OCR target management – a implementation system

OKR – Ideas are simple. Implementation is difficult.

Good ideas combined with exceptional implementation create magic. To create magic, you have to put implementation into system. OCR is a implementation system!

OCR stands for Objective, Key ResultsSo let's say that this is the same thing as that. OKR is a simple control set linking the objectives of companies, teams and employees to translate strategy into measurable results. The OCR process is used to: set high targets, ensure continuous propulsion and keep focus on the main activities at any time.

The OCR helps to improve the internal communication of companies by making all objectives available to all others in the company. OKR does not replace good management and good corporate culture, but if you have the foundation in place, OKR will lift the company to the next level – every time.

User-based companies OCR:

In this article you will learn the following:

• What is OKR?
• Why use OKR?
• How did we introduce OKR into INEVO?
• How did we introduce OKR to school?
• So you get started with OKR
• How do you run an OKR workshop?
• What is a good objective(ambition)?
• Which companies/firms use OKR?
• What kind of OKR tool can I use?
• Where to learn more about OKR?
• OCR and portfolio management
• Podcasts about OKR
• Frequently asked questions about OKR?

What Is OKR?

OCR stands for Objective, Key ResultsSo let's say that this is the same thing as that. OKR is a simple control set linking the objectives of companies, teams and employees to translate strategy into measurable results.

You can simply say that OKR is about answering two basic questions at all stages of the organisation every quarter:

• ObjectiveWhat do you want to achieve?
• Key resultsHow are you going to get there?

Objective is direction. Key results are how to get there.

By answering these two questions every quarter, you force out clear priorities and the right focus in the company. When, in addition to all employees, the questions are answered and their objectives are visible to all others in the organisation, a social and transparent contract is formed between employees. A social contract that links personal objectives with the company's objectives.

Talent and engaged people want to work in organisations where their personal goals are well-matched with the company's values and goals. Talent people like to set high targets and be measured at the progress. Organisations that are won to set high goals and work hard to achieve the goals create success stories!

Below you can see what Carl Storrmer of Jazzcode and former market manager of the airline Norwegian says about OKR.

OKR explained from Jazzcode open VimeoSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.

Why use OKR?

OKR is an easy way to manage a company. OCR contributes to clarity, focus, increased involvement and higher implementation power!

There are essentially 4 advantages of using OKR:

1. The main objectives of the enterprise come to the surface
2. Everyone in the enterprise is told what is important (95% of employees are uncertain about the company's strategyHarvard Business Review
3. You're told how everyone's in relation to the targets.
4. Everyone in the company knows what's going on

How did we introduce OKR into INEVO?

In spring 2018, people in INEVO felt that we lacked structure and clear objectives both for the company and for employees. Since clear objectives and the right focus often form the basis for success, we decided to explore the theme further. After reading about OKR in a article about Zynga and set John Doerr's TED video, and read the books MEASURE What Matters and Radial focus, we decided to test out OKR in the summer of 2018.

Since we knew that most companies fail in the first round with OKR, we chose to start with OKR internally for personal and professional development. We also know that most people dislike change. So we first introduced OKR into small groups. We ran short discussion meetings with 1-3 people where we introduced the OCR system and encouraged key people to test it out on a small scale for 6 weeks. Several key people tested it out and we got positive feedback. We therefore decided to introduce OKR throughout the organisation 1. October 2018.

At our weekly Monday meeting (1. October 2018) we presented why we wanted to introduce OKR and we presented a simple step-by-step plan on how we had planned to do it. In addition, we presented the company's 3 main objectives (by building a professional environment, developing the OMA model and creating success stories.

Here are the steps we followed to introduce OKR into INEVO:

1. Tell me what you want to achieve in the next quarter of OKR format
2. Make sure your OKR is in line with the company
3. Discuss your OKR with a leader
4. The Executive Director approves all OKR
5. Everyone publishes their OKR in a place that is visible to everyone
6. We run weekly updates in Basecamp

Update June 2019: In Inevo we have ignored individual OKR. We focus on overall OKR, team OKR and using OKR in customer context.

Most employees thought OKR was exciting, while some became reluctant. Some chose ambitious objects, while others looked a little lower. Each person chose their own OKR and a manager had conversations with each individual employee to ensure good OKRer. When everyone had chosen OKR's, all of them published their OKR so that everyone could see each other's OKR. Since we already used Basecamp internally, we chose Rob Sobers recipe from the safety company Varonis. Every Friday we sent out a reminder to send in a short status of how to lay on. Eventually, it became a routine. After a quarter of OKR, we have decided to continue using the framework within our own organisation, as well as sharing experiences with both customers and partners.

Update October 2020: IN INEVO we have introduced OKR in all customer projects, i.e. that we define an objective and three key results in all projects. We report weekly in our own developed OCR system. Every week we see how we are in relation to the goals.

How we introduced OKR into school

After having put me thoroughly into OKR as well tested control set at own workplace I decided one week before the first lecture to test the OCR system in the classroom.

At the beginning of my first lecture, I shared a personal story from my career. Then the students were assigned to create a personal introduction video that they had to publish in the closed Facebook group of the class.

The purpose of the exercises; the personal history, and the video exercise was to force students out of the comfort zone (in safe surroundings) to increase the degree of psychological protection (Apart from an interesting theme that comes more about in another article) in the class.

Read the full article about OKR in the school here (or on Shift)

So you get started with OKR

To succeed in establishing OKR in an organisation, experienced experts recommend starting a small team, e.g. in a management group or in a team with someone who likes to test out new things and/or where there is a high degree of trust. Test out with this team in a quarter - see how it goes. Most leading experts warn against choosing a tool at first. We agree! Don't start with the tool! 

1. Send out some useful links to key people, e.g. Norwegian Article on OKR, John Doerr Ted video
2. Talk about OKR in groups of 2-3 people. Trigg curiosity and create internal engagement.
3. Intro to OKR. Book lectures hereSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.
4. Agreement a 2-hour workshop – See workshop recipe here (requires registration)
5. How to write down OKR
6. Agree how to report weekly.
7. Agreement a discussion meeting half a quarter
8. Present for each other at the end of the quarter

Share success and disseminate organic matter in the organisation – help several departments to get started. Get inspiration from Simon Sinek (see video below)

When you have tested OKR for at least two quarters in a small group, you are ready to roll out the control set to the whole company.

How does an OKR workshop run?

Click here to view detailed recipes on how to run an OKR workshop (require access via your Google account)

What is a good objective?

A good objective is a short inspiring sentence about what the team wants to achieve in the next period. Read more about what is good objectiveSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.

Which companies use OKR?

Many leading companies use OKR. Here's a list of companies using OKRSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.

What kind of OKR tool is there?

Senior experts believe you are making a big mistake if you start selecting an OKR tool. Most people who try to introduce OKR fail the first quarter. So start small with tools you already use. The main thing is to create a rhythm in the organization where you set transparent goals, follow up weekly and end a quarter by evaluating and setting new targets. Once you have run OKR for 2-3 quarters and adjusted the process to fit your organization, you are ready to consider different tools.

Here is a list of tools worth testing out:

• Betterworks.com
• Ally.io
• Koan
• Futureworks
• OKR Tools from Oslo Municipality
• Workboard
• Dobee

OKR Background

OKR is nothing new. And there's no word for trend. The roots go back all the way back to 1954 when Peter Drucker introduced the concept of ‘managing by objective’. Da Andy Grove Grundla Intel together with Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, developed the MBO for what is today known as OKR. John Doerr worked for a period in Intel and when he stopped he took the ideas on to the investment company Kleiner Perkins, who later was among the first investors in a number of very successful companies.

Andy Grove teaches OKR in the 70s

In 1999, Google had 30 skilled employees and promising search engine technology. They didn't make any money and the investor John Doerr, who had recently invested nearly $12 million in the company, came to visit with a gift that will later prove to be gold worth. The gift is OKR. Doerr presented OKR as a way of managing a company (the original OKR presentation). The Google grounds had no other way of controlling the company, so they fully adopted the OCR management kit. Every quarter since 1999, all Google employees have used OKR to set targets and follow up targets. Today, Google has over 80,000 employees and they still use OKR.

OCR and portfolio management

Many companies are using today portfolio management identify, prioritize and implement projects and follow up supplies. A portfolio is a collection of all projects to ensure that the enterprise achieves its strategic objectives.

Traditional project management is about defining the scope of the project, creating a plan and managing risk. This is okay, but it will reduce the amount of en route action that will be taken!

One of the key discoveries of Andy Grove, the man behind OKR, was the following:

The results are better when the team sets high goals that are almost unattainable – even if you fail half of the time!

This discovery makes OKR fit well with companies using portfolio management. Instead of starting with identifying, prioritising and implementing projects, starting with defining OKR. Then you use OKR in the further process of portfolio management.

Do you need help with introducing OKR into your team or business?

INEVO may assist you in the process. Read more here.

Where can you learn more about OKR?

• Fresh Ted video about OKR
• Google's OCR Guide
• MEASURE What matters (overall book on OKR)
• Startuklab video about OKR
• Radial focus (book with details on OKR)
• Recode/Decode Podcast (Interview with John Doerr)
• OKR in Linkedin
• OCR in Uber
• Companies using OKR
• Interview with John Doerr in Harvard Business Review from May 2018
• A guide to OKR from Betterworks
• 95% of employees are uncertain about the company's strategy (Harvard Business Review, 2005)
• Why Spotify went away from Individual OKR? (Spotify Blog)
• OCR and portfolio management (Hotpmo, 2019)
• Master investigation on OKR from NHH (Eriksen & Orban, 2020)
• Target management in the country

Podcasts on OCR

More Podcasts

OCR Podden - Norwegian podcast on the experience of Norwegian companies with OKR

There Be Giants – World’s First OKR Podcast

Workboard podcast – a podcast about OKR

Deloitte Podcast – interview with x-google shej Jan Grönbech about OKR

Frequently Asked Questions

What does OKR represent?

OKR is a abbreviation for Objective and Key Results.

What are recommended OKR books?

We recommend that you read the Measurement what mats of John Doerr and the Radical Focus of Christina Wodtke.

What is the difference between KPI and Key results?

Key results is a KPI with an ambition. The context can also be explained by comparing with a car ride. The strategy is where you want to travel. OKR is the navigation instrument and the vehicle speedometer is KPI. Read more about this hereSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.

Where can I learn more about OKR?

There are several articles on the INEVO blog that are about OKR. You can also find information about OKR at Google and by contacting Karl Philip Lund at the University College of Kristiania.

Who uses OKR?

OCR is used by both large and small enterprises, including Google, Schibsted, Netflix, Finn.no, Colonial.no"INEVO." The tool is suitable for all companies, regardless of size.

How many objects should you have?

Here the scholars are fighting. Christina Wodtke believes that companies should choose an OCR, while John Doerr and others believe that a maximum of 5 objects should be in a company. Read more about the discussion hereSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.