OKR Planning
Framework
IRON LAW: Objectives Are Ambitious, Key Results Are Measurable
Objective: Qualitative, inspiring, directional. "Become the #1 choice
for SMB accounting in Taiwan."
Key Result: Quantitative, measurable, time-bound. "Increase NPS from
32 to 50 by Q4."
If you can't measure it, it's not a Key Result. If it's not ambitious,
it's not an Objective.
OKR vs KPI
| Aspect | OKR | KPI |
|---|
| Purpose | Drive change, set direction | Monitor ongoing performance |
| Ambition | Stretch goals (70% achievement = success) | Targets (100% achievement expected) |
| Cadence | Quarterly | Ongoing |
| Scope | Strategic priorities (3-5 per level) | Operational metrics (many) |
| Scoring | 0.0 - 1.0 scale | Threshold-based |
OKR Structure
Objective: {Inspiring, qualitative goal}
├── KR1: {Measurable result} — baseline: X → target: Y
├── KR2: {Measurable result} — baseline: X → target: Y
└── KR3: {Measurable result} — baseline: X → target: Y
Rules:
- 3-5 Objectives per level (company, team, individual)
- 2-5 Key Results per Objective
- At least one KR should be a leading indicator (not just lagging)
- 70% achievement on stretch goals is the "sweet spot"
Alignment (Cascading)
Company OKR: "Become the market leader in Taiwan SMB accounting"
↓
Product Team: "Make onboarding effortless"
KR: Reduce time-to-first-value from 7 days to 1 day
↓
Engineering: "Ship self-serve onboarding flow"
KR: Launch wizard by March 15, 80% completion rate
Each level's OKRs should CONTRIBUTE to the level above, but shouldn't be copy-paste. Teams translate company objectives into their domain.
OKR Cadence
| Activity | Frequency | Participants |
|---|
| Set OKRs | Start of quarter | Leadership + team leads |
| Weekly check-in | Weekly (15 min) | Team standup |
| Mid-quarter review | Mid-quarter | Team + manager |
| End-of-quarter scoring | End of quarter | Everyone |
| Retrospective | After scoring | Team |
Scoring Guide
| Score | Meaning |
|---|
| 0.0-0.3 | Failed to make meaningful progress |
| 0.4-0.6 | Made progress but fell short |
| 0.7-0.8 | Sweet spot — ambitious goal, strong execution |
| 0.9-1.0 | Either nailed it (great!) or goal wasn't ambitious enough |
Output Format
# OKR Plan: {Team/Company} — {Quarter}
## Company Objectives
### O1: {Objective}
- KR1: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}
- KR2: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}
- KR3: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}
## Team OKRs (aligned to company)
### {Team Name}
#### O1: {Team objective} (supports Company O{N})
- KR1: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}
- KR2: ...
## Check-in Template
| KR | Target | Current | Confidence | Blocker |
|-----|--------|---------|-----------|---------|
| KR1 | {target} | {current} | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {if any} |
Gotchas
- OKRs are not a to-do list: "Launch feature X by March" is a task, not a KR. Reframe as: "Increase user activation rate from 30% to 50%" — the KR measures the OUTCOME, not the output.
- 100% achievement means not ambitious enough: If every OKR scores 1.0, goals were too easy. Encourage stretch.
- Don't tie OKRs to compensation directly: This makes people set safe, achievable goals instead of ambitious ones. Use OKRs for alignment and learning, not bonuses.
- Start with company OKRs first: Team OKRs without company OKRs lead to misalignment. Top-down direction, bottom-up input on how to achieve it.
- 3-5 objectives MAX: More objectives = less focus. If everything is a priority, nothing is.
References
- For OKR scoring templates, see
references/okr-templates.md - For BSC comparison, see the biz-bsc skill
