5 ways to make OKRs fail.

Or even better - let us give you 5 ways to succeed, so you know how not to fail ;).

1. Know that it will take at least a year to get it right: Implementing OKRs is a transformational journey for your company and team that will take time to get right. Do not get discouraged if you do not get it right immediately: give the company at least a year to adjust, and you will see you get much better at setting OKRs when you have experienced a few cycles.

    

2. Adjust the process to your benefit: There are multiple ways to do OKRs "right". Find what works for your organisation and team. For example: a typical OKR cycle is 3 months. If your reporting is every 4 months, just adjust the OKR cycle to your existing processes.

    

3. Have open discussions, also about failure. When you aim high, you will inevitably fail sometimes. OKR discussions are supposed to be open discussions in which you can share why goals are not met such that you can find a solution as a team.

    

4. Use OKRs to bring focus into meetings. You have put effort into defining clear priorities. Use those same priorities as a tool to be efficient in meetings and focus discussions around what really matters. This also ensures that OKRs are always at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts when they are doing their day-to-day jobs.

    

5. Reduce preparation work. When done wrong, OKRs can feel like they cost a lot of additional time to prepare. When done right, easy templates can significantly save you time in preparation of presentations (bye bye long powerpoints).

Are you ready to get started with OKRs? Are you looking to see how we can support you with the implementation of OKRs? Have a look at our OKR training & coaching programs and feel free to get in touch!