I've been working with OKR’s for about 2 years. I have seen some great results. I've also learned that implementing the OKR strategic goal setting framework does not guarantee a successful strategy.
There are lots of reasons for this and a quick Google search will surface many OKR practitioners listing lots of reasons why OKR implementations fail to deliver the right results.
These all make sense if you understand the basic principles of OKR’s and I’m not going regurgitate what has already been very well documented.
Instead, I’d like you to think about 2 words you will understand completely. Belief and commitment.
How deeply do you believe in your own business? In our experience, the greater the belief the higher the level of commitment. A committed team will do what’s necessary to turn your business objectives into a commercial reality.
This is a far stronger predictor of future success than your choice of how to manage your key business objectives. It is fundamental.
At Auxin, we look for that belief long before reaching for the OKR playbook. We then look to see how far that belief permeates throughout the organisation.
Staff who know why the business exists and believe in what it stands for will demonstrate high levels of commitment to helping the business achieve its goals. Those who don’t, won’t.
When belief and commitment are present within a business adopting the OKR framework is an excellent choice. Ambitious strategies can be executed with discipline and speed.
If people aren’t bought into the project they are unlikely to buy-in to the measurement system management decide to use to monitor progress.