Enaa Mari
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a simple but powerful management tool that entrepreneurs can use to help them keep track of their business goals. These goals are aimed at both the business as a whole and each individual within that enterprise.
They are also among the most successful examples of goal setting in recent years and used by companies like Google, LinkedIn, Intel, General Electric, and more. Setting OKRs lets individuals or organizations measure their progress and track how close they reach their goals.
This article will look at four of the most successful OKR examples that you can use for your own entrepreneurial business.
- Bottom-up OKRs
It starts with the individual and works its way up to the business as a whole. It can be a good approach for small businesses or startups that are still in their early stages of development.
One way to set bottom-up OKRs is by using SMART goals. These are:
- Specific – Clearly defined and limited in their scope; not vague or ambiguous
- Measurable – Quantifiable so that you know when to achieve the goal.
- Achievable – The goals should push the limits but still be realistic
- Relevant – Connected to other business objectives, helping to create synergies across different parts of the company
- Time-bound – Set a deadline for each goal
It also gives employees something specific to work towards, which is a great way to motivate them and encourage their creativity.
Bottom-up OKRs can also be applied to the role level. For example, an office assistant might set a goal of making 50 sales calls in one day and 30 follow-ups. It is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound for their job function.
It can even work at individual tasks or projects where employees are given ownership of their work. It starts with the individual and works its way up to the business as a whole. It can be a good approach for small businesses that are still in their early stages of development.
- Top-down OKRs
It involves setting goals for the business as a whole and then cascading these down to individuals or teams. It can be a good approach for businesses that are already well-established and have more defined structures in place.
It also can be more efficient as it eliminates any ambiguity or overlap in goals set by different people or teams. It can be as simple as setting one objective for the business and one key result for each individual. For example:
The approach is straightforward but has some limitations. It can be hard to keep track of all the individual key results and gauge how close you are to achieving your overall objective, especially if there are many people involved in different areas of the business.
- Personal OKRs
It can be a good approach if you want to set goals for yourself that are separate from your work. It gives you something specific and tangible to aim towards, which is also great motivation to have an entrepreneurial business.
You should then assign each goal with some metrics so that it’s easier to track how close you are to achieving your aims. Personal OKRs should be aligned with your values so that you’re more likely to stick to them.
It can be helpful to have someone else there to help you track and review your progress periodically. This could be a friend, family member, coach, or mentor.
- Departmental OKRs
These goals help create synergies across different parts of your company. For example, you can set departmental business objectives for IT and finance to work towards the same goal but don’t interfere with each other’s progress along the way.
It is a good approach if you want every team within your business to be working towards the same goal. The approach also makes it easier to track the progress of each team and see where you can make improvements.
Conclusion
OKRs are a simple but powerful management tool that entrepreneurs can use to help them keep track of their business goals. These goals aim at both the business as a whole and each individual within that enterprise.
They are also one of the successful goal-setting examples in recent years, and many companies have used them. Setting OKRs lets individuals or organizations measure their progress and track how close they reach their goals.
