Easy and Effective Goal-setting for Business Success

Looking for a better goal-setting strategy and follow–through discipline so you can grow your business and succeed? Objective and Key Results (OKR) are designed to help you.  

At Verity, we align commercial real estate with the strategy and goals of our client’s business. However, sometimes, our clients haven’t defined their business goals and strategies in a measurable way. Since entrepreneurs already have so many things on their plates, it can be hard to find the time to do this—but it is crucial to a business’ success. The Objective and Key Result (OKR) process is an easy and effective method to help you identify the most important goals and how to achieve them.  

Read on to learn more about OKRs, the benefits of using them, and common mistakes.  

What are OKRs 

OKR is a process for setting and managing objectives and results to be sure all employees are working together to further a company’s goals. It’s a fairly low-maintenance management system that adapts well for small to mid-size businesses. OKRs were started at Intel in the 1970s and are now used at many tech and non-tech companies, including Google, Twitter, Walmart, and Target.  

There are only two components to OKRs – objectives and key results. OKRs start with 3-5 high-level objectives and each objective has 3-5 measurable results associated with it. Objectives should be a short description of the goal that is memorable and inspires your team. Score key results between 0-100% or 0 to 1.0 to make them measurable.  

Here’s an example of an OKR:  

Objective:  

• Create Happy Employees  

Results:  

• Increase overall retention rate from X to Y  
• Reduce voluntary turnover from X% to Y% 
• Reduce turnover costs from X% to Y% 

It’s important to remember key results are metrics which measure your progress, which is accomplished via tasks. For example, a task to achieve the objective “Create Happy Employees” might involve allowing employees an option to work a 4/10 schedule so they have more work-life balance. You’d then measure your results to see if your tasks were accomplishing your objective. If not, you’ll want to adjust your course. 

The goal is to make sure everyone in the company is progressing toward goals that fit the company’s overall business. It also ensures unified and measurable actions are taking place.  

Benefits of using OKRs 

So, what are the benefits of using OKRs? Here are some to consider.  

• Fast – Makes goal setting and managing easy with a simplified process.  

• Simple – Shorter, memorable goal descriptions make it easier to remember, while improving collaboration among team members.  

• Transparent – Shared OKRs improves transparency and teamwork among different teams and unifies initiatives. 

• Accountable – Holds the entire organization responsible for meeting objectives with clear direction known to the whole business. 

• Clear – Enables coherent communication among team members by helping everyone to understand the business’ priorities. 

• Focus – Defining goals and communicating them to your organization increases productivity and focus.  

Common mistakes using OKRs  

OKR implementation isn’t always straightforward, especially if you’re introducing the process to your organization for the first time. Here are some of the most common mistakes during implementation to avoid.  

• Not sharing – Collaboration among team members is critical to achieving successful alignment of goals and objectives.

• Unfocused – OKRs are your top priorities, not a long grocery list.  

• Unmeasurable – EVERY Key Result has to be calculable. 

• Confusing tasks and results – Key results are proof that tasks are moving business in a positive direction. They are not something you did to achieve the outcome. 

• Not tracking – OKR should be tracked on a regular basis. Most OKRs are part of your recurring quarterly progress reporting. However, some OKRs are tracked monthly or annually.  

Remember, there is more than one way to implement OKRs. Different teams within the same organization may use OKRs differently. However, understanding overall OKR principles will help with your organization’s implementation and adaptation process. 

For more resources on OKRs, check out these sites:  

• Weekdone: OKR: Objectives and Key Results
• Felipe Castro: The Beginner’s Guide to OKR
• Trello: All About OKRs: How To Set Them, Achieve Them, And Track Them In Trello

Another option is contacting Verity Commercial to help define goals and objectives that align with your commercial real estate.