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Summary
Summary
Your one-stop guide to implement Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) effectively
In business, OKRs--that's short for Objectives and Key Results--are the gold standard for communicating and delivering on what you want to accomplish and how you'll get there. OKRs For Dummies provides you with step-by-step guidance for following in the footsteps of some of the world's leading organizations. Drive focus on what matters most, align and engage teams, and generally maximize the benefits OKRs have to offer, thanks to this easy-to-use guide. You'll learn how to roll out an OKR system that closes the gap between strategy and execution, and helps people at every level organize their daily decisions around shared and important goals. It's time to get strategic with OKRs.
Understand the OKR methodology and determine the benefits for your organization Learn how to craft sound OKRs for every level and department of your business Discover best practices and common pitfalls to ensure success when applying OKRs Focus on the three aspects of the OKRs process: Adoption, Engagement, and AlignmentBusiness owners, team leaders, C-suite executives, and coaches will love this friendly how-to manual for joining the OKR movement.
Author Notes
Paul R. Niven is an author, management consultant, and noted speaker on the subjects of Strategy,; OKRs, and the Balanced Scorecard. Clients include: Anheuser-Busch, T. Rowe Price, Humana, Meta, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Dun & Bradstreet, County of San Diego, eBay, Hulu, United States Navy, and more.
Table of Contents
Introduction | 1 |
About This Book | 2 |
Foolish Assumptions | 3 |
Icons Used in This Book | 3 |
Beyond the Book | 4 |
Where to Go from Here | 4 |
Part 1 Introducing OKRs | 5 |
Chapter 1 Achieving Goals with OKRs | 7 |
OKRs Are a Goal-Setting System | 8 |
Seeing the Value in Goal Setting | 9 |
Examining the Components of OKRs | 11 |
Defining an "objective" | 12 |
Writing a basic objective | 12 |
Defining a key result | 13 |
Writing key results | 13 |
Comparing OKRs to Other Goal-Setting Systems | 15 |
OKRs versus Smart goals | 15 |
OKRs versus KPIs | 16 |
OKRs versus 4DX | 16 |
OKRs versus BSC | 17 |
Chapter 2 The Benefits of OKRs | 19 |
Overcoming Common Organizational Challenges with OKRs | 20 |
Acknowledging the difficulty of executing strategy | 20 |
Recognizing the challenge of sustaining growth | 23 |
Working with the threat of disruption | 25 |
Understanding How Your People Will Benefit from OKRs | 26 |
Focusing on what matters most | 26 |
Aligning from top to bottom and beyond | 27 |
Increasing engagement | 30 |
Driving accountability with strategic knowledge | 32 |
Rising to the next level through visionary thinking | 32 |
Working within a system that is easy to understand and use | 33 |
Part 2 Preparing to Create OKRs | 35 |
Chapter 3 First Things First: Identify Why You Are Creating OKRs | 37 |
Knowing How Not to Kick Off Your OKRs journey | 38 |
Avoid having your administrative assistant call consultants | 39 |
What to do instead | 40 |
Don't embark on a change effort lightly | 40 |
What to do instead | 41 |
Getting to Your "Why" for Creating OKRs | 41 |
Determining your unique reason for implementing OKRs | 42 |
Knowing your why is crucial | 43 |
Chapter 4 Filling Vital OKRs Roles within the Organization | 47 |
Securing an Executive Sponsor: A Critical Component | 48 |
Understanding Executive Sponsorship and Why It's Important | 49 |
Possessing knowledge of OKRs | 50 |
Defining success and why you believe in OKRs | 50 |
Championing the use of OKRs at the senior leadership level | 50 |
Approving funding for the initiative | 50 |
Determining your OKRs "playbook" with the champion and executive team | 51 |
Serving as a final point of escalation on OKRs issues | 51 |
Seeing sponsorship in action | 52 |
Gaining executive sponsorship | 53 |
Choosing Your OKRs Champion: A Vital Role for OKRs success | 55 |
Understanding the role of an OKRs champion | 56 |
Picking the perfect OKRs champion | 59 |
Grasping why the champion is critical to OKRs success | 60 |
Bringing OKRs Ambassadors On Board | 61 |
Understanding the Role of an OKRs Ambassador | 61 |
Serving as internal OKR expert and evangelist of the system | 62 |
Coaching teams on creating and reviewing OKRs | 63 |
Helping teams distinguish between business-as-usual work and OKRs | 63 |
Acting as a point of contact for all things OKR-related for their area | 63 |
Serving as liaison with other ambassadors and the champion | 64 |
Outlining the Profile of an OKRs Ambassador | 64 |
Maximizing OKRs Success with Ambassadors | 66 |
Chapter 5 Determining Where and When to Create OKRs | 67 |
Determining When to Use OKRs | 68 |
Creating OKRs at the Company Level Only | 68 |
Some benefits to starting at the top level | 69 |
More benefits of starting at the top | 69 |
Now for the disadvantages of top-level OKRs | 70 |
Prerequisites for company-level OKRs | 70 |
Creating OKRs at Both the Company-and Team Levels | 71 |
Deciding which teams and units to include | 71 |
Deciding between following the org chart or linking dependent teams | 72 |
Creating customer-based OKRs | 73 |
Creating Individual OKRs for the Entire Organization | 73 |
Yes, Google does it, but you may not want to | 73 |
More issues with individual OKRs | 74 |
Considering Other Options for Where to Create OKRs | 76 |
Piloting at a business unit or team | 76 |
Using OKRs for projects | 79 |
Using OKRs for support groups | 80 |
Setting the Right Cadence for OKRs | 82 |
Timing company-level OKRs (Hint: Annual works best) | 82 |
Determining whether quarters or trimesters are right for you | 85 |
Setting the OKRs timeline | 87 |
Chapter 6 The Raw Materials of OKRs: Mission, Vision, and Strategy | 89 |
Agreeing on the Definitions of "Mission," "Vision," and "Strategy" | 90 |
Mission: Stating Why Your Business Exists | 91 |
Yes, you need to take the time to create a mission statement | 91 |
Knowing what makes an effective mission statement | 93 |
If you already have a mission statement | 95 |
Vision: Creating Your Picture of the Ideal Future | 97 |
Understanding the ins and outs of vision statements | 98 |
Knowing what makes an effective vision statement | 98 |
Quantified and time bound | 99 |
Brainstorming your vision statement | 101 |
Strategy: Getting Your Priorities Straight | 102 |
Understanding why strategy is critical to OKRs | 103 |
Getting started with strategy | 104 |
Playing 21 Questions | 106 |
Part 3 Creating OKRs | 109 |
Chapter 7 Preparing to Create OKRs | 111 |
Training Your Organization for OKRs Success | 112 |
Grasping why training is critical | 112 |
Preparing for training | 116 |
Getting your training off to a good start | 118 |
Working with the Training Curriculum | 120 |
Starting with a story | 121 |
Giving your participants a history lesson | 122 |
Defining your terms | 122 |
Illustrating an effective OKR with an example | 123 |
Distinguishing between the types of key results | 123 |
Sharing the characteristics of OKRs | 124 |
Learning by doing | 124 |
Finishing strong | 128 |
Knowing whether virtual training is effective | 129 |
Being prepared | 130 |
Determining Your OKRs Philosophy | 132 |
Weighing whether to use business-as-usual activities for OKRs | 133 |
Creating a dashboard of "health of the business" metrics | 135 |
Chapter 8 Rolling Up Your Sleeves, Part 1: Creating Objectives | 137 |
Working with the Various Types of Objectives | 138 |
Looking ahead: Annual objectives | 138 |
Facing the here and now: quarterly or trimester OKRs | 141 |
Dealing with necessary on-the-fly objectives | 142 |
Walking through the Process for Creating Objectives | 143 |
Asking the fundamental objective setting question (based on the cadence) | 143 |
Making a list of possible objectives | 145 |
Sequencing your list | 146 |
Choosing the most important objectives | 148 |
Using your formula | 150 |
Exploring Other Ways to Help You Set Objectives | 151 |
Using rituals | 152 |
Drawing on the wisdom of crowds | 153 |
Considering what's holding you back | 154 |
Incorporating the Characteristics of Effective Objectives | 155 |
Making it qualitative | 156 |
Making it meaningful to you | 157 |
Ensuring that it's doable in the time period | 158 |
Aligning it vertically and horizontally | 158 |
Keeping it easy to read and understand | 159 |
Controlling the necessary resources | 160 |
Providing business value | 161 |
Chapter 9 Rolling Up Your Sleeves, Part 2; Creating Key Results | 163 |
Looking at the Types of Key Results | 164 |
Metric key results | 164 |
Milestone key results | 166 |
Walking through the Process of Creating Key Results | 168 |
Determining your business impact key result by asking the fundamental question | 169 |
Telling the story of success using leading key results | 171 |
Don't look for perfect key results | 173 |
Using the formulas | 175 |
Incorporating the Characteristics of an Effective Key Result | 177 |
Making it quantitative | 178 |
Shooting for stretch - but ensuring that it's attainable | 179 |
Limiting the number of key results | 181 |
Making it specific | 184 |
Ensuring that it's a key result, not a task | 186 |
Fighting the "You can't measure what we do" syndrome | 187 |
Chapter 10 Making Your OKRs Even Stronger | 189 |
Ensuring Alignment among OKRs | 190 |
Using vertical alignment to drive strategy execution | 190 |
Think connecting, not cascading | 192 |
Achieving horizontal alignment by managing dependencies | 194 |
Answering Some FAQs about OKRs that You're Sure to Get | 197 |
What if I can't measure business impact during the quarter? | 198 |
What is the difference between committed and aspirational OKRs? | 200 |
Is it okay to use meeting-based key results? | 201 |
Can OKRs change during the quarter? | 203 |
How do you position your teams for success in creating OKRs? | 205 |
Are there any shortcuts to creating OKRs? | 207 |
Part 4 Managing with OKRs | 211 |
Chapter 11 Holding OKRs Review Meetings | 213 |
Determining Your Meeting Cadence | 214 |
Holding weekly meetings | 215 |
Holding monthly meetings | 218 |
Conducting end-of-period retrospectives | 220 |
Getting the Most from Your OKRs Meetings | 223 |
Scheduling meetings in advance | 224 |
Asking simple questions | 226 |
Keep focusing on learning | 227 |
Managing your expectations | 229 |
Keeping the meeting moving | 230 |
Evaluating the meeting | 232 |
Chapter 12 Scoring and Analyzing OKRs Results | 235 |
Scoring OKRs | 236 |
Understanding What and How to Score | 237 |
Scoring example 1: Maximizing the impact of a national sales conference | 237 |
Interpreting the scores | 238 |
Scoring example 2: Maximizing a rental investment | 239 |
Interpreting the scores | 240 |
Scoring milestone key results | 241 |
Deciphering your OKRs scores | 241 |
Analyzing OKRs results | 243 |
Considering OKRs software versus "old school" methods | 244 |
Choosing the best option for you | 246 |
Knowing What to Look for in Selecting OKRs Software | 247 |
Corporate strategy and strategy execution tools | 247 |
Guidance for team OKRs | 248 |
Integration capabilities | 249 |
Planning and capabilities | 250 |
Reporting capabilities | 251 |
Administration capabilities | 251 |
Other important software capabilities | 252 |
Chapter 13 Making OKRs Stick | 253 |
Laying the Foundation for OKRs Success | 254 |
Viewing OKRs as a journey, not a project to complete | 255 |
Celebrating success | 256 |
Knowing how OKRs fit | 257 |
Providing an expert's credibility for the doubters | 260 |
Knowing how to fast-track your success | 260 |
Supplying ongoing guidance | 260 |
Knowing What to Look for in a Consultant | 261 |
Maximizing Your OKRs Success | 262 |
Providing ongoing training | 263 |
Supplying resources and support | 264 |
Continuously evaluating and refining | 266 |
Using the system | 268 |
Part 5 The Part of Tens | 271 |
Chapter 14 Ten Common Questions about OKRs | 273 |
Do OKRs Link to Performance Reviews? | 274 |
Should You Link OKRs to Incentive Compensation? | 274 |
.How Many OKRs Should You Have? | 276 |
How Do You Overcome Resistance to OKRs? | 277 |
What's in It For Me? Why Should I Care about OKRs? | 277 |
Where Can I Find a Library of Potential OKRs for My Business? | 278 |
What Do We Do When We Can't Control the Key Results? | 279 |
How Do You Balance Stretch OKRs with a High-Achievement Culture? | 280 |
How Do You Know Whether OKRs Are Right for Your Organization? | 281 |
Can Business-as-Usual (BAU) Activities Serve As OKRs? | 282 |
Chapter 15 Ten "Musts" to Ensure OKRs Success | 283 |
Know Why You're Implementing OKRs | 284 |
Have an Executive Sponsor, Champion, and Ambassadors in Place | 284 |
Provide Training (and Lots of it) to Those Who Will Be Creating OKRs | 285 |
Create an OKRs Playbook | 286 |
Don't Go Too Far Too Fast | 287 |
Ensure Consistency in How Your Teams Write OKRs | 288 |
Don't Set Them and Forget Them | 289 |
Go Beyond the Numbers to Learn from OKRs | 290 |
Learn and Evolve over Time | 291 |
Get Professional Help If You Need It | 291 |
Chapter 16 Ten Tips for Creating Effective OKRs | 293 |
Know the Organization's Strategy | 293 |
Learn How to Write a Technically Sound OKR | 294 |
Make Objectives a CRAFT Project | 295 |
Be Specific | 296 |
Always Tell the Story of Success with Key Results | 296 |
Don't Look for Perfect Key Results | 297 |
Balance the Equation | 298 |
Align Vertically and Horizontally | 299 |
Make It a Collaborative Effort | 300 |
Focus on What Really Matters | 301 |
Index | 303 |