OKRs Are Hard
skamille.medium.com
OKRs Are Hard
1–10 of 19 posts
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#2"They’re hard, but sold as something that everyone should do, so everyone does them poorly, and most people don’t see any value as a result."
OKRs are inane management fad. OKRs are "hard" because Objectives are vague and Key Results are vague leading to vague definitions of success and arbitrary flag planting.
Any management concept that is simultaneously so hard that no one does it right, but yet everyone is doing it is proof in point how valueless it truly is. Of course, when compensation, bonuses, and kudos are tied to OKR, people will keep doing them, as hard or as vague as they might be.
"Good OKRs tell a story about what is important, they help you inspire people to think about why they are working on what they’re working on, and I think they carry a bit of energy that comes from seeing how it all fits together in a succinct form."
That sounds more like a mission statement to me.
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#3They're fine enough for aligning the work of few related teams, but OKRs suck when forced on individuals as the focus for regularly scheduled performance evaluations.
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#4Good thoughts, but would be nice if they spent time focusing on reviewing good examples instead of just mentioning what not to do.
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#5"They’re hard, but sold as something that everyone should do, so everyone does them poorly, and most people don’t see any value as a result." OKRs are inane management fad. OKRs are "hard" because Objectives are vague and Key Results are vague leading to vague definitions of success and arbitrary flag planting. Any management concept that is simultaneously so hard that no one does it right, but yet everyone is doing…
My experience was with them being imposed by mid level tech managers who went to a conference, read half a book or had a consultant whispered in their ear.
They didn't know what a good OKR looked like, but know the one your proposed isn't what they want. Keep iterating until everyone gets fatigued and you eventually settle on a set of OKRs everyone hates. Then priorities move enough that none of it matters by the time you planned to measure.
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#6They don't work.
Creative work is not an assembly line. You can't predict the effort, and you can't control the outcome.
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#7Good thoughts, but would be nice if they spent time focusing on reviewing good examples instead of just mentioning what not to do.
Yes, this is the problem with things like OKR and OGSM.
People write up incredibly vague examples to protect imagined IP, or a bunch of counterexamples.
Rarely do you see anyone public a set of "this is what good looks like".
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#8OKR's are great for one thing: They force writing, which in turn forces clarity of thought. It's the clarity and focus that's important.
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#9They're fine enough for aligning the work of few related teams, but OKRs suck when forced on individuals as the focus for regularly scheduled performance evaluations.
Does anyone have examples of "good" OKRs for a developer / individual contributor worth sharing? Typical guidance I've seen is either generic to the point of uselessness or else involves numbers that are just completely outside the control of anyone in my role. The alternatives amount to one for one copies of Jira epics, which are too susceptible to the whims of product management or else personal growth stuff which is the first thing dropped when crunch time comes knocking. The obligation to write individual OKRs feels like providing a list of reasons to deny promotions when plans inevitably change over the course of an evaluation period. It's as if it were all smoke and mirrors for management to justify whatever it is they already wanted to do with you.
Re: OKRs Are Hard
#10"They’re hard, but sold as something that everyone should do, so everyone does them poorly, and most people don’t see any value as a result." OKRs are inane management fad. OKRs are "hard" because Objectives are vague and Key Results are vague leading to vague definitions of success and arbitrary flag planting. Any management concept that is simultaneously so hard that no one does it right, but yet everyone is doing…
OKRs should be used to craft major projects and initiatives. They shouldn’t be used for direct performance evaluation.
They are helpful because they align effort and energy, top to bottom, in the direction most relevant for the business.
It goes without saying that if the organizational OKRs are messed up, then it’s messed up all the way to the bottom.