## OKR quotations


### OKR quotations by Andy Grove

Andy Grove, CEO at Intel, first spoke about “Objectives and Key Results” (OKR) in his book High Output Management.

"A successful system needs only to answer two questions: Where do I want to go? The answer provides the Objective. How will I pace myself to see if I’m getting there? The answer gives us Key Results."

“The one thing OKR provides par excellence is focus.”

“We see a nesting hierarchy of Objectives: if the subordinate’s Objectives are met, the supervisor’s Objectives will be met as well.”

“To be useful a Key Result must contain very specific wording and dates, so that when the deadline time arrives, there is no room for ambiguity.”

“OKR is meant to pace a person – to put a stopwatch in his own hand so he can gauge his own performance. It is not a legal document upon which to base a performance review, but should be just one input used to determine how well an individual is doing. If the supervisor mechanically relies on the MBO system to evaluate his subordinate’s performance, or if the subordinate uses it rigidly and forgoes taking advantage of an emerging opportunity because it was not a specified Objective or Key Result, then both are behaving in a petty and unprofessional fashion.”


### OKR quotations by John Doerr

John Doerr, venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins, wrote the book "Measure What Matters" to teach OKRs and why they help companies succeed.

"Objectives and key results are clear vessels for leaders’ priorities and insights."

"By clearing the line of sight to everyone’s objectives, OKRs save time and money."

"Transparency seeds collaboration."

"Continuous recognition is a powerful driver of engagement."

"Nothing moves us forward like a deadline."

"Healthy culture and structured goal setting are interdependent."

"Google uses OKR as a tool to empower people. People think it’s about accountability, and it does achieve that as a byproduct. However, it’s really a way to build a social contract in your organization."

"The Objectives are what you want to have accomplished. The Key Results are the “how” in “how you’re going to get that done.” What matters more than getting the best single answer is getting the team to agree in how you’re going to do what you set out to do (a.k.a. the “Key Results”)."

"The magic words are “as measured by.” If a Key Result isn’t measurable, time-related, if I can’t declare it done, then it doesn’t have the kind of fidelity or integrity that it ought to."

"OKR is not a silver bullet; it’s a powerful, clear, empowering communications tool to get transparency, some accountability, and a lot of enthusiasm about what it is that’s really important."

"This system works provided the leadership of the company embraces it. If the CEO of the company doesn’t believe in OKRs and won’t pursue them, I suggest you not try. If the leader of the organization or the team sets personal OKRs as well as group OKRs, I daresay this is the most powerful tool you can have to achieve operating excellence and high performance in your organization."