What does a typical OKR cycle look like?
The OKR cycle is where the real power of OKRs come to show. When done right, operating your business based on the OKR cycle offers a structured approach to daily execution that ensures you keep clear focus on your goals (Objectives) and are able to track progress (Key Results). You can use them in your weekly and monthly meetings that you already have, to make sure you always keep a clear focus.
Another big benefit is the clear split between all the things that keep you busy (tasks) and outcomes (key results). In daily operations teams are often very busy with a lot of tasks. When you want to focus it is always easy to come back tot the Key Results you are trying to achieve and prioritize tasks based on their expected impact.
A typical OKR Cycle looks like this:
The typical OKR cycle
The elements of a typical OKR cycle
Announce annual company OKRs: First, you start by announcing the overall company OKRs.
Announce quarterly team OKRs: Based on the annual OKRs, teams will set their quarterly OKRs and the Tasks they believe will drive progress on the Key Results.
Weekly & Monthly OKR meetings: During the quarter, you use the OKRs to bring focus into your weekly meeting and monthly townhalls. Curious how to do that?
Reflect & Score: At the end of each cycle, you analyze the final results mostly based on the metrics you have set in your Key Results.
How to implement the OKR cycle without additional meetings.
You might be worried you will have to have more meetings when implementing OKRs. Don't worry: the elements of the OKR cycle are not added to your existing meetings, they rather function as an upgrade by providing clear focus in existing meetings. Therefore, they will facilitate more efficient meetings and thus save you time when done right. The meetings that an OKR cycle has, you probably already have in some shape or form:
Weekly team meetings : these focus on execution and are often healt within a team (not between). Use them to go through your initiatives and solve any blockers.
Monthly progress meetings: in these meetings, you discuss progress on the Key Results. Discussions focus on weather the initiatives planned are enough to meet the targets and if any changes are needed. These meetings can be done with seperate teams or with the entire company, depending on your organisational structure.
Quarterly townhalls: we recommend to do these bringing everyone in the company together. This is a great moment to update everyone of the progress each team has made during the quarter. It is also the start of setting your next quarter OKRs.
