Don’t turn your OKRs into a status report. Routine work that happens no matter what shouldn’t be in an objective. Use OKRs for goals that move the business forward—things that would go unnoticed if you didn’t call your shot.
If your KR can be answered with “yes” or “no,” it’s not doing much for you. Good KRs stretch your team and make your intent measurable. Tie them to observable results, not whether you finished the work.
5. Setting goals your team can’t realistically influence
Don’t create OKRs that rely on external factors. If your team doesn’t control the outcome, it’s not your goal. Instead, define how you’ll contribute to a broader target and set your OKRs around that.
6. Relying on long-term objectives without checkpoints
Year-long objectives often outlive their relevance. Teams drift, goals get stale. Stick to quarters. It’s enough time to make progress, but short enough to adapt. If something’s big, break it into steps.
Comments
Don’t turn your OKRs into a status report. Routine work that happens no matter what shouldn’t be in an objective. Use OKRs for goals that move the business forward—things that would go unnoticed if you didn’t call your shot.
An objective is a direction, not a finish line. When you embed a metric into it, you turn your KRs into to-do items instead of measurements.
Keep objectives aspirational and let the KRs define what success looks like.
Shipping a feature isn’t a goal—impact is. When your objective is “launch X,” your KRs turn into tasks.
Instead, start with why you’re shipping it. Your objective should reflect that purpose, and your KRs should measure outcomes.
If your KR can be answered with “yes” or “no,” it’s not doing much for you. Good KRs stretch your team and make your intent measurable. Tie them to observable results, not whether you finished the work.
Don’t create OKRs that rely on external factors. If your team doesn’t control the outcome, it’s not your goal. Instead, define how you’ll contribute to a broader target and set your OKRs around that.
Year-long objectives often outlive their relevance. Teams drift, goals get stale. Stick to quarters. It’s enough time to make progress, but short enough to adapt. If something’s big, break it into steps.