Fazley RabbiOKRs (objectives and key results) are a simple way to set goals: you write one clear objective that says where you want to go, and a few key results that prove you got there. The objective is written in words and should motivate people; the key results are measurable. For a small business, the real value is focus. OKRs force you to choose a few priorities for the next few months instead of trying to improve everything at once.
The method became well known through large technology companies, but its core works just as well in a shop of five people or a family-run factory. You can drop most of the ceremony and keep the discipline.
The two parts of an OKR
Objective: what you want to achieve, in plain language. It should matter, stretch the team a little and be easy to remember. "Make our online orders so reliable that customers come back" is an objective.
Key results: how you will know you achieved it. Each one is a number you can check at the end of the period. For the objective above, key results might be: fewer orders returned because of the wrong size or colour, every Messenger and WhatsApp enquiry answered on the same working day, and more repeat orders from last season's buyers. In your own version, each one gets an actual target.
A key result describes an outcome, not a task. "Post on Facebook every day" is a task. "More enquiries from Facebook" is a result. Tasks belong in the plan you make for reaching the key result, and they can change if they do not work.
A worked example
A hypothetical coaching centre in Natore wants more students for its next batch. Its OKR for the quarter might look like this:
Objective: Become the coaching centre parents in our area recommend first.
- Key result 1: Increase admission enquiries that come from referrals to a target the team agrees.
- Key result 2: Raise the number of current parents who rate us highly in a short feedback form.
- Key result 3: Reduce the number of students who leave in the middle of a term.
The activities are planned separately: a small thank-you for parents who refer a family, a monthly parent meeting, a phone call when a student misses several classes. If an activity does not move the numbers after a few weeks, the team tries something else. The objective stays.
OKRs and KPIs: what is the difference?
| KPI | OKR | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Monitor the health of the business | Drive one specific improvement |
| Time frame | Ongoing | Usually one quarter |
| Examples | Daily sales, cash in hand, return rate | "Cut returns" as a key result this quarter |
| How often it changes | Rarely | Every cycle |
You need both. KPIs are the dials you keep watching every week; OKRs choose which dial you are trying to move right now. Often a weak KPI becomes next quarter's key result. If you do not track any KPIs yet, start with a simple owner's KPI dashboard before setting OKRs.
Setting your first OKRs, step by step
- Start from the year. Write down what the business must achieve this year. An annual business plan gives you that starting point.
- Choose one to three objectives for the quarter. In a small team, fewer is better. One is perfectly fine.
- Draft the key results with the people who will do the work. Goals people help write are goals they understand.
- Test each key result. Is it measurable? Do we have the data? Is it an outcome rather than a task?
- Give each key result an owner. The owner tracks it and raises a hand when it slips; they are not the only person working on it.
- Agree a short weekly check-in. What moved, what is blocked, what we will try next.
- Score honestly at the end of the quarter, and write down what you learned before setting the next round.
Mistakes small teams make
- Too many OKRs. If everything is a priority, nothing is.
- Key results that are really tasks. Finishing a to-do list proves effort, not improvement.
- No data. If you cannot measure a key result, set up the measurement first or choose a different one.
- Tying OKRs directly to salary or bonus. People then set safe targets. Many teams keep OKR scores separate from pay decisions.
- Set and forget. Without the weekly check-in, OKRs become a document in a drawer.
- Copying big-company OKRs. Write goals that fit your size, your customers and your season, including busy periods such as Eid.
Before your first OKR meeting
- Have you written down this year's main aims?
- Do you already track a handful of key numbers?
- Have you chosen the one objective that matters most this quarter?
- Does each key result have an owner and a data source?
- Is a short weekly check-in on the calendar?
Goal setting is part of my business development work. If you would like an outside view while you set your first OKRs, get in touch.