OKR for growing companies: how not to turn goals into bureaucracy

OKR is a way of setting goals in which a company picks a few clear directions for the quarter and attaches three to five measurable results to each one, so it can see whether it is really moving there. For an owner, this gives a single picture of the whole company: teams derive their goals from the company's, and a weekly check-in shows where things are moving and where they are stuck. It only works when OKRs become a way of managing rather than one more reporting form, and the rest of this article covers how to roll the system out without bureaucracy and which mistakes to avoid.

Why companies adopt OKRs, and why most of them fail

OKR (Objectives & Key Results) is a goal-setting methodology that has become an almost mandatory item in management fashion. Because well-known technology companies use it, many leaders conclude: we will roll out OKRs and grow too. In practice, though, for most of the companies I have seen, the rollout fails. Some abandon the system within six months; others keep it as a handsome facade over the same old goal-setting system.

Why? Because OKR is not a goal-setting system. OKR is a company management system. It requires a change in culture, in how you communicate, in how you make decisions. Introduce OKRs only on paper, and nothing changes.

In this article I will explain: (1) the difference between OKRs and the old KPI system; (2) how to roll out OKRs so they actually work; (3) the mistakes companies make; (4) which kind of company this applies to.

The difference between OKRs and KPIs: a simple example

OKR is about "where we want to go" and "how we will know we got there."

KPI is about "how the system is performing right now."

An example:

KPI approach: "Our goal is to grow revenue by 20% next quarter."

OKR approach: Objective: "Become the No. 1 solution in a niche segment for small agencies." Key Results: (1) daily active users grow from 15,000 to 25,000; (2) churn rate drops from 6% to 4%; (3) average revenue per user grows from ₽10,000 to ₽14,000; (4) NPS of 60 or higher (currently 42).

See the difference? A KPI is a number. An OKR is a direction plus the metrics that show you are genuinely moving toward it.

When to start using OKRs

When a company is small (up to 20 people), people still understand the strategy through conversations with the founder. OKRs are overkill here.

(1) The company has several departments or teams. With a single team, you do not need OKRs. With two teams (sales and engineering), OKRs start to make sense.

(2) Growth begins to slow. Here is the paradox: OKRs are needed when growth slows. When a company is growing 5–10% a month, OKRs will slow it down, because it will spend time aligning goals. When growth slows to 1–3% a month, OKRs help you find new avenues for growth.

How to roll out OKRs: a step-by-step process

Preparation (week 1)

Gather the leadership team and answer four questions: (1) What is the company's strategy for the next 1–3 years? (2) Which three directions matter most? (3) What result do we want from this quarter/year? (4) What risks or opportunities do we see?

Building company-level OKRs (week 2)

Write 3–5 OKRs for the company as a whole. Each OKR consists of: (1) an Objective (4–6 words, describing what we want to achieve); (2) 3–5 Key Results (SMART metrics that show we have achieved the Objective).

A sample company to work with: a SaaS for project management.

Company: 30 people, revenue of ₽5M per month, 15,000 daily active users, churn rate of 6%, average revenue per user of ₽10,000, NPS of 42.

Strategy: become the No. 1 solution for small agencies within the next 12 months.

Company-level OKRs for the first quarter:

Objective 1: Become the primary solution for small agencies.

KR1: Daily active users grow from 15,000 to 21,000 (40% growth in the quarter).

KR2: Churn rate drops from 6% to 5%.

KR3: NPS rises from 42 to 50.

Objective 2: Expand the product from basic project management into adjacent tools.

KR1: Integrations with 5 core tools (Slack, calendar, etc.).

KR2: Usage of these integrations by 40% of daily active users.

Building team-level OKRs (week 3)

Each team (sales, engineering, marketing, support) develops its own OKRs based on the company's OKRs. For example:

Sales OKRs:

Objective: Win the top 10% of small agencies in our niche.

KR1: Outreach to 100 agencies, 30 demos, 10 contracts.

KR2: Improve the conversion funnel: landing page > trial > paid by 20%.

KR3: Reduce customer acquisition cost from ₽7,000 to ₽5,000 per customer.

Engineering OKRs:

Objective: Build integrations with the core tools small agencies use.

KR1: Build integrations with Slack, Google Calendar, and Figma in 8 weeks.

KR2: 40% of daily active users use at least 1 integration.

KR3: Bug-tracking system: improve 2x (new integrations have fewer than 5 bugs per week).

Marketing OKRs:

Objective: Build a brand that small agencies trust.

KR1: Use cases, case studies, and proven approaches available publicly.

KR2: The referral program generates 30% of leads.

KR3: Organic traffic doubles.

Weekly check-in (every Monday, 15 minutes)

Team leads report progress on the OKRs: (1) what percentage of completion we are at; (2) blockers; (3) whether the OKRs need adjusting (they should not, unless circumstances have changed fundamentally); (4) what needs to be done next month?

Quarterly review and retrospective (2–3 hours)

At the end of the quarter: (1) Score the achievement of each OKR (% complete). (2) Discuss why targets were missed, if they were. (3) Capture the lessons. (4) Develop OKRs for the next quarter.

Common mistakes when rolling out OKRs

Mistake 1: Too many OKRs

Companies often write 10–15 OKRs. The result: no one remembers what the point was. The rule: 3–5 OKRs at the company level, 3–5 OKRs at the team level, 2–3 personal OKRs.

Mistake 2: OKRs that are really KPIs

For example, "close 100 contracts" is a KPI, not an OKR. A good OKR: "Build a brand that customers trust (Objective). Key Results: NPS of 70, improve retention by 20%, earn a place in the top 10 review platforms."

Mistake 3: OKRs hit at 100%

If you hit all your OKRs at 100%, they were not ambitious enough. A good OKR is designed so that 70% completion already counts as a success: the company has clearly moved forward, even if it did not take everything at once.

Mistake 4: OKRs turn into a staff-evaluation tool

Instead of a tool for alignment and management, OKRs become a way to evaluate employees. The outcome is predictable: people set themselves easier goals so they can close them at 100% faster. OKRs are not about bonuses.

How this can work: a quarterly sample of results for a SaaS company

Company: 30 people, revenue of ₽5M per month.

Quarterly goal:

Objective 1: Become the primary solution for small agencies.

Result: Daily active users grew from 15,000 to 25,000 (the target of 21,000 was exceeded), churn rate fell to 5.5% (not quite 5%, but good), NPS rose to 55 — the target of 50 was comfortably exceeded.

Objective 2: Expand the product.

Result: Integrations with 5 tools (success), usage at 45% (success, the target was 40%).

Quarterly score: 2 of 2 Objectives substantially achieved. That equals 70% achievement, which is a success.

Results by team:

Sales: Outreach to 120 agencies (success), 40 demos (success), 12 contracts (success!), the conversion funnel improved by 22% (success), customer acquisition cost fell to ₽5,500 (success).

Engineering: Integrations shipped (success), usage at 45% (success), 4–6 bugs per week on integrations (success).

Marketing: Use cases ready (success), the referral program generates 25% of leads (not quite 30%, but close), organic traffic grew by 180% (more than 2x, success).

Result after the quarter: daily active users grew from 15,000 to 25,000 — that is 119% of the 21,000 target. Churn rate fell to 5.5% (not quite 5%, but better). Average revenue per user grew to ₽12,000. NPS rose to 55 — the target of 50 was comfortably exceeded. Score: 75% OKR achievement, which counts as a success.

Tools for managing OKRs

You do not need complex software. At the early stage, plain Notion or Google Sheets will do. As the company grows, you can consider dedicated tools: 15Five, Lattice, 7Geese.

The minimum you need to track for each OKR: (1) the Objective; (2) the Key Results; (3) the owner; (4) the target value; (5) the current value; (6) the status (on track, at risk, behind); (7) the update date.

Frequently asked questions

What is a KPI in simple terms?

A KPI is a number that shows how well a company, a team, or an individual is performing right now: monthly revenue, the number of new customers, the share of orders delivered on time. The abbreviation stands for key performance indicator. It answers the question of how things are going, but it does not tell the company where to go next, so on its own it is no substitute for a strategy.

Can OKRs and KPIs be used together?

Yes, and in a growing company they complement each other well. KPIs make sure the work that already runs smoothly does not slip, while OKRs set the direction of change for the quarter, and the same metric can easily become a Key Result when it needs to move significantly. The two should not be confused in purpose: tie OKRs to bonuses the way KPIs usually are, and people will set themselves easier goals and the system loses its point.

What is goal setting?

Goal setting is the leadership work of deciding where the company is headed and translating that choice into concrete goals for teams and people. A well-set goal is clear to everyone, measurable, and grounded in strategy rather than in the habit of repeating last year's plan with an adjustment for growth. OKRs are one way to organize goal setting so that goals do not stay on paper and are regularly checked against reality.

Where did the OKR methodology come from?

The approach took shape at Intel under Andy Grove, and it was popularized by John Doerr, who had worked for Grove and in the late 1990s introduced OKRs to the young team at Google. Doerr later described that experience in his book Measure What Matters. That is where the tool's reputation as a tech-company practice comes from, although it works the same way for any business that already has several teams and can no longer convey its strategy through conversations with the founder alone.

Conclusion

OKR is a powerful tool for managing a growing company. But it is not a cure-all. OKRs work only if: (1) they are backed by the culture (transparency, ambition, learning from mistakes); (2) leadership genuinely believes in the tool; (3) the company is ready to invest time in weekly and quarterly syncs. Roll OKRs out properly, and the system will rally the company around a shared goal, help it grow faster, and adapt to change more easily.