Five Superpowers of OKRs – Unique or Ubiquitous?

In the Learning Course on LinkedIn “Measure What Matters: Succeeding with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)“,  John Doerr, the author of the book “Measure What Matters”, identified five key benefits that OKRs system brings in i.e. Focus, Alignment, Commitment, Tracking, and Stretching (FACTS). He calls them OKRs’ superpowers. It made me wonder shouldn’t these superpowers be benefits of any other goal setting / strategy execution system as well, and shouldn’t we add the biggest benefit that OKRs bring in, i.e. “Execution”, to the list as the sixth superpower.

Having been a practitioner of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and OKRs system, when I compare OKRs with BSC on these superpowers, I find that both systems bring these benefits but with a difference. Here are the differences I can highlight based on my multi-decade hands-on implementation experiences:

1. Focus: Focus is paramount for both systems. BSC focuses on strengthening internal processes and building capability for long-term improvement. BSC force you think more long term, more strategic and more comprehensive, with each BSC having 10 to 15 Objectives and 2 to 3 Measures each. On the other hand, OKRs have laser sharp focus on achieving results over the next 3 to 4 months. OKRs recommends 3 to 4 Objectives with 2 to 3 Key Result Areas at a time. Essentially, less parameters but more focus in case of OKRs.
2. Alignment: In my opinion, BSC offers a broader approach to alignment, encompassing the entire organization and it even aims to align external entities like vendors. While in theory it sounds excellent, alignment with vendors comes much later in the journey of BSC adoption. Very few organizations have reached to that level of BSC maturity. OKRs, on the other hand, transcends organizational hierarchies and therefore can foster better alignment across teams.
3. Commitment: OKRs foster greater commitment by allowing teams to design their own objectives and key results, leading to increased ownership. BSC objectives, which typically follow a top-down cascade approach, may not always inspire the same level of commitment.
4. Tracking: OKRs’ simplicity in tracking six to nine key results is a significant advantage over BSCs as BSC requires tracking of around 30 performance measures. Moreover, in BSC, a big chunk of data comes from departments across the organization. Many organizations can’t get the required data in place for months and the whole cadence of running strategy review with the help of BSC gets interrupted.
5. Stretching: Both OKRs and BSC can support stretch goals. OKRs are well-suited for short-term (quarterly or yearly) stretch goals, while BSC can help organizations set and achieve long-term (3-5 year) strategic objectives.

Now, let’s also briefly dwell on the critical missing benefit i.e. “Execution”.  OKRs, for sure, drive execution.  Afterall, OKRs, with few objectives and small no. of key results to achieve within the next three to four months, limits opportunities for teams to default on execution. However, BSC drives execution across an organization. As Dr. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, the creators of Balanced Scorecard framework, discussed in their book “The Execution Premium” that BSC can help organizations link strategy to operations, plan execution, and ensure accountability across departments. The book explains how to develop an effective strategy; plan execution of the strategy – through portfolios of strategic initiatives linked to strategy maps and Balanced Scorecards; put strategy into action, and test and update strategy. Remain tuned it for more to follow on “Strategy Execution” in subsequent blogs.

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Ultimately, While FACTS—Focus, Alignment, Commitment, Tracking, and Stretching—are benefits that any goal-setting or strategy execution system can help achieve, OKRs offer a unique combination of clarity, accountability, and ambition. John Doerr’s book “Measure What Matters” vividly illustrates how organizations worldwide have harnessed these superpowers in their OKRs journey.

Rescon Partners has extensive experience with BSC/OKRs, having collaborated with multiple clients and trained hundreds of corporate executives. We would love to hear your thoughts on selecting the right framework. Let’s set up a call to share insights. Feel free to contact us at info@resconpartners.com.