3 ms·
I really liked this post and it hit on a few problems I've encountered when trying to use OKRs: namely, what I'm going to call the "we know what we want to do,
by scott_w 3y ago
I really liked this post and it hit on a few problems I've encountered when trying to use OKRs: namely, what I'm going to call the "we know what we want to do, so just fucking do it" problem. I've been guilty of trying to contort things into an "OKR-like" view of the world when really, the answer was to just say "this quarter, we'll work on this task." It makes everything difficult when I'm then asked to turn this into a roadmap of things we'll do.
I do think it's worth remembering that John Doerr's implementation of OKRs at Intel actually did include binary goals. I remember reading the book and seeing "complete design and begin fabrication of chip X by Y date" (I'm paraphrasing because I don't feel like going through the book to find it). Yes, the higher-level objective was "establish Intel as the top chip maker" but that, by necessity, included "actually make the chip."
- mewpmewp2 3y agoNowadays you can write up what you really need to do, then ask ChatGPT to make BS OKRs out of them, with numbers to sound just impressive enough, but really easy to achieve even when you do the correct things unrelated to the OKRs.
- boredemployee 3y agoI love how ChatGPT is good enough for the boring corporate BS.
- scott_w 3y agoHonestly, I don't like this approach. I think it's better to just write down what needs to be done and say "this is what I'm doing." At least that's clear to everyone instead of everyone in the org trying to BS each other.
- mewpmewp2 3y agoI mean that's from the individual perspective. The alternative is to start telling everyone that OKRs are BS, and then have everyone on one level above you do the same to have it make any difference. You are asked to provide OKRs, everyone else are doing it and the only way not to do it is if you start your crusade or I guess just say "no" and see what happens?
- scott_w 3y agoFirst up, I never said they were BS in all, I just said they're not a great tool for all situations. Next, I'd say it depends. Sometimes an org is new to OKRs so gets pretty zealous about using it for everything. In this situation, assuming the org is trying to learn, the management needs to go through the pain and figure out what does/doesn't work. Sometimes there's enough braindead thinking in the org, in which case, there's not much to do but I'd argue sending ChatGPT nonsense is probably worse than telling everyone OKRs are BS. You're better off doing your best and hoping for the best. If you're caught engaging with management initiatives in bad faith then I don't see it ending well.