Lecture Notes: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) by John Doerr

Introduction

• Critical moment in leadership & institutions
  • Some leaders & institutions failing
  • Often due to wrong objectives
• Need to correct these wrongs
• Importance of choosing meaningful, audacious goals

Background

• John Doerr - Computer Engineer under Andy Grove (1975)

• Andy Grove: Greatest Manager of His Era

Concepts of OKRs

• Objectives & Key Results (OKRs): Invented by Andy Grove
  • System for excellent execution
• Objectives:
  • What you want to accomplish
  • Significance and action-oriented
  • Inspirational
• Key Results:
  • How to achieve objectives
  • Specific and time-bound
  • Measurable and verifiable

Key Points

• Andy Grove: "Execution matters most"

OKRs in Practice

Jini Kim & Company Nuna

• Nuna: Health care data company
• Project: Cloud database for Medicaid (70 million individuals)
• Motivation:
  • Jini Kim's personal connection (brother with autism)
  • Jini’s mission: Transform Medicaid through data

Bono & ONE Organization

• Goals: Global war against poverty and disease
  • Objectives:
    • Debt relief for poor countries
    • Access to Anti-HIV drugs
• OKR Impact:
  • Significant, concrete, action-oriented, inspirational

Google & Sundar Pichai

• Objective: Build the best web browser (Chrome)
• Key Results:
  • Users as the metric
  • Yearly incremental targets
  • Achieved 111 million users with a strategic approach
• Impact: Demonstration of persistent effort and strategic goal-setting

Importance of 'Why'

• Objectives must be tied to a compelling 'Why':
  • Transforms ambition into actionable purpose
  • Encourages team inspiration

Conclusion

• OKRs as transparent vessels for ambition
• Requires strong culture & leadership
• Potential to transform businesses, families, schools, governments
• Call to action:
  • Set personal OKRs
  • Measure what truly matters
• Contact for feedback: john@whatmatters.com

Final Thoughts

• Significant world-changing goals powered by OKRs
  • Intel, Nuna, Bono, Google
• Need to measure what really matters