Ideas are Easy. Execution is Everything.

“Ideas are easy. Execution is everything.” – John Doerr

John Doerr is an investor and venture capitalist. As I am writing this he is worth over $7 billion. 

Doerr is also an evangelist for something called OKRs. OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. 

Doerr learned the OKR process from Andy Grove when Doerr worked with him at Intel. Doerr taught OKRs to Google when he was an early investor in the fledgling company. 

OKRs are now used by many leading companies. Google still bases its performance management system on OKRs. So do companies like Amazon, Salesforce, Anheuser-Busch, Samsung, Netflix, The Gates Foundation, and many more. 

What Are OKRs?

Simply stated, OKRs are Objectives and Key Results. Sounds pretty simple right? Then, why are some of the greatest companies in the world so committed to the OKR concept?

The key differences between OKRs, SMART Goals, KPIs, and all other management techniques are alignment and transparency. 

It’s not that you cannot create alignment and transparency using any of the other management techniques listed above. But the OKR framework has been designed, tweaked, and evaluated by some of the best minds in business to do those two things really well. The fact that so many great organizations are using OKRs right now allows you and me to learn from the best while we implement them. 

Alignment

OKRs promote alignment when they start with company objectives. These are three to five (or less) OKRs that are the sole priorities for the organization during this goal-setting period. OKR cycles can run quarterly or monthly. Many OKRs are longer-term in nature with sub-OKRs that are the steps to the greater OKR.

All of the division and individual OKRs must help achieve the OKRs of the greater organization. This way everyone in the organization can see how what they are working on promotes the greater goals of the organization. 

There is a great story told about a janitor working at NASA during the race to put a man on the moon. Someone walked by the janitor one night and asked him what he was doing. His simple reply was “putting a man on the moon.” Though many would see the janitor’s work as trivial, he knew the greater good that was supported by his work. I’m sure he took pride in what “he” was accomplishing with NASA. 

Transparency

Nothing helps build trust in an organization faster than transparency. Nothing increases the speed of execution in an organization faster than trust. 

OKRs are built to be displayed publicly. This allows teams to collaborate and support one another. The more teams and individuals know about how an organization plans to accomplish its lofty goals, the more engaged they will be in the process. 

Transparency also creates accountability. It is much more difficult to give up on a goal once it is stated publicly. Instead of giving up or trying to bury a goal, teams work together to pivot and overcome obstacles. 

I am currently listening to John Doerr’s book, “Measure What Matters” and learning a lot from the companion website for the book at www.whatmatters.com. I’m excited about implementing OKRs this year into my work processes and teams I work with.

Are you ready to invest in your business to create long-term, sustainable growth? Head over to our Resource Page to find great tools to get you started.