My objective that day, I told the band of young Googlers, was to build a planning model for their company, as measured by three key results:
KR #1: I would finish my presentation on time.
KR #2: We’d create a sample set of quarterly Google OKRs.
KR #3: I’d gain management agreement for a three-month OKR trial.
OKRs surface your primary goals. They channel efforts and coordination. They link diverse operations, lending purpose and unity to the entire organization.
In 2009, the Harvard Business School published a paper titled “Goals Gone Wild.” It led with a catalog of examples of “destructive goal pursuit”: exploding Ford Pinto fuel tanks, wholesale gouging by Sears auto repair centers, Enron’s recklessly inflated sales targets, the 1996 Mount Everest disaster that left eight climbers dead. Goals, the authors cautioned, were “a prescription-strength medication that requires careful dosing . . . and close supervision.” They even posted a warning label: “Goals may cause systematic problems in organizations due to narrowed focus, unethical behavior, increased risk taking, decreased cooperation, and decreased motivation.” The dark side of goal setting could swamp any benefits, or so their argument went.