The Illusion of Doing OKRs

It’s common to see companies proudly announce their OKR adoption. Yet months later, very little has shifted. Why? Because the process often stops at the surface. Managers dictate objectives top-down, the company celebrates completion, and the teams go back to business as usual.

If OKRs don’t create sharper focus, clearer priorities, and better conversations, they haven’t done their job. The goal isn’t to write OKRs; it’s to use them as a framework for running the business.

Pitfall 1: Top-Down OKRs

When OKRs are set for teams instead of with them, ownership disappears before the work even begins.

Top-down goals often miss the context of those executing the work, the nuances, the trade-offs, the interdependencies that only teams on the ground can see. That lack of involvement leads to poor commitment, misaligned actions, and wasted cycles.

💡 Tip: Co-create OKRs in team workshops. Let managers set direction, but empower teams to define outcomes. When people help shape the goal, they care about achieving it.

Pitfall 2: Set and Forget

Another common mistake: setting OKRs at the start of the quarter and never revisiting them.

The result? Goals that look good on slides but never shape actual behavior.
OKRs are meant to guide weekly priorities and decision-making. When they’re not reviewed regularly, they lose all relevance.

💡 Tip:
Embed OKRs in your rhythm.

• Review them in weekly team meetings.
  
  
• Use them to steer one-on-ones.
  
  
• Revisit them in retrospectives.
  
  

OKRs should be a living part of your management system, not a quarterly reporting ritual.

Pitfall 3: Vague Objectives

Objectives like “Be a great team” or “Delight our customers” sound positive but lack focus. They don’t help anyone prioritize or make trade-offs.

A strong Objective gives direction, it defines what matters most right now. It’s what your team says “yes” to when saying “no” to distractions.

💡 Tip: Write Objectives that demand clarity and choice. Ask:

• What must we accomplish above all else this quarter?
  
  
• What would success look like if we had to pick just one thing?
  
  
• What will we not do as a result of this focus?
  
  

The Real Point of OKRs

OKRs aren’t about templates or dashboards. They’re about discipline and focus.

They work when they:

• Change behavior - how teams prioritize and make decisions.
  
  
• Drive conversations - about what matters most, and why.
  
  
• Connect effort to purpose - linking daily work to strategic outcomes.
  
  

Doing OKRs well doesn’t mean perfection from day one. It means building the habit, involving teams, reviewing consistently, and continuously refining clarity and focus.

In Summary

Having OKRs is easy.
Doing them well takes leadership, engagement, and commitment to change.

When done right, OKRs don’t just measure performance, they reshape how your organization works.They help teams move from busy to focused, from reactive to deliberate, from activity to impact.

And that’s the real value of doing OKRs.

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