OKR Consulting Skill
A comprehensive playbook for running world-class OKRs in any organization.
Quick Reference
OKR = Objective + Key Results
- Objective: Qualitative, inspirational, time-bound ("What do we want to achieve?")
- Key Results: Quantitative, measurable outcomes ("How do we know we got there?")
- Rule of thumb: 3-5 Key Results per Objective, 3-5 Objectives per quarter
Scoring (Google-style 0.0–1.0):
- 🟢 0.7–1.0 = Nailed it
- 🟡 0.4–0.6 = Made progress
- 🔴 0.0–0.3 = Missed
Sweet spot: Average 60-70% completion. If you're hitting 100%, you're sandbagging.
Core Cadences
| Cadence |
Purpose |
Who |
Duration |
| Annual |
Set strategic direction |
Leadership |
1-2 day offsite |
| Quarterly |
Set tactical OKRs |
All teams |
2-3 weeks |
| Weekly |
Progress check-ins |
Team leads |
15-30 min |
| Monthly |
Mid-quarter review |
Cross-functional |
1 hour |
| End-of-Q |
Score, retro, learn |
All |
Half-day |
My Role as OKR Consultant
During OKR Setting
- Challenge vague objectives ("What does 'improve' mean?")
- Push for measurable KRs ("How will you know?")
- Flag too many OKRs ("Which 3 matter most?")
- Check vertical alignment ("Does this ladder up?")
- Check horizontal dependencies ("Who else needs to succeed?")
During the Quarter
- Weekly: Prompt for confidence updates
- Bi-weekly: Surface at-risk KRs
- Monthly: Facilitate mid-quarter review
- Ongoing: Track blockers and escalate
End of Quarter
- Prompt for self-scoring
- Facilitate retrospective discussion
- Extract lessons for next cycle
- Archive and document
References
Detailed guidance in references/:
- philosophy.md — Origins, Four Superpowers, why OKRs work
- antipatterns.md — Google's Classic 6 + Big 10 mistakes
- cfrs.md — Conversations, Feedback, Recognition (the "secret sauce")
- workshops.md — Facilitation guides for OKR-setting sessions
- check-ins.md — Weekly check-ins, fist-to-five voting, templates
- scoring.md — How to score, when to adjust, confidence ratings
- visualization.md — Dashboard patterns, display methods
- templates.md — OKR templates for Discord, docs, slides
Quick Coaching Prompts
When setting OKRs:
- "If you could only accomplish ONE thing this quarter, what would it be?"
- "How will you know you succeeded? What's the number?"
- "Is this a 'must-hit' commitment or a 'shoot for the moon' stretch?"
- "Who else depends on this? Who do you depend on?"
When reviewing progress:
- "On a scale of 0-10, how confident are you right now?"
- "What's the single biggest blocker?"
- "If this stays on current trajectory, where do you land?"
- "What would need to change to go from yellow to green?"
When scoring at end-of-quarter:
- "What did you learn that you didn't know 12 weeks ago?"
- "If you had to do this OKR again, what would you do differently?"
- "Was the goal right but execution off, or was the goal wrong?"
Key Sources
This skill synthesizes knowledge from:
- Measure What Matters by John Doerr (2018) — The definitive OKR book
- Google's OKR Playbook (re:Work) — Google's internal best practices
- whatmatters.com — John Doerr's OKR resource site
- High Output Management by Andy Grove — The original MBO/OKR foundation
- Various OKR consultancies: Quantive, Weekdone, Mooncamp, Perdoo
1---2name: okr-consulting3description: Manage, consult on, and optimize OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). Use when helping set, track, review, score, or improve OKRs. Covers OKR philosophy, common antipatterns, cadence management, scoring, visualization, check-ins, and retrospectives. Provides coaching prompts, workshop facilitation guidance, and dashboard design patterns.4---5
6# OKR Consulting Skill
7
8A comprehensive playbook for running world-class OKRs in any organization.
9
10## Quick Reference
11
12**OKR = Objective + Key Results**
13- **Objective**: Qualitative, inspirational, time-bound ("What do we want to achieve?")
14- **Key Results**: Quantitative, measurable outcomes ("How do we know we got there?")
15- **Rule of thumb**: 3-5 Key Results per Objective, 3-5 Objectives per quarter
16
17**Scoring (Google-style 0.0–1.0):**
18- 🟢 0.7–1.0 = Nailed it
19- 🟡 0.4–0.6 = Made progress
20- 🔴 0.0–0.3 = Missed
21
22**Sweet spot**: Average 60-70% completion. If you're hitting 100%, you're sandbagging.
23
24## Core Cadences
25
26| Cadence | Purpose | Who | Duration |
27|---------|---------|-----|----------|
28| **Annual** | Set strategic direction | Leadership | 1-2 day offsite |
29| **Quarterly** | Set tactical OKRs | All teams | 2-3 weeks |
30| **Weekly** | Progress check-ins | Team leads | 15-30 min |
31| **Monthly** | Mid-quarter review | Cross-functional | 1 hour |
32| **End-of-Q** | Score, retro, learn | All | Half-day |
33
34## My Role as OKR Consultant
35
36### During OKR Setting
37- Challenge vague objectives ("What does 'improve' mean?")
38- Push for measurable KRs ("How will you know?")
39- Flag too many OKRs ("Which 3 matter most?")
40- Check vertical alignment ("Does this ladder up?")
41- Check horizontal dependencies ("Who else needs to succeed?")
42
43### During the Quarter
44- Weekly: Prompt for confidence updates
45- Bi-weekly: Surface at-risk KRs
46- Monthly: Facilitate mid-quarter review
47- Ongoing: Track blockers and escalate
48
49### End of Quarter
50- Prompt for self-scoring
51- Facilitate retrospective discussion
52- Extract lessons for next cycle
53- Archive and document
54
55## References
56
57Detailed guidance in `references/`:
58- **[philosophy.md](references/philosophy.md)** — Origins, Four Superpowers, why OKRs work
59- **[antipatterns.md](references/antipatterns.md)** — Google's Classic 6 + Big 10 mistakes
60- **[cfrs.md](references/cfrs.md)** — Conversations, Feedback, Recognition (the "secret sauce")
61- **[workshops.md](references/workshops.md)** — Facilitation guides for OKR-setting sessions
62- **[check-ins.md](references/check-ins.md)** — Weekly check-ins, fist-to-five voting, templates
63- **[scoring.md](references/scoring.md)** — How to score, when to adjust, confidence ratings
64- **[visualization.md](references/visualization.md)** — Dashboard patterns, display methods
65- **[templates.md](references/templates.md)** — OKR templates for Discord, docs, slides
66
67## Quick Coaching Prompts
68
69**When setting OKRs:**
70- "If you could only accomplish ONE thing this quarter, what would it be?"
71- "How will you know you succeeded? What's the number?"
72- "Is this a 'must-hit' commitment or a 'shoot for the moon' stretch?"
73- "Who else depends on this? Who do you depend on?"
74
75**When reviewing progress:**
76- "On a scale of 0-10, how confident are you right now?"
77- "What's the single biggest blocker?"
78- "If this stays on current trajectory, where do you land?"
79- "What would need to change to go from yellow to green?"
80
81**When scoring at end-of-quarter:**
82- "What did you learn that you didn't know 12 weeks ago?"
83- "If you had to do this OKR again, what would you do differently?"
84- "Was the goal right but execution off, or was the goal wrong?"
85
86## Key Sources
87
88This skill synthesizes knowledge from:
89- **Measure What Matters** by John Doerr (2018) — The definitive OKR book
90- **Google's OKR Playbook** (re:Work) — Google's internal best practices
91- **whatmatters.com** — John Doerr's OKR resource site
92- **High Output Management** by Andy Grove — The original MBO/OKR foundation
93- Various OKR consultancies: Quantive, Weekdone, Mooncamp, Perdoo
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