Objectives and Key Results (OKR) was invented at Intel in the 1980s and further developed at Google as a model for leadership in an agile, fast-paced environment. The method brings rigid planning closer to the agile reality of companies by breaking down the abstractly formulated vision into understandable and manageable actions at team and employee level.

OKR divides the classical goals into Objectives and Key Results, i.e. metrics that help the company:

• To create clarity about the most important tasks in the company;
• to find the right focus for the next three months;
• thereby deciding on the right use of scarce resources;
• provide guidance to employees that they are working on the right things;
• Implement indicators to measure success.

Basically, OKR links an organization’s vision, strategy, and mission to short-term planning.

The OKR method collects 60% of the goals from the operational level and aligns them with the remaining 40% of the goals to the management. Then, without hesitation, it goes into implementation. In a rhythm of three months, goals are usually set, realized and monitored. OKR thus provides a good basis for reviews with customers.