How to Make OKRs Work for You

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are designed to create alignment and focus across teams. But for many organizations, they end up adding complexity instead of clarity.

The reason is simple: OKRs aren't a plug-and-play solution. For them to work, they must genuinely fit your culture, your strategy, and your people.

We recently worked with a company that had tried everything - and hit every common OKR pitfall imaginable: too many objectives, key results that were just task lists, reporting fatigue, and a complete lack of clear direction.

The Pitfall of Structure-First Thinking

Their first move was a classic attempt at control: simplify everything. They mandated that every team create just 3 objectives with 3 key results. It brought structure, but it didn't bring clarity. In fact, the opposite happened.

People started asking: "What are we actually trying to achieve here?"

That’s when the breakthrough happened. They stopped trying to follow the textbook recipe - and started designing OKRs based on their strategic intent.

The Shift to Strategy-First

The immediate result was surprising: they ended up with more OKRs overall.

But instead of creating noise, this flexibility created focus. The OKRs were local, designed by teams to address their real priorities. And every single one pointed clearly toward something that genuinely mattered to the business.

This shift, from a rigid structure-first approach to a strategy-first one, gave teams the confidence and ownership they needed to succeed.

From Tasks to Actual Results

However, a new challenge soon emerged: key results started slipping back into to-do lists. Teams were busy, but the true impact of their work was getting lost.

The fix was a small, yet powerful, structural change: they introduced a two-layered framework for tracking work and value.

1. Strategic Initiatives with Milestones: This layer tracked the work being done (the effort).

2. Key Results Tied to Outcomes: This layer measured the value being created (the impact).

That distinction made a huge difference. It gave teams the necessary room to build and test before being purely measured, shifting the entire focus from activity to results.

Evolving the Key Results

The company's key results evolved step-by-step, moving from merely tracking action to measuring real business impact:

• From: “launch a customer program” (A Task)

• To: “50 meetings booked with key clients” (An Output)

• To: “+2% increase in market share” (A Real Outcome)

The Core Lesson

What ultimately made the company's OKRs successful wasn't a perfect number, a specific structure, or rigid formatting.

It was this:

• OKRs were tied to strategy—not a template.

• Teams had ownership over what mattered.

• Key results tracked value—not just effort.

• Structure was built to follow purpose—not the other way around.

The big lesson is clear: Don’t copy OKRs. Customize them.

OKRs aren’t a formula; they’re a framework. If you’re stuck between too much complexity and too little direction, maybe it’s time to stop following the book. It’s time to start making OKRs your own, because that’s when they truly begin to work.