Most companies are hallucinating. They have a “Vision Statement” on the wall and a “To-Do List” on the desk. There is no bridge between them.
The Vision says: “Dominate the market.” The To-Do List says: “Reply to emails.”
This gap is where companies die.
Intel and Google solved this decades ago with a protocol called OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). But most people use them as a “performance review” tool. That is wrong. OKRs are not for evaluating people. They are for aligning Vectors.
The Framework
1. The Objective (The “What”) This is the qualitative goal. It must be uncomfortable. It must feel slightly impossible.
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Bad: “Increase sales.”
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Good: “Conquer the South-East Asian market.”
2. The Key Results (The “How”) These are the numeric coordinates. If you hit these, the Objective is achieved by default.
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Bad: “Launch the new website.”
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Good: “Acquire 5,000 active users with <$10 CAC.”
The Golden Rule: The 70% Protocol If you hit 100% of your OKRs, you failed. You aimed too low. You were sandbagging. The target zone is 70%. This is the “sweet spot” of maximum effort.
The Ritual: The Monday/Friday Pulse An OKR on a spreadsheet is a corpse. To make it alive, you need a pulse.
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Mondays: “What 3 things am I doing this week to move the needle on the KR?”
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Fridays: “Did I do them? If not, why?”
#DhandheKaFunda: Activity is not achievement. Unless your daily to-do list is fighting for your quarterly goal, you are just busy. Be effective.