Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) rely on the teams within an organization taking high-level management by objectives (MBO) and refine them for each specific area. And if a team has to work with another partner in the organization to reach high-level objectives, the two teams might collaborate and write OKRs together to ensure proper alignment. It’s a shift in mindset where the question changes from “are we busy?” to “are we moving the organization in the right direction?”

It’s more useful to think about the “OKR process” than it is to just consider your “objectives” and the “key results”. Static goals that aren’t regularly reviewed and revised as the operating environment changes quickly become stale and meaningless. Combining clear objectives with a small set of specific, measurable results and a regular process of reviewing progress toward those measures is what makes OKRs truly useful.