This is Part 1 of a two-part series on OKRs inspired by John Doerr’s book Measuring What Matters. In Part 2, we’ll explore how to make OKRs work in practice.

Most organizations don’t fail because of a lack of effort. They fail because energy is scattered across too many priorities. Objectives and Key Results, or OKRs, provide a way to channel focus toward what truly matters.

An OKR has two parts:

  • Objective: a clear, inspiring goal.

  • Key Results: 3–5 measurable outcomes that indicate progress toward the objective.

This simple framework has powered the growth of companies from Intel to Google. John Doerr introduced OKRs at Google when the company had fewer than 50 employees. The practice stuck, and today, OKRs are one of the most widely adopted goal-setting systems in technology and beyond.

The Four Superpowers of OKRs

In Measuring What Matters, Doerr describes OKRs as more than a tracking tool. Done right, they create four superpowers:

  1. Focus and Commit to Priorities
    Instead of chasing ten things poorly, OKRs force teams to concentrate on a handful of high-impact goals. A clear OKR tells the team, “This is what matters most right now.”

  2. Align and Connect Teams
    OKRs cascade across levels, making sure teams are pulling in the same direction. As Google’s OKR story illustrates, alignment ensures efforts add up instead of canceling out.

  3. Track for Accountability
    Key results are measurable. You either achieved them or you didn’t. This creates transparency and accountability without requiring micromanagement.

  4. Stretch Beyond Comfort
    Ambitious OKRs encourage teams to aim higher than they otherwise might. By setting targets that are challenging but not impossible, teams unlock innovation.

What OKRs Are Not

It’s easy to misuse OKRs. They are not:

  • A to-do list. Tasks belong in project management tools. OKRs should describe outcomes, not activities.

  • A KPI system. Metrics are useful, but OKRs are about progress toward goals, not operational reporting.

  • A replacement for strategy. A strategy explains why you’re pursuing a goal. OKRs translate that strategy into what progress looks like this quarter or year.

Quick Example

Suppose your objective is: Delight customers with faster onboarding.
Key results might be:

  • Reduce onboarding time from 10 minutes to 3 minutes.

  • Achieve a 95% completion rate for setup.

  • Improve NPS for onboarding from +20 to +40.

Notice how each key result is measurable. The objective is aspirational; the key results tell you when you’ve arrived.

Takeaway for Product Managers

This week, write down one objective for your product. Then, add three measurable key results that define success. If you can’t measure progress, refine until you can.

OKRs are not about bureaucracy. They’re about clarity, alignment, and ambition. Done right, they help teams build products that matter.

This post is inspired by John Doerr’s Measuring What Matters, the definitive guide to the OKR framework and how it drives progress at scale.