PRODUCTHEAD: Good OKR, bad OKR

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every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

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tl;dr

KPIs measure what you’re already doing, OKRs are for change

Problematic OKRs are too big in scope, activity-focused and disconnected from strategy

The Narrative, Commitments, Tasks (NCT) framework offers an alternative to OKRs

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hello

I’ll be joining Anton Kooll of Startup to Scale-Up Club again tomorrow (Tuesday 13 January, 12-1pm UK time) to answer questions on Product & Tech from startup and scale-up founders.

Anton brings together a great mixture of product leaders and CTOs on the panel, who each offer great insights and advice. If you or someone you know is a founder, encourage them to join the audio-only call and ask away. I’ll publish the audio and transcript on I Manage Products shortly after transmission.

Sign up to attend on Luma

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Following Twelfth Night, when it’s traditional to pack up all the festive decorations back into their boxes for another year, I’ve been doing a bit of similar tidying, albeit virtually, behind the scenes.

I self-host pretty much everything I need to run Product People, from the email to the websites to the backups (and the rest). I used to run everything all jumbled together on a single server. That worked fine, but it became increasingly problematic when one bit of software relied on something (say, a database) that other services also used, but wanted a more recent version that would break everything else.

To solve this, I’ve been using containers to allow otherwise incompatible versions of software to coexist without conflict (Incus, if you’re interested). Everything goes neatly in its own little box. Handily, this also makes backups far simpler for me and a more consistent process.

You’ll probably notice little difference, but it’s been a real time-saver for me.

For you this week #

It’s also that time of the year when people return to work from break thinking about what they want to get done this year. For many, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are top of mind. This week I’ve pulled together for you some recent articles discussing what makes for bettor or worse OKRs, and offering a potential alternative.

Christina Wodtke clarifies the difference between KPIs (maintain steady state) and OKRs (drive transformation). Randy Silver points out that ‘BAD’ OKRs are usually too Big, focused on Activities rather than results, or Disconnected from strategy.

Adding to this, Matt Jukes argues that for OKRs to actually work, they require significant strategic scaffolding and a shift in focus toward outcomes rather than just pithy titles. Finally, Ravi Mehta and Natalie Rothfels write about the NCT (Narrative, Commitments, Tasks) framework, which aims to fix the perceived strategy gap in traditional OKRs by providing the motivating context and the ‘why’ behind every goal.

Speak to you soon,

Jock

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what to think about this week

KPIs Are Your Dashboard. OKRs Are Your GPS to Somewhere New.

I got asked again last week: “What’s the difference between KPIs and OKRs?”

The person asking was a PM at a mid-sized company. Smart guy. Been in product for five years. His company had just rolled out OKRs and he was staring at a template, genuinely confused about what to write. Here’s what he’d drafted as his objective: “Be a high-performing team.”

Keeping things running versus going somewhere new

[Christina Wodtke / Eleganthack]

When BAD OKRs happen to good people

The days grow short, the season’s end draws near, and, naturally, our thoughts turn to OKRs. Three little letters, and yet they’re the source of so much consternation – when they go wrong, they can go very wrong. But there’s nothing inherently wrong with OKRs, and they can be a powerful force for alignment. So why do so many of us have bad experiences with them?

The 3 most common causes of OKR failures

[Randy Silver / Out of Owls]

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[IMHO] Okay OKRs and unproblematic prioritisation

I have a complicated relationship with OKRs and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. It is complicated primarily because I don’t have any issue with them in theory – I kind of like them in fact – it is just that I haven’t encountered many environments where the assumptions that OKRs make for success actually exist.

Inspiring outcomes rather than just outputs

[Matt Jukes / Digital by Default]

Trouble Hitting Your Goals? Here’s Why, and How to Make a Shift

The hallmark of high-performing teams is their ability to effectively set, execute against, and predictably achieve the right set of ambitious goals. A company full of exceptionally operating teams can be the driving engine that separates companies that thrive from those that flop.

Easier said than done.

Reconnecting objectives to company strategy

[Ravi Mehta & Natalie Rothfels / Reforge]

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PRODUCTHEAD is a newsletter for product people of all varieties, and is lovingly crafted from hearty stew with dumplings.