OKR, better known as Objectives and Key Results, is a goal-setting system used by many tech giants such as Google and Intel. There are several books written by famous authors on this topic and this blog will take you through some of the best OKR quotes from these books that will inspire you even more.
Top 10 Quotes from OKR Books
1 “Having goals improves performance. Spending hours cascading goals up and down the company, however, does not. It takes way too much time and it’s too hard to make sure all the goals line up.”
1 The Beginner’s Guide to OKR, by Felipe Castro
This book by Felipe Castro is great for anyone who is just getting started with OKR. It tells you everything you need to know to get a basic understanding of how the system works.
2 “High-performance organizations home in on work that’s important and are equally clear on what doesn’t matter.”
2 Measure What Matters, by John Doerr
This book is about how companies like Google and Intel have implemented the OKR system in their management and how greatly it has benefited them. Parts of the book have been narrated by Bill Gates, Larry Page, and Andy Grove.
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3 “One: set inspiring and measurable goals. Two: make sure you and your team are always making progress towards that desired end state. No matter how many other things are on your plate. And three: set a cadence that makes sure the group both remembers what they are trying to accomplish and holds each other accountable.”
3 Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results, by Christina Wodtke.
In Radical Focus, Christina Wodtke talks about her experiences as an executive in some of the most famous Silicon Valley companies. The book also talks about how a team can use OKR to their advantage to achieve their goals in a methodical manner.
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4 “As a middle manager, you are in effect a chief executive of an organization yourself… As a micro CEO, you can improve your own and your group’s performance and productivity, whether or not the rest of the company follows suit.”
4 High Output Management, by Andy Grove.
Andy Grove, Former CEO and Co-founder of Intel shares some extremely valuable insights in his book High Output Management. This book discusses leadership and management and the role of a manager in leading his team towards success.
5 “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.”
5 How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business, by Douglas W. Hubbard.
Doug Hubbard has provided an easy-to-read, demystifying explanation of how managers can inform themselves to make less risky, more profitable business decisions. This book talks about how to set and execute OKRs.
6 It should go without saying—but it usually doesn’t, so we’ll say it—that data is best understood by those closest to the issue, which is often not management. As a leader, it is best not to get lost in details you don’t understand, but rather trust the smart people who work for you to understand them.”
6 How Google Works, by Eric Schmidt.
7 “If you’re achieving all your goals, you’re not setting them aggressively enough.”
7 Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead, by Laszlo Bock
This book is written by Laszlo Bock, Visionary head of People Operations at Google. He explains how to set OKR goals in a way that will help achieve wonderful results. The widely-used example of Google has also been provided that testifies to the success of the OKR system.
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8 “Leaders challenge the status quo and propose innovative ideas to bring a unique perspective to the enterprise.”
8 Enterprise Agility with OKRs: A Complete Guide to Achieving Enterprise Business Agility, by Aditi Agarwal.
Enterprise Agility with OKRsdives into detail about the application of the OKR system in Enterprise Agility. Aditi Agarwal provides some real-life examples of well-written and badly-written OKRs.
9 “When I lead workshops, I often say that leaders practice leadership, just as physicians practice medicine and attorneys practice law.”
9 Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership, by Doug Gray.
In this book, Doug Gray provides valuable guidance on how to implement OKRs in an organization with the help of examples and case studies. The chapters are written in a way that is super easy to comprehend.
10 “The definition of OKRs as a “critical thinking framework” is resonating even with organizations that do not formally adopt OKRs as their goal-setting model.”
10 The OKRs Field Book: A Step-by-Step Guide for Objectives and Key Results Coaches, by Ben Lamorte.
This book is highly relevant to people who aspire to be OKR coaches. It dives deeper into the aspects of OKR and helps OKR coaches to guide their clients better.
In Conclusion,
These were some of the best quotes from some best-selling books related to OKR. The books mentioned above are a must-read and you should definitely study them if you haven’t already. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner looking to implement goal setting in your personal life, a manager looking to lead their team with efficiency, or an OKR coach. These books have something insightful for everyone.
