ops-okr-planning

Framework

IRON LAW: Objectives Are Ambitious, Key Results Are Measurable

Objective: Qualitative, inspiring, directional. "Become the #1 choice
for SMB accounting in Taiwan."

Key Result: Quantitative, measurable, time-bound. "Increase NPS from
32 to 50 by Q4."

If you can't measure it, it's not a Key Result. If it's not ambitious,
it's not an Objective.

OKR vs KPI

Aspect	OKR	KPI
Purpose	Drive change, set direction	Monitor ongoing performance
Ambition	Stretch goals (70% achievement = success)	Targets (100% achievement expected)
Cadence	Quarterly	Ongoing
Scope	Strategic priorities (3-5 per level)	Operational metrics (many)
Scoring	0.0 - 1.0 scale	Threshold-based

OKR Structure

Objective: {Inspiring, qualitative goal}
├── KR1: {Measurable result} — baseline: X → target: Y
├── KR2: {Measurable result} — baseline: X → target: Y
└── KR3: {Measurable result} — baseline: X → target: Y

Rules:

• 3-5 Objectives per level (company, team, individual)
• 2-5 Key Results per Objective
• At least one KR should be a leading indicator (not just lagging)
• 70% achievement on stretch goals is the "sweet spot"

Alignment (Cascading)

Company OKR: "Become the market leader in Taiwan SMB accounting"
    ↓
Product Team: "Make onboarding effortless"
  KR: Reduce time-to-first-value from 7 days to 1 day
    ↓
Engineering: "Ship self-serve onboarding flow"
  KR: Launch wizard by March 15, 80% completion rate

Each level's OKRs should CONTRIBUTE to the level above, but shouldn't be copy-paste. Teams translate company objectives into their domain.

OKR Cadence

Activity	Frequency	Participants
Set OKRs	Start of quarter	Leadership + team leads
Weekly check-in	Weekly (15 min)	Team standup
Mid-quarter review	Mid-quarter	Team + manager
End-of-quarter scoring	End of quarter	Everyone
Retrospective	After scoring	Team

Scoring Guide

Score	Meaning
0.0-0.3	Failed to make meaningful progress
0.4-0.6	Made progress but fell short
0.7-0.8	Sweet spot — ambitious goal, strong execution
0.9-1.0	Either nailed it (great!) or goal wasn't ambitious enough

Output Format

# OKR Plan: {Team/Company} — {Quarter}

## Company Objectives
### O1: {Objective}
- KR1: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}
- KR2: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}
- KR3: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}

## Team OKRs (aligned to company)
### {Team Name}
#### O1: {Team objective} (supports Company O{N})
- KR1: {metric} — {baseline} → {target}
- KR2: ...

## Check-in Template
| KR | Target | Current | Confidence | Blocker |
|-----|--------|---------|-----------|---------|
| KR1 | {target} | {current} | 🟢/🟡/🔴 | {if any} |

Gotchas

• OKRs are not a to-do list: "Launch feature X by March" is a task, not a KR. Reframe as: "Increase user activation rate from 30% to 50%" — the KR measures the OUTCOME, not the output.
• 100% achievement means not ambitious enough: If every OKR scores 1.0, goals were too easy. Encourage stretch.
• Don't tie OKRs to compensation directly: This makes people set safe, achievable goals instead of ambitious ones. Use OKRs for alignment and learning, not bonuses.
• Start with company OKRs first: Team OKRs without company OKRs lead to misalignment. Top-down direction, bottom-up input on how to achieve it.
• 3-5 objectives MAX: More objectives = less focus. If everything is a priority, nothing is.

References

• For OKR scoring templates, see references/okr-templates.md
• For BSC comparison, see the biz-bsc skill