OKRs for All

CHAPTER 3The History and Evolution of OKRs

OKRs are a 52‐year‐old methodology, with roots that are almost 70 years old. Yet, while researching this book, our 2021 State of Goal Management report found that only 29% of US employees even know what OKRs are.¹ This fits with my experience of serving thousands of customers with OKR software over the last few years.

The goal‐setting methodology was introduced by long‐time Intel CEO Andy Grove and later popularized by John Doerr in his strategic planning masterpiece Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs, which introduced OKRs to the world stage.²

During his time at Intel, future venture capitalist and author John Doerr was introduced to OKRs by Andy Grove himself. His experience with the framework encouraged him to share it with the founders of Google. According to Doerr’s book, the company would go on to 10x the business using OKRs in its planning process—and many other companies would soon follow suit.

OKRs: A Timeline

Modern goal management hit the stage in 1954 with the publication of Peter Drucker's book The Practice of Management, where he popularized his management theory known as management by objectives (MBO).

Management by objectives revolutionized performance management and gained popularity, inspiring business managers and leaders at companies such as HP and Xerox (leaders who later attributed their success to the adoption of Drucker's framework).

MBOs enabled organizations ...