Let's look at it closely in order to understand what this concept is about, and what's new about it.
As the wiki (and the books :)) says we are dealing with 'a framework for defining and tracking objectives and their outcomes' that is made of the following components:
1 Objective – clearly defined goal
2 Key results – (one or more) specific measures used to track the achievement of that goal
3 Initiatives- the plans and activities that help to achieve the objective and move forward the key results
So, we are dealing with two-level hierarchy of items in which
Level 1: what we want to achieve
Level 2: what says us that we are where we want to be / initiatives that bring us here (read as checklist)
So, here's a n example of OKR
Objective:
Becoming fit by the end of 2021 for me
Key results
- 12% body-fat
- Specific physical performance related results (list any that could be measured and comes to your mind).
Initiatives
- Quitting on
- Exercising
- Twice a week gym session with progressing results;
On and on.
Yes, it's that simple…
There's no mystery behind the whole concept and we shall not be positive and diluted by praise from Google, Uber and companies alike, and here's why.
Google (that started using OKR from the very beginning of the company), though, being widely profitable company has killed dozens of the initiatives that it did not manage to scale or sustain.
In particular, 44 of somewhat known and somewhat successful products from Google could not outlive the competition and existing market alternatives .
Let's look on one more prominent advocate of OKR, Uber. The company has never been profitable in history and accounts for $14BN losses to date. You can learn from the company how to scale, how to deal with specific issues, but do you really want to 'learn' from this company on how to run business? Surely you do, if you are aiming for similar results.
How's it possible that such a proven and reliable technique for 'success management'? There's an answer, OKR does not help.
OKR, same as whatever buzzword that comes to the market lately, is NOTHING MORE than a thought organization mechanism that enables people to frame thinking around solving a specific problem.
It does not make you smarter, it does not help you becoming more successful in what you do.
It is also not something new, as alike thinking patterns have been around for the last 70 years of management practice and science. So, don't bee too much overwhelmed, you'll get by.