Hey, happy Monday,
If you have received or read my other notes on the site you will have noticed that OKRs are often mentioned here as a management tool.
If OKRs are still an unknown topic for you, I recommend these two videos (1) (2) and these two books (1) (2) which are a very good general smattering on the subject and, if I am honest, are more than enough to understand how they work and start using them.
OKRs are incredibly simple to understand and unexpectedly complicated to adopt. The best way to learn how to use them effectively is simply to … get started.
Really, the important thing is don’t hide behind the usual excuses: I don’t have time for these things, they didn’t authorize me, “we’re capped,” my boss doesn’t believe it, my colleagues are afraid of being audited … blah … blah … blah …
You don’t have to change the whole organization to feel entitled to use OKRs.
You can in fact increase your impact on results as early as a few hours.
The very moment you start using the Micro OKRs.
And you can do that as soon as you finish reading this note.
Micro OKRs are the purest concentrate of methodology without the boredom of ceremony and bureaucracy.
This amazing feature is already available, for free, in the software you use to write your and your team’s tasks, or in your notebook.
But before I go into detail let me point out one thing:
the way you write your tasks is not wrong, it is ineffective.
Let me give you some examples.
I fish out some recurring tasks among my boards and those of my students….
There is probably something like that on your plate right now as well.
- New layout XYZ
- Improve the copy
- Review the landing page
- Schedule post
- Call XYZ
The first thing you need to note is that this, wrong way of writing tasks makes sense only to you who write them but not to your colleagues or collaborators.
Not only are they undeniable, and that is why they will always remain attached to you, but they will fade with time. In a few days you will look at them again and you will not know what you have to do and especially how you have to do it….
Imagine working in a team that writes all the tasks, impractical words one below the other in the list. Can you imagine the quality of execution?
Now let’s try to turn these tasks into Mini OKRs.
What if we wrote.
- 3 different layout proposals of pages A, B, C ready for Monday’s meeting with XYZ
- New copy for XYZ v.3 landing, selected from 3 proposals describing the 5 benefits of the product, approved for Wednesday
- A/B test on landing page with layout A vs. B live from Tuesday 00:01
- Week 14 posts approved and scheduled for Thursday
- Roadmap approved in Call XYZ
Wouldn’t you and your team work 10× better?
What are the characteristics a task written as a Micro OKRs?
➀ It is extremely specific and self-explanatory.
Let us consider the first task.
- New layout XYZ
Let’s compare it with the first Mini OKR
- 3 different layout proposals of pages A, B, C ready for Monday’s meeting with XYZ
I understand that I have to draw 9 pages i.e. exactly 3×A, 3×B and 3×C making sure that they are ready to be discussed in Monday’s meeting.
As I read I can clearly visualize which project, which folder, which page of Figma I need to work in.
➁ Contains a Mini KR
Let us consider the second task this time.
- Improve the copy
Let’s compare it with the second Mini OKR
- New copy for XYZ v.3 landing, selected from 3 proposals describing the 5 benefits of the product, approved for Wednesday
It is extremely specific because I immediately understand which landing and which version will receive copy also it is very clear that I have to prepare 3 proposals.
As with the previous Mini OKR, I have no doubt about the amount of work that will be required to complete the task, and this will allow me to tackle it in good time.
In addition, the number of proposals that I gradually develop is a real key result Because that is the number that measures my progress in the direction of success. If I have only one proposal by Wednesday I might still finish the task but not successfully because it means I haven’t done it with the quality that the team aspires to.
➂ Contains the Definition of Successfully Concluded.
Let’s read tasks 3, 4 and 5
- Review the landing page
- Schedule post
- Call XYZ
And let’s compare them with the same Micro OKRs.
- A/B test on landing page with layout A vs. B live from Tuesday 00:01
- Week 14 posts approved and scheduled for Thursday
- Roadmap approved in Call XYZ
As you can see that these three tasks the conclusion of the activity is not an opinion, it is a fact.
For example, the landing page task, in addition to being more specific-in fact, the word “review” does not hint at what really needs to be done-can instead be considered successfully completed if tests can be launched at midnight on Tuesday.
Let’s look at the fifth task, the Call with XYZ. What do I need to do besides being physically present? In the Mini OKR it is clear that the call can be objectively considered Successfully Completed if the Roadmap is approved. I am sure you will have every interest in starting this call on time and getting straight to the point!
Do you understand now how powerful Mini OKRs are?
You are not simply writing a task. You are basically defining the quality of your work and the impact you aspire to.
Simply by changing the words with which you write your taks you will begin to train yourself and your colleagues in important mental gymnastics that will enable you to trigger the most important change needed to become a black belt of OKRs: from delegating responsibility to defining an outcome.
I am sure your colleagues will also benefit immediately and start adopting it in turn. If you want, you can send them the link to this note if they should ask you to explain your new way of writing tasks.
You will find that slowly, task after task, project after project, team after team, the entire organization will have learned to think in terms of goals.
You don’t need written permission to change things.
As they say… if you want to change the world, you must first change yourself….
And this is the first step. It’s so simple that you should have a really important reason not to do it.
Extreme practicality
At STRTGY we research, invent, and test the best tools and techniques to support entrepreneurs and professionals in growing the value of their businesses and the impact teams have on outcomes through rigorous, structured, and shared strategic and design processes.
If you are exploring the possibility of launching the first round of OKRs or need to get support, either in the early exploratory stages or in optimizing the cycles that are already active, I would really like to hear more about what you are creating and where you are in this journey.
Choose the best time for a chat directly from my calendar.
I remain listening…
Good work!
Make yourself heard.
-Antonio
