This is not the first time I make the next comment: lately, I feel that OKRs – Objectives and Key Results – have become a kind of 'trend'. Companies claim to have the tool and to use it in their daily operations throughout their processes, but I internally wonder if they are doing so correctly.
Some of these companies, after a period of using the tool, end up taking a contrary approach: abandoning OKRs because 'they don't work'. Many people have already come to me and commented that it is not possible to talk about OKRs in a certain organization because consultant X implemented them and it went wrong, and the CEO, owner, or team are now averse to it.
Believe me, it wasn't few times that the situation I described above happened. Do they really not work, or is it you, along with the collaborators, who didn't know how to use them or brought someone to support you who had experience with slides? After all, let's be honest, with a poorly implemented approach, it's almost impossible to use OKRs and get the most out of them.
Recently, I saw managers claiming that the tool seems like a good solution and that after a period, it proves to be a trap, diverting focus and attention, making the team in general unproductive. It was analyzing these cases that I became concerned, thinking about how the OKRs were being applied, since one of their premises is to provide greater clarity for the needs, the direction to be followed, and the actions to be taken, which will enable better results.
The truth is that to use this methodology in your company, you need to keep in mind that OKRs are not a magic formula and will not transform the organization overnight. The tool requires a change in organizational culture for it to work, and management must be extremely aligned with the team, relying on everyone's help to set goals and build objectives.
In this sense, I decided to list the three ways of how not to do OKRs, to serve as a warning to those managers who are implementing the tool incorrectly and also to help those who want to start using it:
Third way:think it is simple and easy to implement, after reading a book like 'Measure What Matters'.
First way:assign responsibility to third parties, whether the consultant or the project leader, because otherwise, the change will not happen and the responsibility for such a project lies with the leadership.
Second way:doing everything in a rush. Believe me, this won't work, because cultural change doesn't happen overnight.
