What are OKRs?

How to Write Good OKRs

The quality of OKRs depends almost entirely on how well they're written. Common mistakes: objectives that are vague ("do better"), key results that measure activity instead of outcomes ("have 10 meetings" vs "sign 3 new clients"), and setting too many OKRs (the sweet spot is 1–3 objectives per quarter, 3–5 key results each).

• Objective should be qualitative, memorable, and ambitious — it should feel like a stretch
• Key Results should be quantitative, binary (yes/no if needed), and measurable without debate
• Key Results should be outcomes, not activities — 'Revenue from new clients ≥ $50K' not 'Make 100 sales calls'
• A 70% achievement rate on OKRs is considered success — if you always hit 100%, your OKRs aren't ambitious enough
• OKRs should be public within the team — transparency creates alignment and accountability

OKRs vs KPIs: What's the Difference?

OKRs and KPIs are complementary, not competing. The distinction matters for how you use each one:

KPIs are ongoing health metrics — you track them continuously and they tell you if the business is functioning normally. Revenue per client, utilization rate, on-time delivery rate. They're the dashboard on your car.

OKRs are quarterly goals — they define what you want to improve or achieve this quarter. They're the destination in your GPS. They may pull from KPIs ("improve NPS from 35 to 50") but they're time-bound and directional.

A company runs KPIs all the time. OKRs are set at the start of each quarter and reviewed at the end.

OKRs for Teams of 4–25

OKRs work at any team size, but the implementation scales down significantly for small teams. A 6-person agency doesn't need quarterly OKR kickoffs with cascading company/team/individual OKRs. It needs one clear set of company OKRs agreed by the whole team, reviewed monthly.

Practical implementation for a small team: set 1–2 objectives per quarter at a team meeting. Agree on 3 key results for each. Put them somewhere visible — shared doc, wall, project board. Check in monthly: are we on track? What's blocking progress? At quarter end, score them honestly.

The biggest OKR mistake small teams make: writing OKRs once and never looking at them again.

OKR Examples for an Agency Team

Abstract OKR frameworks are easy to find. Concrete examples for an agency team of 8-12 people are harder. Here are three objectives that reflect what agencies actually need to improve.

Objective: Deliver client projects without surprises - KR1: Zero projects deliver late without 2-week advance notice to the client — target: 100% this quarter. - KR2: Client revision rounds average 1.8 per project, down from 2.5. - KR3: Project kickoff documentation completed before day 1 on 100% of new projects.

Objective: Grow retainer revenue - KR1: Convert 2 project clients to monthly retainer contracts. - KR2: Retainer monthly revenue reaches $15,000 by end of quarter. - KR3: Average retainer contract length 6+ months.

Objective: Build team capacity - KR1: Every team member completes 1 skill-building course this quarter. - KR2: Skills matrix updated with current assessments for all team members. - KR3: 5 core processes documented that currently exist only in people's heads.

Notice: each KR has a specific number. 'Improve client satisfaction' is not a KR. 'Net Promoter Score increases from 42 to 55' is a KR.

• If a KR doesn't have a number, it's a goal statement, not a key result
• Three objectives per team maximum — more than three means no real priorities
• OKRs built around real pain points get used — aspirational ones get ignored after week 3

Setting OKRs for the First Time: Common Mistakes

The first OKR cycle almost always goes wrong in predictable ways.

Mistake 1: Too many OKRs. Three objectives per team, 2-4 KRs each. A team with 7 objectives has no priorities.

Mistake 2: KRs that are tasks, not outcomes. 'Launch new client portal by March 15' is a task. 'Client portal reduces average onboarding time from 3 days to 1 day' is a KR.

Mistake 3: KRs that are always 100% achievable. OKRs are meant to be ambitious. A 70-80% completion rate signals goals that actually stretched the team.

Mistake 4: Setting OKRs and ignoring them until the end of the quarter. OKRs need a monthly check-in.

Mistake 5: KRs outside the team's control. If a KR depends entirely on a client decision or an external market factor, it's not useful for your team.

• 3 objectives, 2-4 KRs each — non-negotiable for a first cycle
• KRs = outcomes, not tasks
• 70-80% completion rate is success — 100% means the targets were too easy
• Monthly check-in separates OKRs from an annual planning document no one reads

Quarterly OKR Review: What to Assess

Score each KR on a 0.0-1.0 scale, where 1.0 = 100% achieved. Target range: 0.6-0.8. Below 0.4, either the target was wrong or something significant broke. Above 0.9 consistently, your goals are too conservative.

For each KR: What was the final score? What drove the result? If the KR wasn't hit, was the target wrong or did execution fail?

Review timing: 60-90 minutes maximum. First 30 minutes: scores and facts. Next 30 minutes: reasons and analysis. Last 20-30 minutes: draft next quarter's OKRs.

The output of a good review: a documented score for every KR, a paragraph on what drove each objective's result, and a first draft of next quarter's OKRs.

Avoid spending the review defending low scores. A low score is information, not a failure. Treat it that way and the team will be honest next quarter.