This short deck introduces the key concepts of Objective and Key Results (OKR). OKR is a goal driven management process that thousands of top companies use to engage staff and deliver exceptional performance

1. OKR
explained in
10 slides
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

2. OKR = Objectives and Key Results
It’s a way for an individual, a team or a
company to stay focused and work towards
important objectives
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

3. Objective
An inspirational statement describing the state of affairs at some point in the future
Key Result
A measure that defines whether progress has been made towards the Objective.
An OKR
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

4. Purpose and Vision
Purpose
A statement explaining what the company, team or
entity is for and why it exists
Vision
An holistic description of how the company, team or entity
will look at some point far in the future
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

5. Alignment
Purpose
Vision
OKR 1 OKR 2 OKR 3
OKR1a OKR1b OKR1c OKR2a OKR2b OKR3a OKR3b
Company
Team
OKR OKR OKR OKR OKROKROKR OKR OKR OKR OKROKR
Individual
OKRs align to the entity
Purpose and Vision
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

6. Vision - 2018
Timing
Purpose
2018
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
OKR1
OKR2
OKR3 OKR4
OKR1a
OKR1b
OKR1c
.
.
.
Company
Teams
OKR2a OKR2b
.
.
.
Engage the teams to
prioritise and schedule
the OKRs to move
closer to the Vision
You can’t do everything
at the same time
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

7. Defining your OKR
Objective - describe what you want to achieve and by when
Key Result – describe how you’ll measure your achievement
Objective abandoned
Describe a poor outcome in terms of the KR
Describe outcome with some progress in terms of the KR
Describe the expected outcome of the KR
Describe a good outcome of the KR
Describe a great outcome of the KR
0
1
2
3
4
5
Key Result Outcomes KR Score
OKR Description
Describe the
OKR carefully
Decide how you
will score the
Key Result
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

8. Example OKR
Launch our business into the USA Market by end of Q1-2018
Delivery of a US legal entity, with staff, initial proof of concept sales, and clear
path to profitability measured in terms of sales pipeline
Plan was abandoned
US legal entity + run from UK + no local staff or sales completed
US subsidiary formed + run from UK + local manager hired + £0 sales completed + sales
pipeline >£50k in place
US subsidiary formed + local manager in place + sales >£10k completed + sales pipeline
>£50k in place
US subsidiary formed + local team hired, sales >£30k completed + pipeline >£100k exists
US subsidiary formed + local team hired + sales >£50k completed + pipeline >£100k exists
0
1
2
3
4
5
Good Key
Result Scores
help define
lower level
OKRs
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work
Key Result Outcomes KR Score
OKR Description

9. Check In
Q1
Achievements since last check in (optional)
Next steps (optional)
Progress blockers (optional)
Estimated OKR Score at end of period, 0-5 (mandatory)
Reasons for change in estimated OKR score (mandatory)
Timing
Structure
Improvement opportunities (optional, private)
Drives focus,
helps senior
management
remove blocks,
great for 1-1
coaching
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work
Check In

10. Reporting
Reveals areas needing more
resource or attention, reduces
risk of surprises, highlights
opportunities for commendation
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

11. Best practise
OKRs are public
Everyone should be able to see everyone else’s
OKRs. This promotes teamwork, communication
and cross functional understanding.
Don’t have too many at the same time
Having too many OKRs at once reduces focus.
If you need to include more OKRs, push them
forward to start in the next period.
Make Check Ins a non-negotiable habit
Check Ins drive continued focus, and let the
organisation know where extra resources might be
needed. Also superb for coaching and development.
OKRs must be measurable
Pick a Key Result for each Objective. If there is
more than one Key Result required to assess
success, break the Objective down to two
contributing Objectives, each with one Key Result.
OKRs should be stretching
Once the process is bedded in, work on having more
stretching OKRs. Research shows that staff are more
energised by challenging targets.
OKRs scores should not impact remuneration
Making OKR Scores a component of
remuneration reduces incentive to set stretching
goals, which is one of the key benefits of the
OKR program.
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work

12. Align.Work assists companies with OKR implementation. See www.align.work for more information
Make an impact : Take responsibility : Have high standards : Continually learn and improve
A correctly managed OKR program will
engage and motivate staff to be happier,
work smarter and deliver more value to
your business.
By Marshall King @marshallgking www.align.work