Ben on OKRs

Why do OKRs fail?

Not because the framework is flawed, but because organizations repeat the same predictable implementation mistakes over and over.

If you are about to launch OKRs, this episode could save you months of frustration. You’ll learn the most common mistakes companies make when introducing OKRs, so you can avoid them from the start.

If you are already using OKRs, this episode helps you diagnose what may be limiting impact and suggests how to optimize your program for stronger focus, alignment, and execution.

Ben breaks down the first 20 of the 40 most common reasons OKRs fail, based on experience working with hundreds of organizations.

You’ll learn:

The early warning signs your OKRs are drifting off course

Why CEO modeling matters more than templates

How alignment breaks down across teams

The difference between activity tracking and measurable progress

Practical ways to strengthen your next OKR cycle

Whether you’re launching OKRs for the first time or refining an existing program, this episode will help you avoid common mistakes and build a stronger, more effective OKR system.

Learn more at www.OKRs.com

Note: This complete list of 40 is based on Ben's 15 years + experience and the team at OKRs.com. Shout out to Ana Venosa, Peter Kerr, Padmini Sathish, Nash Billimoria, Manos Koumantakis, Yuval Yeret, and Roger Longden for their input as well.

Many organizations already track KPIs and wonder whether OKRs replace them, duplicate them, or conflict with them. In this episode, Ben explains why this is a false choice. OKRs and KPIs work together. The key is understanding how they differ and how they connect.

KPIs do not have a universal definition. Some companies call every metric a KPI. Others use KPIs only for performance evaluation or compensation. Some track a few KPIs, others track thousands.

Key results, however, do have a clear definition.

How will we know we have made measurable progress on a specific objective by a certain date

OKRs focus attention. KPIs monitor performance.

A KPI becomes a key result when it is the focus for near term improvement.

Metric key results typically move a KPI from X to Y within a timeframe.

Example:

Objective: Achieve financial targets

Double revenue from 5M to 10M

Increase gross margin from 20 percent to 25 percent

Increase recurring revenue from 400K to 600K

Each key result moves a KPI.

Metric key results directly move a KPI.

Example:

Objective: Make growth more sustainable

Launch marketing automation system

Reduce marketing cost per lead from 100 to 95

The first is a milestone. The second is tied directly to a KPI.

Defined in context of an objective

Linked to compensation

Visibility

Maintenance versus improvement

Timeframe

Cross functional alignment

Controllability

Origin

OKRs and KPIs are complementary not competing

A KPI is a key result when it becomes the focus for near term improvement

A KPI is a health metric when it is monitored but not actively improved

Use clear training examples to help teams distinguish KPIs from key results

Contact Ben@OKRs for a free 1:1 OKR Consult!

One of the most sensitive and important decisions in any OKR implementation is how OKRs relate to performance reviews and compensation. Get this wrong and you risk undermining trust, discouraging stretch thinking, and weakening your entire OKR program.

Ben explains how OKRs and performance management should be distinct but related and why finding the right balance matters.

Wrong Answer 1: OKRs are the performance management system

Wrong Answer 2: OKRs have nothing to do with performance

Include OKRs in performance discussions through structured coaching questions

OKRs help individuals focus, learn, and improve. Many organizations incorporate OKRs into performance conversations using structured reflection questions such as:

Impact — Which key results did you most influence

Focus — How did OKRs help you prioritize your work

Communication — How did OKRs improve alignment and collaboration

Learning — What did you learn and how will you apply it

Some organizations hold separate OKR and performance conversations. This separation often strengthens clarity and increases meaningful manager employee dialogue throughout the year.

Do not use key result scores to calculate bonuses

Compensation should not be based on whether a key result is scored commit target or stretch. Linking scores to compensation encourages low targets and weakens stretch thinking.

However, the value of a metric may still influence compensation. For example:

Revenue growth may impact bonuses based on actual results not the score

Some key results may not connect to compensation at all but remain critical for learning and improvement

The distinction is subtle but essential. Scores guide learning and expectations not compensation.

Do

Engage HR leadership and executive sponsors early

Understand the current performance management system

Incorporate OKRs into performance conversations through structured questions

Do Not

Use key result scores to calculate bonuses

Launch OKRs and a new performance system at the same time

Begin with individual level OKRs which can blur the distinction between OKRs and evaluation

Done correctly, OKRs strengthen coaching, learning, and alignment without becoming a performance rating system. This balance enables teams to pursue ambitious goals while maintaining trust, clarity, and long term execution strength.

Request your free 1:1 Consult via [email protected]

If you want a practical simple and proven approach to drafting publishing and tracking OKRs this episode will help you build the foundation for a successful and scalable OKR program.

Many teams jump straight into OKR software expecting it to solve everything. Ben explains why the most effective OKR programs begin with a simple clear process before introducing tools and automation.

You will learn why many successful organizations draft OKRs in one environment such as Word or Google Docs refine them collaboratively and then publish final OKRs in a single shared location often a spreadsheet.

Ben explains how separating draft OKRs from published OKRs improves clarity alignment and accountability and why jumping into software too early can create confusion rather than progress.

You will also discover the importance of creating a single visible OKRs tracker that becomes the source of truth for your organization helping teams stay aligned focused and accountable throughout the cycle.

And here is the best part

So many OKR coaches will tell you that Milestones need to be avoided at all costs. KRs must have a number or they are terrible!

But hold on, what does Ben think?

Learn about the 3 types of Key Results and think through whether or not you should allow Milestones!

There are three types of key results: metric, baseline, and milestone. Metric key results are the most common. They look like “move metric A from X to Y.” Baseline key results are used when X is not being measured and your client seeks a metric to reflect progress on a given objective. Your client should only put in the effort to establish a baseline if they expect to use that baseline as the starting point for a metric key result in a future OKRs cycle.

Most leadership teams define a solid set of metric key results for top-level objectives. However, many teams struggle to define metric key results.

Dozens of teams send us their OKRs for feedback each year. Their key results often look more like a list of tasks that reflect work output rather than measurable outcomes. Unlike metric key results, milestone key results tend not to include numbers. Milestones are binary—they are either achieved or not. Given that milestones are notorious for reflecting work output rather than outcomes, should milestone key results even be allowed?

Some OKRs coaches advise avoiding milestone key results entirely. On page seven of his OKRs book, John Doerr credits Marissa Mayer with her observation, “it’s not a key result unless it has a number.” However, in this same book, Doerr provides examples of milestone key results such as “develop a demo.” (SEE NOTE AT END)

Marissa might not be happy with this key result! As an OKRs coach, you work with your client to transform draft key results that often look like a to-do list into refined key results that reflect measurable outcomes. Here is a hypothetical OKRs coaching conversation to make this concrete:

Client: My key result is to develop a demo.

Coach: What is the intended outcome of developing this demo? How will we know the demo is a success?

Client: Well, the demo is a success if we can get positive customer feedback, but all I can commit to is developing the demo this quarter. It will be quite a stretch to get feedback.

Coach: OK, what will be demo’d and how will we know it is developed?

Client: We’re developing a demo for product X and our sales team decides if it’s developed and ready to be used. Ultimately, it is our customers that will decide if it’s a valuable product.

Coach: Are you committing to presenting the demo to the sales team or to customers?

Client: I can’t commit to showing it to customers. That is the decision of the sales team. I can commit to presenting the demo to our sales team.

A bit more OKRs coaching might lead to the following refined key result that (1) focuses on outcome, (2) distinguishes between a commitment and a stretch outcome, and (3) specifies what is being “demo’d” and who decides it is “developed.”

type="example"

Key Result: 3 customers sign an agreement to purchase product X after viewing the new product X demo

Commit = present product X demo to our sales team for feedback in our test environment

Target = present product X demo to five prospects with feedback on likelihood to purchase

In this hypothetical coaching conversation, the draft key result, “develop a demo,” becomes the commit level of progress. However, the stretch key result now reflects customer interest in the product. It is the number of customers interested in the product that reflects the needle the client is ultimately trying to move. Marissa would likely approve now that the key result has a number.

As an OKRs coach, you help your client translate milestone key results like “produce a demo of product X” into aspirational outcomes like “three customers sign an agreement for product X” that move a metric rather than simply represent completion of a task. Therefore, we might conclude that all key results should be metrics. However, while we recommend defining mostly metric key results, our clients often choose to define milestone key results as well.

Rather than declaring all milestone key results are bad, we invite you to consider the possibility that milestone key results can be used to reflect outcomes not output. Consider the following two milestone key results one of our clients drafted: (1) Present requirements to obtain a permit to build houses in Portland to leadership team and (2) Obtain a permit to begin new construction in Portland. The first milestone is a task that reflects work output. One person should be able to research required documentation for a permit and schedule a meeting with leadership. However, the second milestone is not a task; it is a potential key result that reflects a binary outcome. Ask questions to guide your client to move from task-like milestones that reflect work output to key results that reflect outcomes.

Coaching Takeaways

Note:

In reviewing John Doerr’s book, Felipe Castro, an OKRs expert and good friend of mine, notes: “Out of the 60 Key Results listed, 32 (53%) lack numbers. They include things such as “Create a retirement plan for all legacy technology,” and “Focus on hiring player managers/leaders.” Even John Doerr’s own OKRs from his days at Intel lack numbers (e.g., “Develop a Demo”).

This is the first in a series of episodes featuring "Real OKR Implementation" stories.

Many organizations adopt OKRs because they want focus, alignment, and execution discipline.

But small and fast-growing companies face a unique challenge:

GoNoodle, a company focused on helping kids stay active and engaged, successfully launched OKRs in a growth-stage company in just 18 days!

After raising new capital, GoNoodle entered a period of aggressive growth. Leadership knew that without a clear system, the organization could quickly lose focus.

As their co-founder described:

“The growth plan was aggressive. We knew it would introduce a new level of complexity and potential chaos. How would we stay focused on the right things? How would we define and measure our most important work?”

They discovered OKRs and immediately saw the potential — but also understood the risk:

“Failure to launch OKRs well could jade the staff and undermine the whole effort. We had to get it right.”

So they moved quickly — but intentionally.

GoNoodle launched OKRs in just 18 days. But speed alone wasn’t the secret. Structure and cadence were. They began by defining company-level OKRs, then worked closely with each department to translate strategy into measurable team-level outcomes.

Along the way, they discovered: “Writing good key results is an art. In theory it’s simple, but it was much more difficult than expected.”

They also recognized the value of defining success upfront: “We set the scoring criteria for every key result at the time of creation. This was difficult — and extremely valuable.”

Within weeks, OKRs were visible across the company and supported by a regular execution rhythm.

The GoNoodle experience closely mirrors what we now formalize at OKRs.com as a two-cycle launch model, designed to build both clarity and capability.

At GoNoodle, this included defining company OKRs first and ensuring each team’s objectives directly supported the company’s direction. They reinforced this through leadership reviews and shared visibility. As their co-founder explained:

GoNoodle reinforced OKRs through:

“OKRs became part of our operating DNA.”

Following the OKRs.com structured approach, GoNoodle experienced:

If you are launching OKRs in a smaller or growth-stage company:

If you’d like to learn how to launch OKRs using our 3-Phase approach over 2 cycles, contact:

[email protected]

Thanks for listening!

Are you suffering from OKR planning fatigue? Are you feeling like you're always behind?

Before 2019, most teams set OKRs each quarter by default. That's just how it's done. But is that what's best for you?

One of the most practical decisions in any OKR implementation is determining the length of the OKR cycle.

Should it be quarterly, four months or longer?

Ben explains why cycle timing matters and how the right cadence can strengthen focus alignment and execution across your organization.

You learn why most organizations begin with a common cycle length typically quarterly and why very short cycles often fail to provide enough time for meaningful progress.

Ben also explores when a four month cycle can be more effective how cycle timing may vary across different levels of the organization and why strategic OKRs often remain stable throughout the year while operational OKRs evolve more frequently.

Drawing on real world examples including multi tier OKR structures used in large organizations this episode provides practical guidance for choosing a cycle length that balances learning execution and adaptability helping teams build a sustainable rhythm for long term OKR success

Request a free 1:1 OKR consult via [email protected]

Why do OKRs in the first place? You MUST be clear on the answer to this question BEFORE deploying OKRs.

Do you know YOUR answer? And it should not be just because "Google does it" or "My CEO read a book and she loved it so now we're all doing OKRs"

The Benefits include 5 General Ones:

1-Shorter Cadence

2-Focus

3-Transparency/Alignment

4-Engagement

5-Stretch Thinking

+ 2 More that Ben has identified:

6-Common Goal Language

7-Learning Culture

If you're using OKRs, please share why you chose to deploy OKRs in the comments. Was it one of the 7 benefits covered in this episode? If not, please share your "why" so we can all benefit:)

Progress Principle TedTalk demonstrating how okrs can drive engagement:

https://youtu.be/XD6N8bsjOEE?si=IWbrRMwZyeQDQxgY

As always, get your free 1:1 OKR consult with Ben via [email protected]

Thanks for listening

Are your KRs stretch? Are they commitments? Are you using Radical Focus? Measure What Matters? Ben's Stretch-Target-Commit model?

Are you not even sure what approach you are taking?

You need to know how key results are scored and how progress is tracked during the OKR cycle.

Without a STANDARD, clear approach, teams can misjudge success, create confusion, or miss early warning signs that execution is off track.

This episode explores how the way you define and measure the level of “stretch” and "commitment" in your key results can shape behavior, expectations, and ultimately outcomes.

You’ll learn why objectives should not be scored, and why the real focus belongs on key results. Ben walks through the three most common scoring systems used in practice: 1) Radical Focus, 2) Measure What Matters, and 3) Stretch-Target-Commit.

He explains how each approach influences how teams set goals, interpret progress, and learn from results.

He also shares why aligning on scoring criteria upfront can spark critical conversations that prevent misalignment and unrealistic expectations later in the cycle.

Beyond end-of-cycle scoring, this episode dives into how to track progress during execution. You’ll discover the difference between historical progress (“what has happened”) and predictive progress (“what is likely to happen”), and why predictive scoring can serve as an early warning system for leaders.

Ben also explores how numerical scores alone don’t tell the full story — and how adding a qualitative “health” signal can surface hidden risks, unintended behaviors, and opportunities for course correction.

This episode reframes scoring as a tool for communication, expectation management, and learning (not performance evaluation of individual staff) and will help you design a scoring and progress approach that drives clarity, better conversations, and stronger execution throughout the OKR cycle.

Request your free 1:1 OKR consult with Ben via [email protected]

How Many OKRs Should You Set? And Should You Include an Internal Objective?

One of the most practical questions in any OKR implementation is simple: How many OKRs should we set? Too many, and focus is lost. Too few, and important priorities may be missed.

In this episode, Ben Lamorte explains why the modern OKR approach favors fewer, more focused objectives. And he introduces the mantra “less is more” to drive better execution.

You’ll learn when teams should start with a single objective, why most teams benefit from limiting themselves to two or three objectives, and when it may actually make sense to capture most of your work inside OKRs.

Ben also explores the important distinction between external objectives (impacting customers and growth) and internal objectives (improving processes, teams, and capabilities), and how balancing the two can strengthen your OKR system.

Whether you're just starting with OKRs or refining your approach, this episode provides practical guidance to help you create sharper focus, clearer priorities, and more effective execution.

Post a comment and let's get a discussion going...

Ben introduces all 10 deployment parameters in THIS VIDEO TRAINING

Request a free 1:1 OKR consultation via [email protected]