7 Short YouTube Videos to Kick Off your Adventure with OKRs
A list of 7 short videos that will help you understand and implement OKRs in 58 min 35 seconds
One thing that many tech companies like Google, LinkedIn, Intel or Twitter have in common is that at some point they implemented a simple yet extremely productive system for setting goals called OKRs — Objective & Key Results. I’m sure that there’s plenty of articles and resources on OKRs in the Internet but in case you’ve never heard about this framework, want to learn the basics and have less than 60 minutes (almost an equivalent of one Netflix episode) then here’s a list of 7 short YouTube videos that might help you to start off your journey.
(I put videos in a top-down order with the more general content on the top and more detailed or ‘advanced’ at the end)
1. TED.Why the secret to success is setting the right goals | John Doerr [11:51 min]
I suggest to start with this one, a high-level and inspirational speech by John Doerr, the author of Measure What Matters. In 1974 he joined Intel and learned OKR during his time there from legendary CEO Andy Grove. Doerr went on to join Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the first major investors in Google and became an adviser to Google in its very early days and convinced Larry Page and Sergey Brin to introduce OKRs in their company
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4N1q4RNi9I
2. MEASURE WHAT MATTERS by John Doerr | Core Message [8:45 min]
A more detailed presentation on OKR Goal Setting System with its background, wonderfully explained, full of insights and real-life examples of three key ingredients of OKRs: an Audacious Objective, Quality & Quantity Key Results and Colour Coding Check-ins backed by case studies of NASA’s mission to Moon, Bono and Gates Foundation.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXSIHm115gk
3. What is an OKR? [1:58 min]
Almost a video-commercial-length summary of what OKRs are with an interesting example of building the first time-travelling bike and listing benefits for the whole organisation that becomes more focus, transparent and aligned.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI_tEIpCzyE
4. The New OKR Crash Course: An introduction to Objectives & Key Results [11:41 min]
An 11 minutes exhaustive introduction to OKRs from Henrik-Jan van der Pol, CEO of Perdoo that covers in a very structured way both theory and ultra-practical examples starting with laying out the difference between Objective & Key Results and initiatives, good and bad practices of setting OKRs, difference between outcomes vs. outputs and final recommendations on rolling out OKRs to get start with
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIcpFZ5rbHc
5. A Practical OKR Primer [7:21 min]
A more detailed but still short video covering benefits and best practices but in a more concise way, that’s why I recommend to watch this video later. Probably it’s worth taking a look at the pyramid model of Mission/Vision -> Strategic Goals->Objectives ->Tactics & Tasks
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkBmR_eTDvQ
6. How to Set Good OKRs with Examples [6:14 min]
Now when you know the history and theory let’s move to the checklist of some features that good Objectives and Key Results should have and what OKRs are not (e.g. Project with a task list)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYAnz1PwpRA
7. Top Five Common OKR Mistakes [3:06 min]
Last but not least, familiarise yourself with the list of common mistakes made while setting OKRs and don’t get discouraged as this is part of the process
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MRYZi79JWE
Hope that helps with starting off your journey towards OKRs. If you have any suggestions on short videos that might come in handy at the beginning, feel free to leave them in the comment below 👇
PS. My last recommendation is The difference between Metrics, KPIs & Key Results (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLKyuUqtwuA) with links to articles on the anatomy of a Key Result and KPI in the description section. Slightly more nuanced but worth keeping in mind.
