Monthly Archives: March 2021

Book Notes: Measure What Matters

Measure What Matters by John E. Doerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OKRs – Objectives and key results. The value they bring are:

  • Focus and Commit to Priorities
  • Align and Connect for Teamwork
  • Track for Accountability
  • Stretch for Amazing

Warning – Goals may cause systematic problems in organisations due to narrowed focus, unethical behaviour, increased risk taking, decrease cooperation and decrease motivation.

Management by objectivesObjectives and key results
“What”“What” and “How”
AnnualQuarterly or monthly
Private and siloedPublic and transparent
Top-downTop-down, bottom-up or sideways
Tied to compensationMostly divorced from compensation
Risk averseAggressive and aspirational

Committed – something we intend to achieve 100%
Aspirational – where we are pushing ourselves, achieving > 70% is good

Paired results – quantitative and qualitative. Having just quantitative goes will result in a sacrifice in quality, as such both are needed. Results need to be very specific.

Performance in the OKR world – CFRs (Conversations, Feedback & Recognition)

Annual Performance ManagementContinuous Performance Management
Annual feedbackContinuous feedback
Tied to compensationDecoupled from compensation
Directing/autocraticCoaching/democratic
Outcome focusedProcess focused
Weakness basedStrength based
Prone to biasFact driven