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OKR Builder
Write one objective and two to four key results for each owner, and check each key result is a result, not a task in disguise.
This tool also runs as a stage in a playbook, which takes you through several tools in order:
- Delegate as your team grows Stage 5 of 6: what should people deliver? Start at stage 1
- Execute a business strategy Stage 5 of 5: what does each team do this quarter? Start at stage 1
Not following the playbook?
Stage 4 found problems still hidden. Outcome goals set now tend to be safe ones that people know they will hit. You can write them, but consider fixing that first: back to stage 4.
Who gets an OKR
One OKR for each person, not for each responsibility: the change that matters most this quarter.
Your notes never leave your browser
Owners, objectives and key results stay on your computer and in your progress file. To write the diagnosis, only counts are sent to our server. How it works
Write each OKR
The objective says what should change. The key results, usually two to four, are numbers that show whether it did.
Keep OKRs separate from pay. Teams paid on hitting their key results set ones they know they will hit, and the stretch that makes OKRs useful disappears. Pay follows the scorecard and the yearly targets; OKRs steer the quarter.
- The test for each key result: could someone complete it by working through a checklist? If yes, it is a task. Rewrite it as the change the task is meant to cause.
- Give each key result a target, such as 9 in 10. Add where it starts if you know; if it was never measured, leave the start empty and measure it in the first few weeks.
- A person with several responsibilities still gets one objective. Their key results can come from different responsibilities.
Turning tasks into key results: three examples
| First draft (a task) | Rewritten (a result) |
|---|---|
| Review every release | No release rolled back for a missed review this quarter |
| Send estimates on time | 9 in 10 estimates under EUR 20k sent within three working days, without the founder |
| Handle escalations | Escalations settled within 48 hours; none reach the founder unless the client asks |
At the end of the quarter: score each key result
Where did each key result end? The tool scores it from 0 to 1: how far it moved from the start towards the target. A key result needs a start to be scored; fill it in once you have measured it.
The OKRs
Keeping it on track
Save your progress
Download your progress file to continue from this point any time, on any computer: choose it under "Coming back?" at the start of the tool. Each new file includes everything so far, including the earlier stages when they are connected, so keep the latest one. Your work stays in this browser only until you close it.
Not saved yet.
Take your results with you
A PDF of each owner's objective and key results, with the diagnosis. In the strategy execution playbook, the full report of all five stages and the review rhythm.
About the tool
Why it exists
Hand over outcomes, not task lists
OKR stands for objectives and key results. The objective is a short, plain statement of what should change. The key results, usually two to four, are numbers that show whether it did. A task handed over as a task comes back as questions; an outcome handed over comes back as a result.
This tool works on its own, and as a stage in two playbooks: stage 5 of delegating as your team grows, where each new owner from stage 3 gets an OKR, and stage 5 of executing a business strategy, where each team's OKR points at a yearly target agreed in stage 4. For the method, see our guide to OKRs.
The method
How the tool works
The checklist test. For each key result the tool asks: could someone complete it by working through a checklist? It suggests an answer when a key result has no number, or starts with a word such as "review", "send" or "handle". Your own answer replaces the suggestion.
One OKR per person. Not one per responsibility: the change that matters most this quarter, with key results that can come from different responsibilities. A start value is optional; a key result never measured before gets measured in the first few weeks.
Scoring. At the end of the quarter, enter where each key result ended. The score is how far it moved from its start towards its target, from 0 to 1.
What leaves your computer. Owners, objectives and key results stay in your browser and your progress file. To write the diagnosis, the page sends our server only counts and scores, and the server keeps nothing.