Introduction to OKRs

Chapter 3. How to Hold a Meeting to Set OKRs for the Quarter

Setting OKRs is hard. It involves taking a close look at your company, and it involves having difficult conversations about the choices that shape the direction the company should go. Be sure to structure the meeting thoughtfully to get the best results. You will be living these OKRs for the next quarter.

Keep the meeting small—10 or fewer people if possible. It should be run by the CEO, and must include the senior executive team. Take away phones and computers. It will encourage people to move quickly and pay attention.

A few days before the meeting, solicit all of the employees to submit the Objective they think the company should focus on. Be sure to give them a very small window to do it in; 24 hours is plenty. You don’t want to slow down your process and, in a busy company, later means never.

Have someone (a consultant, the department heads) collect and bring forward the best and most popular Objectives.

Set aside four and a half hours to meet: two 2-hour sessions, with a 30-minute break between.

Your goal: cancel the second session. Be focused.

Each executive head should have an Objective or two in mind to bring to the meeting. Have the best employee-generated Objectives written out on Post-it notes, and have your executives add theirs. I recommend having a variety of sizes available, and use the large ones for the Objectives. Cramped writing is difficult to read.

Now, have the team place the Post-its up on the ...