Policy Deployment: How to Succeed Using Objective Key Results

As a business consultant, one of the critical factors for successful policy deployment is the ability to measure OKRs—Objective Key Results, for those new to the lingo.

OKRs are mandatory for business because they allow you to set goals and see the results. It doesn’t matter if you’re an ambitious individual spearheading a start-up or part of the leadership of a long-established legacy business. OKRs are necessary to understand where you’re coming from—and where you’re going.

Imagine going to the doctor. After attentively listening to observations and conducting an examination, the doctor proceeds to ignore vital signs and looks past critical information like temperature, pulse, and heart rate. It’s unacceptable, but it’s an accurate analogy for understanding how OKRs are often overlooked when making business decisions.

As a Toronto-based business consultant, I execute policy deployment for organizations across North America—and have done so for over 20 years. My experience has taught me that observation and critical data inform the decision-making and leadership of the most successful organizations today.

OKRs are conceptually straightforward. O stands for objectives, the soft or heart-felt aspect of a goal. KR represents the key results, the hard targets that provide a crisp analytical element.

Teams lose site when neglecting either aspect of OKRs. Key results allow us to track progress-it’s what enables us to gauge if a plan is working or if changes need to be made. Organizations that want to make progress and meet goals have three requirements:

• Objectives – clearly defined, and easy to understand
• Key Results – outcomes that will be used to measure progress
• Alignment – clarity, understanding, and agreement among team members

Example of an OKR

Setting OKR goals should be inspiring; they can be anything a team wishes to achieve, and it’s good to think big when creating a framework. For example.

Objective:

• Increase sales by $25M

Key Results:

• Win 100 new contracts worth $2.5 million each by 12/31/23
• Create a new funnel to capture 100 new project leads overseas.

As part of policy deployment, I collaborate with organizations working to achieve OKRs, whether quarterly, annually or even further afield. Through alignment, measurement, and resource management, I measure, track, and follow up, pivoting when necessary—just like a good doctor.

Learn more about OKRs and implementing policy deployment for outstanding progress in 2023. To set up a consultation, connect with Leslie at leslie@leanexpansion.ca or 416.528.7990.