OKR stands for:

• Objective: A clear, inspirational, and time-bound goal.
• Key Results: A set of measurable outcomes that define success for the objective.

Each Objective answers:

• “What do we want to accomplish?”

Each Key Result answers:

• “How will we measure if we’re making progress?”

Unlike vague goals, OKRs demand clarity, alignment, and measurable results. They keep teams focused and accountable.

OKRs are used by high-performing organizations because they:

• Create transparency and accountability
• Align teams around clear priorities
• Encourage ambition without chaos
• Bridge the gap between strategy and execution
• Allow regular progress tracking and quick pivots

When chosen carefully, OKRs bring structure to ambition.

Before we dive into how to choose the right OKRs, it’s worth noting what to avoid:

• Setting too many OKRs: More than 3–5 per team dilutes focus.
• Confusing tasks with results: “Send 5 emails” isn’t a Key Result.
• Setting safe, low-effort goals: OKRs should stretch you.
• Failing to align with broader company goals or purpose: They become siloed efforts.
• Not tracking or revisiting regularly: OKRs are living documents—not “set and forget.”

Avoiding these pitfalls is the first step to setting impactful OKRs.

Let’s walk through how to identify the OKRs your business or team should be focusing on right now.

1. Start With Your Company’s Strategic Priorities

OKRs should always ladder up to your company’s strategic goals or purpose. Ask:

• What is our top priority this quarter or year?
• Where do we want to grow, improve, or innovate?
• What problem needs to be solved urgently?

For example:

• If you’re a SaaS startup struggling with churn, your focus might be customer retention.
• If you’re launching a new product, your OKRs may revolve around user adoption or feedback.

2. Define a Clear, Inspiring Objective

An Objective should be:

• Bold but realistic
• Time-bound (e.g., quarterly)
• Aligned with your company’s mission and values
• Memorable and motivating

Examples:

• Improve customer satisfaction across our core product line
• Become the leading choice in the local delivery market
• Launch and validate our new feature to 1,000 beta users
• Keep it outcome-focused—not task-oriented.

3. Choose 2–5 Measurable Key Results

Key Results should:

• Be specific and quantifiable
• Represent outcomes, not actions
• Be challenging but achievable
• They help you track progress, and they remove ambiguity about what “success” means.

Example OKR:

Objective: Increase customer retention across our platform

Key Results:

• Reduce churn rate from 10% to 6%
• Achieve a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 70+
• Increase the number of customers renewing annual subscriptions by 30%
• Resolve 90% of customer support tickets within 24 hours
• Each Key Result directly supports the Objective and is measurable.

4. Align OKRs Across Teams

OKRs should connect the company-level goals to team-level execution.

For example:

• Company Objective: Expand into the UK market
• Marketing OKR: Generate 10,000 qualified leads in the UK by Q3
• Sales OKR: Close 200 new UK accounts
• Product OKR: Localize the platform for UK customers
• This ensures that everyone contributes to the overarching vision—and avoids siloed work.

5. Make OKRs Transparent and Visible

To maximize accountability and alignment, OKRs should be:

• Shared across the organization
• Discussed in team meetings and 1:1s
• Tracked using OKR software or dashboards (e.g., Weekdone, Lattice, Ally.io)
• When everyone sees how their work fits into the big picture, performance and engagement improve.

6. OKRs by Department: Sample Ideas

To give you a clearer idea of what focused OKRs look like, here are examples by business function:

A. Marketing

Objective: Increase brand awareness in the U.S. market

Key Results:

• Grow organic traffic by 40%
• Get featured in 3 industry-leading publications
• Increase social engagement by 60%

B. Sales

Objective: Improve sales conversion rates

Key Results:

• Increase demo-to-close rate from 18% to 25%
• Shorten average sales cycle from 28 days to 21
• Implement a new CRM scoring model by Q2

C. Product

Objective: Improve mobile app usability

Key Results:

• Achieve a 4.5+ rating on iOS and Android stores
• Reduce app crash rate below 1%
• Complete 3 rounds of user testing with 30+ participants

D. Customer Support

Objective: Enhance customer experience

Key Results:

• Improve first-response time to under 1 hour
• Achieve a 95% CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)
• Launch a new help center with 100 articles
• These OKRs are specific, measurable, and tied to broader outcomes.

7. How Often Should You Review Your OKRs?

Most companies set OKRs on a quarterly basis. However, weekly check-ins or bi-weekly reviews help you:

• Stay on track
• Identify blockers early
• Adjust expectations if needed
• Celebrate progress and learn from challenges

The goal is not to hit 100% of your Key Results every time. OKRs should stretch your team. A success rate of around 70% is often ideal.

8. How to Answer “What OKR Are You Focusing On?”

This is a great reflection question for business leaders, managers, or teams. To answer it well, consider the following:

• What’s the most important challenge or opportunity we face right now?
• What result, if achieved, would move us significantly forward?
• Is our current OKR aligned with our purpose and strategy?
• Are the key results measurable and realistic?

Example Answer:

“This quarter, we’re focusing on improving customer onboarding. Our OKR is to reduce first-week drop-off by 40% and increase activation rate to 75%. It ties directly to our goal of improving lifetime value and user satisfaction.”

Clear, confident, and connected to strategy.

OKRs aren’t just a trendy management tool—they’re a powerful way to turn vision into action, and strategy into results. By focusing on the right OKRs at the right time, your business can stay aligned, agile, and outcome-oriented.

When you know what you’re focusing on—and more importantly, why—you empower your team to execute with clarity and purpose.

So ask yourself (and your team):

• What OKRs are you focusing on right now?
• And are they helping you become the company you’re striving to be?