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Introduction
OKR is Aspiration, Inspiration and Achievement.
Established tech companies in Taiwan are often caught in a vicious cycle of product development, trying to keep up with changing trends and fast-moving, agile competition.
CEOs do their best to move the ship forward, but without a solid strategy and management culture, progress is often slow, painful, and incremental at best.
OKRs or Objectives and Key Results are about reaching for goals. But OKR goals are special – they challenge the boundaries of a company, inspiring teams and staff to aim high and achieve big things.
New to OKRs? See the video “What is OKR?”.
OKR and BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)
BHAG, otherwise known as “Big Hairy Audacious Goals”, was a term coined by Jim Collins in his bestselling book “Good to Great” – It describes how audacious, almost outrageous goals become the catalyst for teams and individuals.
Collins states,
“A BHAG serves as a unifying focal point of effort, galvanizing people and creating team spirit as people strive toward a finish line.”
OKRs embody this spirit of aiming high with audacious Objectives and aspiring Key Results.
Objectives are Aspirational and Inspirational
Writing a BHAG, aspirational Objective is the key to kicking off a successful OKR project. Consider the following Objectives that go from poor to good.
- Increase Sales
Poor – It’s not clear, and not inspiring
- Increase Sales in the APAC region.
Better – It’s more clear (APAC) but still not inspiring.
- Increase sales to become the undisputed Brand leader in the APAC market (by 2026)
Good – It’s clear (APAC), inspiring (Brand Leader) and challenging (by 2026)
The point is, a well-thought-out, audacious OKR can make the difference in galvanizing an entire organization towards achieving something amazing.
Key Results are Stretched for the “Challenge”
Key Results demonstrate how the Objective is reached or validated. They are identified by a trackable unit of measure. KRs don’t need to be inspirational, but should be aspirational – we call it “Stretched”. Stretched KRs encourages staff to go beyond their comfort zone, and do the “Amazing”.
For example:
Objective: Increase sales to become the undisputed Brand leader in the APAC market (by 2026)
As measured by:
KR-1: Increase sales in Japan 100%
KR-2: Increase sales in Indonesia 150%
KR-3: Increase sales in Australia 70%
Currently, the KRs above are what the company deems necessary to overtake the leading company in the APAC market. The sales leader in Japan believes the 100% KR increase is achievable but also believes an additional 50% stretch to be a good “challenge” for his team.
KR 1: Increase sales in Japan 150% (stretched by 50%)
In the end, the Sales leader achieves 130% (not 150%), and is recognized for its achievement, not failure. The point is that stretched Key Results can fail but still be considered acceptable, or even commendable.
See are post for writing great OKRs – “How to write OKRs”
Google, Aspirational OKRs and the 70% mark.
At Google, they found on average, 70% of aspirational OKRs are completed – Does that mean the remaining 30% are failures?
Yes, these goals may not always be fully met, but even partial achievement of a lofty goal can drive meaningful progress.
For OKRs to succeed, employees must feel safe to take on ambitious goals without fear of failure—this is where engagement becomes critical.”
Keeping staff engaged, enthusiastic and challenged is paramount.
Daunting goals can uplift employees—or discourage them. That is, staff who are disengaged from their work to begin with, often feel the burden of goals. Engaged staff will embrace goals as a good challenge.
That said, OKRs are particularly designed to nurture spirit and enthusiasm. OKRs boost staff engagement with these important features
- Inclusivity and Feedback – Bottom-up communications and feedback without judgement, shows respect for the individual.
- One-on-One meetings – Gives introverted staff a “voice”, develops Manager-staff relations, and demonstrates a people-oriented approach
- Transparency – Anyone can see everyone’s work and progress – it’s an equal opportunity platform.
- Recognition – Large and small wins are acknowledged, reminding individuals of their importance in the company.
John Doerr states in the book Measure what Matters:
“High recognition companies have 31% lower turnover …”
Staff engagement is one of the cornerstones to a successful OKR implementation as emphasized by the father of OKRs, Andy Grove.
See here “OKRs Boost Employee Engagement“
Conclusion – Building a Culture of Aspiration and Inspiration
OKRs are an inherently optimistic management framework. It pushes the boundaries of organizations, inspiring teams and staff to “stretch” for audacious goals, the important momentum to challenge the changing landscape and aggressive competition.
OKR strategies and disciplines are designed to empower, nurture and motivate teams to embrace the challenge, aim high, and be part of a winning organization.
Reaching for BHAG goals ensures that your company is always on an ambitious upward trajectory, no matter you reach a goal or not. John Doerr, in his book “Measure What Matters” says the OKR for writing the book would simply be:
Aspiration
Look who’s using OKRs.
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