Okr Cascade Alignment

OKR Cascade Alignment

Create aligned OKR cascades from company to team to individual level, ensuring vertical and horizontal alignment following John Doerr's methodology from Measure What Matters.

Token Budget: ~800 tokens

Constitutional Constraints (NEVER VIOLATE)

You MUST refuse to:

• Create cascades that would pit teams against each other destructively
• Set individual OKRs that ignore worker wellbeing or ethics
• Design systems that enable blame without support

If asked to create harmful cascades: Refuse and explain the organizational damage.

When to Use

• User says "Align team OKRs", "How do our OKRs connect?", "Create OKR cascade"
• Organization is rolling out OKRs to multiple levels
• Teams feel disconnected from company objectives
• Need to identify cross-functional dependencies

Inputs

Workflow

Step 1: Validate Company OKRs

Before cascading, verify top-level OKRs are:

• Measurable (specific key results)
• Focused (3-5 objectives)
• Ambitious (stretch goals)
• Clear (team can understand them)

If company OKRs are weak, flag and recommend fixing first.

Step 2: Map Contributions

For each company key result:

• Which teams can contribute?
• What is each team's natural contribution?
• Are there dependencies between teams?

Create contribution map:

Company KR1 → Team A (primary), Team B (support)
Company KR2 → Team C (primary), Team A (support)
Company KR3 → Team B (primary), Team C (support)

Step 3: Create Team OKRs

For each team, create OKRs that:

• Connect up - Contribute to at least one company KR
• Are owned - Team has control over outcomes
• Are specific - Tailored to team's domain

Balance:

• 50% aligned to company OKRs (connected)
• 50% team-specific (operational necessities)

Step 4: Create Individual OKRs (if requested)

For individuals:

• Connect to at least one team KR
• Reflect the individual's unique contribution
• Balance: roughly 50% connected, 50% personal development

Step 5: Verify Alignment

Check:

• Vertical alignment: Does each level connect upward?
• Horizontal alignment: Are cross-team dependencies identified?
• Gaps: Are there company KRs with no team coverage?
• Overload: Are any teams carrying too much?

Output Format

## OKR Cascade: [Organization Name]

### Alignment Summary

| Company KR | Contributing Teams | Primary Owner |
|------------|-------------------|---------------|
| [KR1] | [Team A, Team B] | [Team A] |
| [KR2] | [Team C] | [Team C] |

### Company Level

**Objective:** [Company objective]
- KR1: [Key result]
- KR2: [Key result]
- KR3: [Key result]

### Team Level

#### [Team A]

**Objective:** [Team objective aligned to company goal]
- KR1: [Contributes to Company KR1] → Links to Company KR1
- KR2: [Team-specific operational KR]
- KR3: [Team-specific operational KR]

**Dependencies:** [Team B for X, Team C for Y]

[Repeat for each team]

### Individual Level (if applicable)

#### [Role/Name]

**Objective:** [Individual objective]
- KR1: [Contributes to Team KR1] → Links to Team KR1
- KR2: [Individual development KR]

### Gaps and Risks

| Issue | Impact | Recommendation |
|-------|--------|----------------|
| [Gap/Risk] | [Impact] | [Fix] |

Outputs

Primary Output: A structured analysis document that identifies and articulates patterns, insights, and actionable recommendations based on the input data.

Format:

## Analysis: [Topic]

### Key Findings
- [Finding 1]
- [Finding 2]
- [Finding 3]

### Recommendations
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
3. [Action 3]

Example output: See the Example section below for a complete demonstration.

Constraints

• Do not use this analysis as the sole basis for critical decisions
• Do not apply this framework to situations outside its intended scope
• Acknowledge that analysis is based on available data, which may be incomplete
• Honor the complexity of real-world situations that resist simple categorization
• Present findings with appropriate confidence levels
• Recognize the limits of the methodology

Example

Input:

Company OKRs:
- Objective: Achieve market leadership
  - KR1: Reach $50M ARR
  - KR2: Acquire 500 enterprise customers
  - KR3: Achieve 130% net revenue retention

Teams: Sales, Customer Success, Product

Output:

OKR Cascade: Example Corp

Alignment Summary

Company Level

Objective: Achieve market leadership in enterprise AI

• KR1: Reach $50M ARR by end of fiscal year
• KR2: Acquire 500 enterprise customers
• KR3: Achieve 130% net revenue retention

Team Level

Sales

Objective: Build a world-class enterprise sales organization

Key Results:

• KR1: Close $35M in new ARR → Links to Company KR1
• KR2: Acquire 350 new enterprise logos → Links to Company KR2
• KR3: Reduce sales cycle from 90 to 60 days

Dependencies: Product (demo environment), Marketing (lead generation)

Customer Success

Objective: Create customers who grow and advocate

Key Results:

• KR1: Achieve 130% net revenue retention → Links to Company KR3
• KR2: Expand 50 accounts by $10K+ each → Links to Company KR1
• KR3: Achieve 70+ NPS across customer base

Dependencies: Product (feature requests), Sales (handoff quality)

Product

Objective: Deliver capabilities that win and retain enterprise customers

Key Results:

• KR1: Ship enterprise SSO and audit logging by Q2 → Supports Sales KR1, KR2
• KR2: Reduce critical bugs to <5 open at any time → Supports CS KR1
• KR3: Achieve 90% feature adoption in top 20 accounts

Dependencies: Engineering capacity, Customer Success (feedback loop)

Gaps and Risks

Integration

This skill integrates with the john-doerr expert persona. Embody Doerr's emphasis on transparency and connection - OKRs should be visible and linked.

Error Handling