At first glance, “Excite our customers” sounds inspiring. But as an objective, it’s too vague to guide any decisions or trade-offs across a quarter. You could do a hundred things that might excite customers, new campaigns, better service, improved UX, yet the statement itself doesn’t help you decide which of those things to pursue or how to know if you succeeded.

The Problem with Vague Objectives

A poorly written objective is one that fails to inform choices. It may be true or desirable, but it doesn’t narrow the focus. “Excite our customers” is a category, not a choice. A strong objective forces clarity: What specifically are we doing this quarter to achieve that excitement?

A better version might be:

“Excite our customers with the launch of our new AI functionality.”

Now it’s specific (the new AI functionality), time-bound (this quarter’s launch), and directional, it tells your teams where to focus energy.

Good objectives describe the impact you want to have, not just a positive intention. They make it easier for teams to say no to unrelated work.

When Key Results Become To-Dos

Once you’ve written a strong objective, the next trap appears in the Key Results. Many teams mistake tasks for outcomes.

For example:

“Record 50 podcasts.”

This is a task, not a result. You could record 50 episodes that never get published, or worse, nobody listens. It’s motion without progress.

A better key result would be:

“Reach at least 1,000 engaged listeners through our podcast.”

This focuses on the impact, the value created, not the effort invested. Sometimes, this kind of result is harder to measure directly, but you can use proxies: listen-through rates, feedback received, or new questions sparked by your audience.

Turning Activity into Impact

The difference between a task and a key result is subtle but crucial.

• Tasks measure what you do.
  
  
• Key Results measure what you achieve.
  
  

Recording podcasts, sending newsletters, or launching features are all activities. The question to ask is: Did these activities change anything meaningful for our users or our business?

Practical Tips to Strengthen Your OKRs

• Be specific. “Improve customer satisfaction” is broad; “Increase CSAT from 78% to 90% following AI feature launch” is clear.
  
  
• Add context. Link objectives to real business events (a product release, a customer milestone, a market shift).
  
  
• Measure outcomes. Choose metrics that reflect value created, not effort expended.
  
  
• Avoid “always good” statements. If something would always sound good to do, it’s probably not a real objective.
  
  

The Bottom Line

Good OKRs are not about doing more, they’re about doing what matters most.
A well-written objective helps teams make better choices.
A well-written key result helps them know if those choices paid off.

When you replace vague aspirations with specific, measurable outcomes, your organization shifts from activity for activity’s sake to purposeful progress.

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