As a business owner, growth is the important metric that you look at. Increasing growth is not an easy task, it needs to be evaluated and strategized before execution. Still, most often we do not reach even 20% of what we planned.
90% of start-ups fail in the first year. The reasons are mostly
- Wrong product-market fit
- Marketing issues
- Team issues
- Leadership issues
- Partnership issues
- Tech Problems
Undoubtedly challenge the ecosystem. Also, to tell the fact, a start-up using OKRs was able to envisage these issues. They would raise a Red Flag at the right time and alert the team of the downfall. The core value OKRs bring to the table.
What is OKR (Objectives and Key Results)?
OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a goal-setting framework that helps organizations, teams, and individuals to measure and track their performance. OKRs are a well-proven framework used successfully by companies like Google, Intel, Facebook, Uber, and a few others successful organizations. The framework was first conceived by Andy Grove and later introduced by John Doerr to Google.
Google adopted OKRs when the team size was 40 and from there was no going back. Google’s belief in Transparency and autonomy, made teams set audacious goals and stretched beyond to achieve that.
How OKRs help start-ups scale?
These are questions and apprehensions founders have.
- When will be the right time to implement OKRs?
- We are too small a team for OKRs
- We do not have time for OKRs now
- OKRs are too complex for us.
Well, these are myths, to answer the questions OKRs can be implemented when there is one on the founding team. Starting early help you to continuously check progress and understand the hits and misses. That also answers that OKRs can be used for teams of varied size
OKRs do not need specific time or resources to be implemented, they must be installed in the behavior to start progressing. The advantage of OKR while adopted in culture is that people start delivering the results and not measure the efforts.
OKRs are the simplest framework that is available, implementing this will not be a challenge.
OKRs give clear directions on what are we trying to achieve and how are we planning to achieve it.
Objectives are clearly defined goals that have a timeline and that define “what”
Key Results are the “How” that helps to achieve the Defined goal
Benefits of OKR Implementation
OKR provides value to a start-up when adopted and implemented rightly.
Dives Focus
As mentioned earlier OKRs are the simplest framework that is easily understood while implemented. OKRs drive focus because you are advised to keep not more than 5 Objectives with a maximum of 5 Key Results per Objective. This creates focus and priority. Keeping the focus on the priorities will help in delivering what matters to business
Provides Alignment
OKRs are known for their alignment top-down, bottom-up sometimes even cross-functionally. Alignment can also be not hierarchical when a team can directly contribute to one level up or sometimes directly to a company objective. The alignment gives clear visibility of which team is progressing and who need support to progress. This dives all the team