INSPIRED, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 30Product Objectives @ Scale

The OKR system is very scalable. I would argue some sort of tool for managing and aligning work is critical to scaling effectively, but it's also true that many companies do struggle with scaling their use of OKRs.

In this chapter, I shine a light on what needs to change as you use the OKR system at scale. Remember that I'm just talking about the product and technology organization here (product management, user experience design, and engineering), and while you can use the techniques I'm about to describe at any scale, I am focused here on growth stage or enterprise organizations.

1. With startups or small organizations, when everyone essentially knows what everyone else is doing and why, it's normal for each product team to propose their objectives and key results. There's some amount of give and take, and then people get to work. With larger organizations, product teams need more help.

   The first help they need is a very clear understanding of the organization‐level objectives. Let's say that the top two objectives for the company are to improve customer lifetime value and expand globally. Let's also say you have on the order of 25 product teams. All the product teams likely have thoughts on both of these organizational objectives, but, clearly, the company will need to be smart about which teams pursue each objective. Some teams might focus on only one, others might contribute to both, and yet other teams may be tackling critical work beyond ...