OKRs vs KPIs vs hoshin kanri poster

KPIs, OKRs and hoshin kanri are often sold against each other, but they do three different jobs. A KPI measures the ongoing health of a process and is read every shift. An OKR sets one objective and three to five measurable key results for a quarter of change. Hoshin kanri sets a direction for three to five years, the year's objectives and the projects that deliver them, and carries them down through the plant by catchball. This poster puts the three in one table so a leadership team can agree which tool is doing which job, and sees the one thing they share: every goal is measured by a KPI the floor already looks at.

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OKRs vs KPIs vs hoshin kanri poster — 24 x 36 in18 x 24 inA2A3LetterA4PNG 300 dpi

The words on the poster

KPIs, OKRs, hoshin

Three tools for three jobs. Most plants need all of them, pointed at the same few goals.

KPIs: Health. Always on.

Measure + target Injury rate, yield, OTIF.
Every shift Read at the board daily.
Rolls up One number, line to plant.
Red at the huddle Cause, owner, date, A3.
Use it when Keeping a process where it is. Every board needs them.

OKRs: Change. One quarter.

Objective + KRs One aim, 3 to 5 results.
A quarter Graded at the end of it.
Written per level Teams line up with above.
Grade at the end Reached? Learned what?
Use it when The route is not known yet: a launch, a new line, a culture goal.

Hoshin kanri: Direction. Years.

Breakthroughs Years of change, in steps.
A year at a time Met or Missed each month.
Catchball Down, reply up, agree.
Bowling chart Monthly and quarterly.
Use it when A plant with tier meetings and kaizen, pointed at the same few goals.

Not either or. KPIs say where you are. OKRs and hoshin kanri say where you are going and how. Every goal is measured by a KPI the floor already sees.

After the OKR definition at whatmatters.com (John Doerr) and the Lean Enterprise Institute's lexicon entry on hoshin kanri.

On the floor

How to use it

Putting the OKRs vs KPIs vs hoshin kanri poster to work

1
Put it in the room where goals are set, before the yearly planning starts.
2
Use it to settle the argument: KPIs run the day, OKRs or hoshin run the change. Nobody has to pick one.
3
When a team proposes an OKR, check its key results against the bottom row: are they KPIs the team already sees?
4
Pair it with the free hoshin kanri X-matrix 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.

Sources and notes

Some companies run OKRs in the offices and hoshin kanri in the plants; others use the OKR format for a team's quarterly share of a hoshin objective. The table describes the usual form of each, not a rule.