How to write an OKR poster

An OKR is one objective, the change a team wants to make in words, and three to five key results, the numbers that will show it has happened, graded at the end of the cycle. Most weak OKRs fail the same few tests: the objective is a number, the key results are tasks, nobody owns them, or they measure something the team never sees. This poster gives six checks to run before an OKR is agreed, and a filled example from a filling line, so a team leader can write one in twenty minutes at the board.

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The words on the poster

How to write an OKR

One objective people remember. Key results you can count. An owner for each.

Six checks before it is agreed

Start with one objective One sentence, no number. A direction worth a quarter of work.
Add three to five key results A number: from where, to where, by when. Not a to-do list.
Measure results, not tasks Training people is a task. Changeovers under target are a result.
Use a KPI the team already sees The key result and the board number are the same number.
One owner per key result A name, not a department. They bring the number and the fix.
Say why it matters One line linking it to a plant goal. No line, no objective.

An example with sample data. Objective: make changeovers on the filling lines predictable. KR1: average changeover from 42 to 25 minutes by 30 June. KR2: first-pass yield in the hour after restart from 94% to 99%. KR3: every changeover run to the written standard, checked weekly.

Format after the OKR definition at whatmatters.com (John Doerr). An example with sample data: the figures are illustrative.

On the floor

How to use it

Putting the How to write an OKR poster to work

1
Put it where the team sets its quarterly goals, next to the board that carries the KPIs.
2
Run a new OKR down the six checks before it is agreed. Rewrite any key result that names a task instead of a result.
3
Use the example to show the difference between a key result and a KPI: the key result is the KPI with a target and a date.
4
Pair it with the free SMART goals template and the manufacturing KPI dashboard template.

Where the poster goes and how to teach with it, in the order to try them.

Which size to print

24 x 36 in or A2: a main wall or team board, read from a few metres away.
18 x 24 in or A3: a station or notice board. The A3 file also fits 11 x 17 in paper.
Letter or A4: a clipboard, binder or handout, on any office printer.

Every PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at full size. Nothing runs to the edge of the page, so no bleed is needed.