OKRs can be powerful. They can sharpen focus, improve alignment, and accelerate execution. They can sometimes be very effective.
But I’ve also seen organizations rush into OKRs only to discover six months later that nothing meaningful has changed. The dashboards can look impressive, and they seem to say all the right words and hold the right meetings, and yet, strategy execution hasn’t improved. Why?
Because OKRs are not strategy. They are a simple goal-setting process. And like any other process, they are only effective when they’re anchored to a well-defined strategy framework.
If you want OKRs to drive real strategic results, not just activity, here are a few lessons for implementing them effectively within the context of a structured strategy.
1. Start With Strategic Choices, Not Aspirations
One of the most common mistakes I see occurs when a leader reads an OKR book and immediately starts their OKR rollout with lofty, inspirational statements, such as “Be the best in our industry,” “Delight our customers,” or “Transform the organization.” These are not Objectives. They’re aspirations. A real strategic objective reflects choice. It answers questions like:
- Where will we compete (if we are in the private sector)? How will we win?
- What should we do differently than we do today?
- What are the high-level priorities that require long-term improvement?
Before you write a single OKR, you should already have clarity on mission and vision, strategic themes/goals/priorities, and a coherent set of enterprise-level strategic objectives. If those don’t exist, or if they’re vague, you’re asking OKRs to do a job they were never designed to do. Strategy defines direction. OKRs help you make it happen.
2. Align OKRs to Enterprise Objectives
OKRs work best when they are aligned, not free-floating. That means:
- Enterprise OKRs reflect enterprise strategy
- Department OKRs directly support enterprise objectives
- Team OKRs reinforce, not reinterpret or compete with, the strategy
Some OKR rollouts look like a free-for-all. That might have worked for Google back in the day, but most of the clients I’ve worked with need a committed effort to manage alignment to avoid strategic fragmentation.
3. Limit the Number of OKRs Ruthlessly
OKRs were designed to force everyone to focus. Yet many organizations create:
- Too many objectives
- Too many key results
- Too many priorities competing for attention
If everything is important, nothing is. My observation is that the hard part is not in generating new OKRs. The discipline is in deciding what not to include.
4. Make Key Results About Outcomes, Not Tasks
This is one where I have learned not to be too dogmatic. Sometimes when you are implementing a new strategy the Key Results will focus on the initial activities. But you don’t ever want all your key results to track task lists or activities. Key Results should track measurable outcomes that indicate whether the objective is being achieved. In other words, don’t track “Launch new customer portal” as your key result. Instead track quantifiable results, such as:
- Increase customer self-service adoption from 35% to 55%
- Reduce average support resolution time by 20%
- Improve customer satisfaction score from 7.8 to 8.5
Projects enable results, but they are not the results themselves. When organizations confuse the two, OKRs turn into glorified task tracking.
5. Integrate OKRs With Existing Strategy and Performance Systems
OKRs should not live in isolation. They must connect to:
- Strategy maps or strategic objectives (or goals)
- KPIs and performance dashboards
- Initiative portfolios
- Budgeting and resource allocation
- Leadership review and governance processes
If OKRs exist only in disparate workshops or software tools, they will fade fast. The organizations that succeed with OKRs treat them as part of a broader strategy management system, not a replacement for one.
6. Use OKRs to Drive Learning, Not Punishment
One of the healthiest uses of OKRs is as a learning mechanism. Quarterly OKR reviews should focus on:
- What moved the needle? Or what didn’t work so we can move on to another idea?
- What assumptions were wrong?
- What obstacles slowed progress?
- What should we adjust next quarter?
If OKRs become a performance-rating weapon, people will sandbag their objectives, or worse, game the numbers. High-performing organizations use OKRs to encourage improvement, transparency, and course correction rather than fear.
7. Remember: OKRs Are a Tool for Leadership
No framework, OKRs included, can compensate for unclear strategy, weak alignment, poor communication, or inconsistent follow-through. OKRs don’t create discipline; leaders do. When leaders consistently reinforce strategic priorities, ask the right questions, review progress thoughtfully, and make evidence-based decisions, OKRs become a powerful accelerator. When they don’t, OKRs become just another abandoned management initiative.
Conclusion
As we like to say in our OKR Professional program, OKRs are not magic. And it is very normal for an organization to take some time to master these nuances. But when they are aligned to a clear strategy, limited in number, focused on outcomes, and reinforced by strong leadership, OKRs can help organizations translate their shared vision into action. The goal isn’t to “do OKRs.” The goal is to execute strategy better. OKRs, when used wisely, can help you do exactly that.
Are you ready to elevate your career and organizational impact? Explore OKR Professional certification through the Balanced Scorecard Institute and George Washington University’s Center for Excellence in Public Leadership and take your strategic leadership to the next level.
David Wilsey is the Chief Executive Officer with the Balanced Scorecard Institute and co-author of The Institute Way: Simplify Strategic Planning and Management with the Balanced Scorecard.