Welcome, everyone, to our session on gamifying OKRs. Thank you, Erwin, for the introduction. My name is Angie Doyle. I’m a coach and consultant with Think Agile.
And I’m Talia Lancaster. In addition to that kind introduction, I work for Absa as an Agile Coach in the RvB space.
Understanding Goal-Setting
We’d like to start by asking a question: how many of you set New Year's resolutions? Just raise your hand. Wow! Many of you do, even if you’re not sticking to them. Now, keep your hands up if you feel like you've made progress toward that resolution. Keep them up if you feel like you’ve fully achieved that goal. Okay, only a month in—be kind to yourselves.
The reality is that goal-setting is common in our personal lives, but when we move to an organizational setting, we sometimes stumble. Organizational goals often resemble personal resolutions—more like hopes and dreams rather than something concrete and actionable. So today, we’re talking about goal-setting.
Traditional Goal-Setting Approaches
In the past, organizations have used various approaches to goal-setting. Most of you have likely heard of SMART goals. Raise your hand if you've used or currently use SMART goals. It’s a popular technique: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. While SMART goals are great for defining a goal, they don’t help tie individual goals into the organization as a whole.
Another popular method is KPIs—Key Performance Indicators. These measure the success, output, quantity, or quality of an ongoing process or activity, much like a car’s dashboard shows fuel levels, speed, or temperature. However, KPIs don’t always indicate where an organization is heading. They track current processes but don’t necessarily foster innovation.
The third common approach is the Balanced Scorecard, which measures performance across four perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes, and learning & growth. As Evan mentioned earlier, organizations tend to hyper-focus on financials during tough times, often at the expense of other critical areas, leading to negative behaviors.
Introducing OKRs
There is a better way to set goals—one that is holistic and adaptive: OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). One challenge with traditional methods is that they often follow an annual cycle, much like New Year’s resolutions. We set goals at the beginning of the year and spend the next 12 months chasing them, often without regular reflection. OKRs help address this issue by allowing for shorter feedback loops.
How many of you are currently using OKRs? Great! For those who aren’t, don’t worry—we’ll cover enough so you feel comfortable participating in the upcoming activity.
OKRs, popularized by Google, help organizations with focus, transparency, alignment, and results. They prioritize projects at an organizational level, ensuring that teams align with broader goals. Leadership shifts from top-down goal-setting to more of a guidance role, and organizations build a culture of achieving tangible results.
The History of OKRs
OKRs have been around for decades. Peter Drucker introduced the concept of Management by Objectives in the 1950s. When Andy Grove joined Intel, he saw the shortcomings of traditional management methods and introduced a new way of measuring goals—what we now call OKRs. In the 1970s, John Doerr joined Intel, learned about OKRs, and in 1999, introduced them to Google. Google has since attributed much of its success to OKRs, and other Silicon Valley giants, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Adobe, Amazon, Microsoft, and Netflix, have followed suit.
Shifting from Output to Outcome
Organizations love OKRs because they shift the focus from output to outcomes. The framework is simple: Objectives define where we want to go, and Key Results measure whether we are getting there.
An objective should be inspirational and aspirational—clear but not quantitative. For example, if you want to climb Mount Everest, the objective is to reach the summit. Key Results define measurable steps to achieve that goal, such as increasing fitness levels, acquiring the right gear, and planning acclimatization climbs.
Example OKRs
Here’s an example OKR that aligns with Evan’s earlier discussion on customer obsession:
- Objective: Improve customer satisfaction.
- Key Results:
- Increase overall customer satisfaction from 7 to 8 out of 10.
- Improve average turnaround time for queries to less than 24 hours.
- Exceed customer feedback rating scores of 90%.
Each OKR consists of a handful of objectives with three to five measurable key results. They are reviewed monthly or quarterly, rather than annually, to ensure agility.
Challenges in Implementing OKRs
Despite their simplicity, OKRs can be difficult to implement. Common challenges include:
- Vague goals: Statements like "We want to be the best in South Africa" or "We will solve world hunger" lack clarity.
- Too detailed: Leadership sometimes micromanages by specifying how objectives should be achieved rather than allowing teams to define key results.
- Unachievable goals: While stretch goals are encouraged, unrealistic targets can demotivate teams.
- Safe goals: In cultures where failure isn’t accepted, teams may set easy goals to avoid risk.
Gamifying OKRs
To make OKR adoption smoother, we developed a game to facilitate top-down and bottom-up conversations. Games create a structured yet engaging environment where all voices—introverts and extroverts—can contribute. They encourage collaboration, engagement, and tangible outcomes.
The board game we’ll play today is designed to help teams refine their OKRs. Here’s how it works:
- Each team has a board, a set of player cards, and a set of discussion, definition, and action cards.
- Players take turns rolling the dice and moving tokens based on their key results.
- Depending on the color they land on, they pick up a discussion, definition, or action card.
- Teams discuss the question on the card for two minutes and record insights.
- The goal is to refine the initial OKRs and generate actionable steps.
Key Takeaways
The game simulates a collaborative process for refining OKRs. Instead of blindly accepting top-down goals, teams analyze whether objectives and key results are well-defined, measurable, and relevant. The discussions drive alignment and ensure buy-in.
Once teams have refined their OKRs, they use structured techniques like 25/10 Crowdsourcing to finalize key results. This prevents endless debate and ensures progress over perfection.
Final Thoughts
OKRs provide a powerful framework for aligning organizational goals with tangible outcomes. However, they should never be tied to performance reviews, bonuses, or salary increases. Doing so encourages sandbagging—teams setting easy, risk-averse goals.
Instead, performance evaluations should incorporate peer feedback and broader contributions. OKRs should challenge teams to strive for ambitious yet achievable outcomes.
Who’s ready to try this game with their teams? If you’d like a copy, come find us afterward!
Thank you!