“Our team’s first OKRs were basically just our committed work repackaged as objectives.” Sound familiar?
After working with hundreds of teams to implement Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), I’ve discovered a crucial truth: the journey to effective OKRs isn’t like stretching before a 100 metre dash—it’s more like training for a marathon. You need time to build the right muscles and mindset.
The One-Cycle Trap
Many organisations dive into OKRs with enthusiasm, run through a single quarter, and wonder why they haven’t seen the transformative results they were promised. Here’s what they’re missing: the magic happens in the second cycle (and beyond).
Let me share a real story from my work with a technical platform team that illustrates why.
Cycle 1: Learning to Walk
In their first quarter, this team did what most teams do. They took their existing roadmap, grouped their committed work into themes, and called them ‘Objectives’. Their Key Results? Essentially a checklist of initiatives.
While we polished these into more presentable OKRs, they were still fundamentally activity-based rather than outcome-focused. But here’s a critical insight: this wasn’t a failure—it was a necessary first step.
As the quarter progressed, the team started noticing things:
- Their key results were binary—either done or not done
- Some initiatives took longer than expected, blocking progress on their OKRs
- They had no way to show meaningful progress during the quarter
- There was no stretch in their goals
These insights were gold. They set the stage for real transformation in cycle two.
Cycle 2: Learning to Run
The second cycle coincided with a company strategy refresh—perfect timing for the team to apply their learnings. This time, they:
- Balanced top-down strategic objectives with bottom-up innovation
- Created meaningful stretch goals while defining minimum acceptable outcomes
- Developed measurable key results that showed progress throughout the quarter
- Limited themselves to five focused OKRs spanning customer impact, engineering innovation, and process improvement
The result? A team that felt genuine ownership of their objectives and demonstrated real passion for achieving them.
The Dependencies Challenge: A Critical Learning
But cycle two brought its own challenge: other teams’ needs started eating into their capacity, threatening progress with their OKRs. This friction led to an important innovation: the OKR Marketplace.
We dedicated a large room where teams could post their draft objectives two weeks before planning. Key representatives would meet twice weekly to walk the walls, identifying dependencies and negotiating capacity needs. This practice became crucial for setting realistic objectives while maintaining cross-team collaboration.
Why Two Cycles is the Minimum
While three cycles is ideal for teams to become truly proficient with OKRs, two cycles is the minimum viable approach. Here’s why:
- Cycle 1 lets teams learn the basics and discover what they need to improve
- Cycle 2 allows them to implement those improvements and experience what good OKRs feel like
- The transition between cycles is crucial for reflection and adaptation
Most importantly, two cycles give teams time to shift from “doing OKRs” to “living OKRs”—from merely documenting work to truly aligning and focusing their efforts on meaningful outcomes.
Ready to Transform Your Team’s OKR Practice?
If you’re a coach, Scrum Master, or leader looking to help your teams master OKRs, you don’t have to figure this out alone. I’m launching a 6-week Coaching OKRs program that will teach you this proven two-cycle approach, complete with templates, tools, and hands-on practice.
Learn more about the Coaching OKRs program https://coachingokrs.com and secure your spot in our February cohort (with early bird discount until January 13).
Notes
- Article first published on LinkedIn Pulse on January 2, 2025