{"id":2417,"date":"2022-10-03T04:05:47","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T04:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.hubino.com\/resources\/?p=2417"},"modified":"2022-10-03T04:21:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T04:21:35","slug":"why-do-okrs-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.hubino.com\/resources\/why-do-okrs-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do OKRs fail?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Not every team that decides to implement OKRs will succeed in doing so.<\/p>

We, at Hubino \u2013 just as other vendors \u2013 will give advice and point out solutions, but the fact is that OKRs are not a right fit for every team. In this post we will share what we\u2019ve learned over the years working with different businesses \u2013 as well as what we\u2019ve learned from our own experience. We\u2019ll focus on the reasons why teams failed and\/or abandoned OKRs.<\/p>

In our experience, the reasons for OKRs to fail are either technical or fundamental . Technical reasons are fixable, though it\u2019s not always easy. On the other hand, fundamental problems are a sign that anF organization should look into different management methodologies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. The Google video<\/b><\/p>

I have yet to talk to a person about OKRs that doesn\u2019t mention the Google video  as the place where they\u2019ve first learned about OKRs. It really is a great video and has done amazing things for evangelizing OKRs to a wider audience.<\/p>

The problem however is, that when people start (and end!?) with that video, often they have a solution and are looking for a problem. Obviously, most \u2013 if not all \u2013 companies aspire to be like Google. Taken outside of context, however, it is trying to be like Steve Jobs by being harsh to your colleagues.<\/p>

Most of the teams that implement OKRs simply because someone watched this video will fail. Some will learn and successfully restart, others will abandon OKRs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. Missing data<\/b><\/p>

The basic mechanics of OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) include setting a qualitative objective (e.g. Improve on-boarding) and quantitative key results (e.g. increase T+3 logins by 8%). When a team is data aware and data driven, OKRs feel very natural and adoption is pretty straightforward.<\/p>

The reality is, that many businesses don\u2019t have widely available metrics \u2013 even the basic ones. For OKRs to be useful, data needs to be :<\/p>

– Available in general<\/p>

– Available to everyone that needs it<\/p>

– Up-to date and easily accessible<\/p>

Teams that don\u2019t have generally available and up-to-date data will tend to use their OKRs as an elaborate to-do list . Soon after, they\u2019ll figure out that the overhead that comes with OKRs is simply not worth it. When this happens, there are really only two options: company gets serious about data or company abandons OKRs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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3. The treadmill syndrome<\/b><\/p>

I\u2019ve decided to be fit and healthy, so I bought a treadmill. It is a divine form of procrastination. I could give up sugar, wine, walk more \u2013 but that\u2019s so much harder than buying a treadmill. Unfortunately, as the saying goes \u201cyou cannot out-exercise bad diet\u201d.<\/p>

Some of the teams that we\u2019ve worked with had a hard time focusing on what is important (to be frank, we at Hubino also had this problem now and then). They\u2019ve tried to introduce OKRs, only to face the same problem again \u2013 lack of focus. Just to touch on the treadmill analogy, OKRs can help companies focus \u2013 but they cannot make them do so.<\/p>

The bottom line is, OKRs are a tool or a framework, that helps teams achieve focus and alignment \u2013 but it\u2019s not magic. Teams that fail because of treadmill syndrome, generally fail pretty quickly with OKRs and very rarely they attempt to restart them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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4. Wrong cadence<\/b><\/p>\n

Google and many other suggest that team should plan their OKRs for a quarter and a year. That is perfectly fine for Google \u2013 obviously \u2013 but it may not be fine for your team or businesses.<\/p>\n

What is the right planning cadence depends on many things. Small startups typically move very fast, so 3 months is an eternity. Similar thing also happens in larger companies that are growing very fast. The basic rule here is: the faster the change, shorter the cadence . There is obviously an overhead with each planning session, so if you do choose a shorter cadence \u2013 keep the planning lean.<\/p>\n

When wrong cadence is chosen, teams will usually stop updating their OKRs very soon. Often, teams will report that their OKRs are obsolete or irrelevant by the time everyone is done setting their OKRs. Once the team is not paying attention to OKRs, the process is already dead \u2013 even if not officially. Teams that choose wrong cadence, can recover relatively easily by choosing a more appropriate cadence.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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5.<\/b> Being religious about the \u201cbest practices\u201d<\/b><\/p>

OKRs have a lot of \u201cbest practice\u201d rules, though they differ depending on who you are talking to. Trying to follow the rules when they don\u2019t make sense, is a quick road to bureaucracy and before you know it your teammates will start to resent the process (perhaps even you ;).<\/p>

Some of the examples of this problem are: making everyone own OKRs , even when it doesn\u2019t make sense; force aligning everyone\u2019s objectives, insisting everyone has 3 objectives and so on.<\/p>

This is a rather typical phenomenon with every new paradigm. Because the practical knowledge and experience are scarce, people always tend to follow the rules blindly. Going down this road will usually result in a lot of push-back from the team and eventually, when the critical mass forms, OKRs will be abandoned.<\/p>

At the same time, this is one of the easiest things to fix: just talk to your team and adjust the process in a reasonable way.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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When OKRs simply don\u2019t make sense<\/b><\/p>

So far we\u2019ve focused on common reasons why the implementation of OKRs fail. Now, it\u2019s time to face the elephant in the room \u2013 when OKRs fail, because they shouldn\u2019t be implemented in the first place.<\/p>

Organizations and teams which are experimenting are not a good fit \u2013 unless, there is a way to structure the experiments. OKRs are very much about execution, doing something better. So if it\u2019s unclear what needs to be done and how the success will be measured, OKRs are generally a waste of time.<\/p>

Another type of organizations where OKRs don\u2019t make a lot of sense, are strict, micromanaged environments. Now, there is nothing wrong with such organizations (for example, you wouldn\u2019t want your surgeon to push herself to operate on your heart faster, nor would you want your pilot to try to save fuel by sporadically turning off engines) \u2013 but, in organizations where what needs to be done is well known and a way of doing it is prescribed, implementing OKRs makes no sense.<\/p>

Finally, I would say that so called \u201clifestyle businesses\u201d or businesses that are profitable and are not looking for growth, would not be served well by OKRs. OKRs are about changing status quo, about pushing oneself one step further, about ambition. If you are running a profitable restaurant and have no desire to turn it into a chain, OKRs are not for you.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not every team that decides to implement OKRs will succeed in doing so. 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