investment of major marketing events. By stepping back from the list of available metrics the team realized they needed to establish a new baseline measure rather than rely on existing dashboards. This led to a more meaningful and strategically aligned Key Result.

The core message is simple. KPIs are useful but they should not drive your OKRs. OKRs should begin with vision priorities and values then identify the right Key Results to measure progress.

If you want your OKRs to drive real improvement rather than simply track activity this episode will help you rethink how you begin.

As always, contact me via [email protected] or post a comment here.

From Agile to Aligned: CareerBuilder’s OKR Shift

CareerBuilder was already Agile. Teams were delivering. Work was moving. So why introduce OKRs?

Part 4 of this Real OKR Implementations explores how organizations actually deploy OKRs in practice. Previous episodes showed how TaxSlayer built accountability through scoring and cadence, how GoNoodle launched OKRs in just 18 days, and how Zalando scaled OKRs by developing in-house experts.

This episode explores a different question:

What happens when a high functioning Agile organization uses OKRs to strengthen alignment and shift conversations from execution to impact?

CareerBuilder is one of the largest online job platforms in the United States and has served 24 million monthly visitors and worked with 92 percent of the Fortune 1000. Andy Krupit Manager of Agile Development shares how the company introduced OKRs to sharpen priorities improve cross team alignment and create real accountability.

CareerBuilder adopted OKRs for three reasons. Greater focus on what matters most. Better alignment across teams. And accountability through what Andy described as positive tension from the business.

Rather than rolling OKRs out across the organization at once CareerBuilder started at the team level. Through workshops drafting sessions alignment checks and refinement conversations teams shifted from tracking tasks to measuring outcomes.

One of the biggest breakthroughs came from asking why. Using the five why technique teams pushed past activity and into strategic intent. They also learned a key lesson. Fewer objectives improve clarity and execution.

The result was cultural. Teams discovered shared objectives and began collaborating in new ways.

If you are leading OKR implementation, this episode offers practical lessons from a real world journey.

As always, post a comment with questions, or better yet: email [email protected] to get your OKRs 1:1 consult!

How to optimize team-level OKR workshops.

Avoid the common pitfalls that can inadvertently increase silo effects and learn how to embed alignment into all aspects of your OKRs program.

Ben walks you through how to get your teams going on OKRs by starting with a top-level OKR presentation as context along with OKR theory.

Here's a sample agenda:

Here is a sample agenda that we used with one of our clients:

Takeaways for Team-Level Workshops

Please comment or post questions in this post or even better, request a free 1:1 consult with Ben via Ben@OKRs 

Thanks for listening!

TaxSlayer’s OKR Implementation: From SMART Goals to Results

Most companies set annual goals. Very few build a system that actually drives measurable results.

In this episode, Ben breaks down how TaxSlayer, a tax preparation and software company serving millions of customers, moved beyond traditional SMART goals and implemented OKRs to create real accountability, alignment, and execution discipline.

Like many organizations, TaxSlayer relied on annual goal-setting. But leadership realized that yearly planning alone wasn’t enough to create urgency or sustained focus. They needed a framework that connected strategy to execution and forced better conversations about what success truly meant.

Enter OKRs!

Devin Sherman, Director of Corporate Planning, introduced OKRs after researching the model and seeing how companies like Google and Intel used it to drive performance. What followed was a structured rollout starting at the corporate and division levels, supported by workshops, executive preparation, and disciplined scoring.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why SMART goals weren’t enough — and what OKRs changed

How upfront scoring “rocked their world” and elevated accountability

The breakthrough moment in distinguishing tasks from true Key Results

How consistent check-ins turned OKRs into a management system

Lessons learned about alignment and cross-functional execution

Why OKRs must evolve beyond activity tracking to drive real impact

One of the biggest realizations? They had been “run over by tasks and actions” instead of focusing on measurable outcomes. OKRs changed that, not just by clarifying goals, but also by reshaping how leaders managed execution.

If you’re implementing OKRs or trying to strengthen execution discipline in a growing organization, this episode offers practical insights from a real case study.

To learn more about strengthening your OKR program, including the OKRs Expert Workshop and 2-Cycle Deployment model, take a look at visit OKRs.com.

As always, for a 1:1 OKR consult send a note to me via [email protected]

OK, so the last episode was a big "negative" as we explored why even smart, capable teams struggle with OKRs.

Today, let's shift the focus to what high-performing teams actually do differently to make OKRs work in the real world.

You’ll learn how successful teams

OKRs are simple, but they require discipline.

This episode breaks down the execution patterns that turn OKRs from a planning exercise into a real system for driving focus, alignment, and measurable progress.

For more, check us out www.okrs.com

Thanks for listening!

OK, thought this would be 5 reasons, but we ended up adding 2 more in the end!

Find out what those other two are by listening to this episode.

Here are the "TOP 5"...

The most common failure mode is incredibly human.

Teams turn key results into a checklist:

Launch feature

Hire two engineers

Run campaign

Build dashboard

Great work "to do" but none reflect outcomes/KRs.

This is one of the biggest killers of OKR programs.

A leadership team runs OKRs successfully, then decides:

Arguably the most common reason why OKRs projects fail.

Teams get excited after publishing OKRs (like New year's resolutions) and then just go back to work. Near the middle or end of the OKR cycle, people are like "Oh, yeah we should look at our OKRs..."

Even teams that care about OKRs often lack a structured rhythm.

Check-ins are:

Inconsistent

Unstructured

Status-heavy

Or skipped entirely

Without a set cadence, your OKRs program is close to worthless.

Ambitious teams often believe more goals mean more drive.

In reality, more goals dilute execution.

Common pattern:

Too many objectives

Too many key results

Everything is a priority!

When everything matters, nothing moves. The highest-performing teams consistently do fewer things, but do them well.

For more, check us out at www.okrs.com

Thanks for listening!

Ben introduces the 9 roles you'll need to launch and sustain your OKRs program. OK, so you might not need an EXTERNAL OKRs COACH, but Ben is going to push for that and not just because that's his job! It's super-valuable to get an outside perspective from someone with deep experience both 1) launching OKRs, 2) improving OKRs, and even 3) training internal OKR coaches so you can sustain your OKRs program without external support. 

Here are the 9 roles along with when you'll need to identify a person to fill each: 

In addition to "external coach" as optional, some of the other roles may not be required.

For example, if you're launching top-level OKRs only, you don't need "TEAM LEAD"). If you don't have a performance management or review system in place yet, then you also don't need an "HR Lead")

For more on OKRs, check out our site: www.okrs.com

Best of luck filling those roles!

Thanks for listening!

Ben covers the 5 things you must keep in mind to succeed with OKRs. And he even gets into the 6th mantra which was added recently, after his OKRs book came out in 2022.

You'll learn how to leverage these 5 mantras to make your OKR program a success:

1.Less is more. Define a small set of OKRs.

2.Crawl-walk-run. Deploy OKRs piecemeal. Scale it then nail it. (2 cycles)

3.Outcomes, not output. Write key results that mostly reflect outcomes (results) rather than output (amount of work delivered).

4.OKRs are not everything. Write OKRs that reflect the most important areas to make measurable progress. Distinguish OKRs from tasks and health metrics.

5.The only way to learn OKRs is to do OKRs. Allocate most of an OKRs project to drafting, refining and reflecting on OKRs rather than discussing theory.

6.Embed Alignment. Listen in to learn more about Ben's latest mantra!

For more info check out www.okrs.com

Thanks for listening and see you next time!

At the end of your OKR cycle, it's time to "reflect and reset." Many skip this step. Others do a retrospective that just looks back. You'll want to document your learnings and use them to inform your OKRs for the upcoming next cycle. When you apply learnings to make your next set of OKRs better, you are building your GOAL SETTING MUSCLE. This is Ben's favorite part of the coaching program since this is where he holds your KR Champions accountable.

Here is the sample KR that Ben walks you through in this episode along with the 3 columns you'll need to include in your OKR Tracker (1-Final Score, 2-Learning, and 3-Keep/Modify/Remove):   

Here is a Sample Email you can use to announce Step 3 of the OKRs Cycle --- Reflect and Reset:

When to Send: Two to three weeks prior to the end of an OKRs cycle

Email Subject: Preparing for our upcoming OKRs reflect and reset sessions

From: OKRs Project Lead

To: In this case, it was sent to 12 team leads setting OKRs. However, an email like this may also be sent to an entire group of attendees from the initial OKRs workshop or the entire list of key result champions who will reflect and reset on their key result during the session.

[Email Body:]

All,

As you recall, our OKRs coach helped us get through Step 1: set and align OKRs and Step 2: check-in and monitor. As we prepare for the end of our first OKRs cycle, it is time to for Step 3: reflect and reset. In this last step of the cycle, we document learnings and draft OKRs for the upcoming quarter.

Timeline for creating OKRs as we enter our next cycle in Q4:

Instructions: At the end of each cycle, we take an hour to reflect on the prior period’s OKRs and apply what we learned. The outcome of a reflect and reset session is that each key result: (1) gets final scoring, (2) has a documented learning, and (3) is classified into one of three buckets:

All key result champions attend reflect and reset sessions. Other interested team members are encouraged to join as well.

Thanks,

[OKRS PROJECT LEAD NAME]

The 3 Tips for Success with Reflect & Reset are:

To request your free 1:1 OKRs Consult, contact [email protected]

Thanks for listening and best of luck closing out your OKR cycle! 

After you publish OKRs and complete step 1 of the OKR cycle, you're excited and ready to go! But then, reality hits and it's time for step 2 - check in and make progress on OKRs.

Here's where the rubber meets the road: The #1 reason OKR projects fail is called "set-it-and-forget-it" and it could happen to you. This episode is about EXECUTION and how you can avoid the set-it-and-forget-it pitfall so that you make progress on your most important goals at work.

Here's the 2x2 template we use at OKRs.com with our clients to standardize the check-in process:

Please post a comment about your OKR check-in process! Is it working well? If not, contact [email protected] for your free 1:1 OKR Consult...

Bonus: Video overview of OKRs Cycle Step 2 - Check In

Thanks for listening!