The formula for success and how to apply it to your life

"I would like to have this book 19 years ago, when we founded Google, or even before that, when I had to get by, although I hate to do it. process, the truth is that "the magic is only achieved with good ideas and good execution." There is where the OKR intervenes, "writes Larry Page, co-founder from Google in the preface of the book "Mebadure What Matters."

Larry Page and Sergey Brin met John Doerr in 1999, when the Intel engineer came to Google's offices (a garage in the time) to give a lecture on management. What Doerr did was to repeat the method developed by Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel – entrepreneur, scientist and psychology student – who had made an evolution to all management models of the time.

Larry Page, co – founder of Google, writes the introduction to John Doerr' s book and recounts his experience with the OKR in the first person. Bill Gates also recommends it as one of the books of the year

The Success of its New Methodology of Key Objectives and Results, "OKRs" (for its acronym "Objectives and Key Results") had produced a real miracle at INTEL; well known and commented throughout Silicon Valley.

"Usually, I do not accept prefaces," continues Larry Page, "but I agreed to do so because John offered Google a huge gift for all those years. which allowed us to grow at a rate of 10% per year and sometimes more.This helped me, as well as the rest of the company, to arrive at the time and keep us on the right way at crucial moments, "he says.

Google CEO Larry Page says that he can not even imagine managing Google without OKRs (AP Photo / Seth Wenig)

As the Page itself counts, it is a procedure adaptable to different types of organizations and one can do yours: "We have adapted to this method over the years", admits -t it. And he recommends: "Take it as a roadmap and make it yours, depending on what you want to see happen in your life".

FROM GOOGLE TO BILL GATES AND BONO

But not only in Google, they fell in love with the OKR. Gates, voracious reader of more than 50 books a year, has not hesitated to recommend Doerr's work: "At the beginning of Microsoft, I felt pretty confident in my coding skills, but I had a lot to learn about project management. I recommend it to anyone interested in becoming a better administrator. "Today, Gates, applies OKRs to the management of the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, in which the couple invests much of their time and wealth.

Gates applies the OKR to the Melinda Foundation and Bill Gates management. The method has also been adopted by Microsoft.

Similarly, Bono applies the OKR to his life, his work and, above all, his philanthropic activities. This is how the leader of U2 explains why he uses the OKR: "What actions do you need to take your pbadion? If your heart does not agree with your head, then your pbadion does not want say nothing.

The OKRs framework cultivates madness, the chemistry that surrounds it. This gives us an environment of risk, trust, where failure is not an offense. When you have that kind of structure and the environment, in addition to the right people, the magic is fast approaching. "

Bono, from U2, is a fan of OKR (Reuters)

30 MORE THAN 100

The pioneer in the use of OKR, as we have said, was Intel. And the truth is that one of the most fascinating parts of Doerr's book is the story of how this business has evolved from an insignificant start-up, and nothing new to offer, to the giant market giant that it is today, thanks to the method developed by Grove.

The example of Intel has served as a basis for many other companies, institutions and individuals wishing to try the OKR.

Here is from a list of 30, based on more than 100 success stories:

– Khan Academy

– Netflix

– LinkedIn

– Oracle

– Twitter

– Microsoft

– Yahoo!

– Uber

– AOL

– Google

– Amazon

– Bonus (U2)

– Melina & Bill Gates Foundation

– Zynga

– Sears Holding Corp

– Hobsons

– On

– New Point Capital

– Medivo

– Agility of the media

– Edmunds.com

– Difference

– GE

– GoPro

– Moz

– Panasonic

– Facebook

– Schneider Electric

– Samsung

– Salesforce

THE MANTRA AND THE 3 PILLARS

With a net worth of $ 8 billion, according to Forbes, John Doerr is living proof of the results of applying the OKR to the management of personal and professional life. Doerr is currently the investor and board member of Google and Amazon, is a venture capitalist and president of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Doerr serves as an investor and board member on Google and Amazon. His life is an example of the success of applying the OKR to personal and professional life.

"I am very close to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, I am a tech savvy investor who plays on the altar of innovation.But I have also seen a lot of startups – struggling for growth and scalability – doing things the way they should.So, I've set up my philosophy of life whose mantra is: ideas are easy.The performance is everything. "

OKR is based on three essential pillars:

1 – The goal that is the "what" that we want to achieve. As simple as that. By definition, objectives must be meaningful, concrete, action-oriented and (ideally) motivating. "When they are well designed and used, they are a vaccine against fuzzy thinking and consequent blurred performance," Doerr explains.

2 – The key results are the reference points and the follow-up of the "how" objectives are achieved. Doerr argues that for OKRs to be effective, they must be specific, time-bound and aggressive but realistic.

At the same time, they must be measurable and verifiable (even better if they can be done in numbers). The answer to the question of whether the key results have been achieved must be yes or no, there can be no gray. At the end of a period of time (usually a quarter), it must be possible to tell whether or not the goal has been achieved.

The OKR, a contribution from Silicon Valley. They were ideal for technologies that had to meet the challenges of high-speed growth and the need for constant innovation. Doerr dreams of applying the method in governments, hospitals and schools

In the case of Google, the ideal average compliance rate is 60 to 70% of the objectives achieved. If 100% is still achieved, it means that they are not designing ambitious and bold goals.

While the goals are long-term, one year or more, the main results evolve with the progress of the work. Once the main results are completed, the goal must necessarily have been achieved (if it's not badly designed)

Thus, the OKRs define what is the priority in an organization and coordinate individual and collective efforts so that they achieve a goal achieved in all.

3- The goal is "for what". It's the ultimate motivation that gives meaning to what and how. It generates a fusion in the group and gives meaning to the work. It must be relevant, transcendent and shared.

INTEL, the pioneer in the application of OKR and the example that everyone wanted to emulate in Silicon Valley, and in the rest of the world (Photo via Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images).

AGAINST THE DARK SIDE OF OBJECTIVES

Objectives, yes; but transparent, shared, consensual; with stimulating results and one for inspiring. Thus, John Doerr highlights an interesting warning in his book, devoted to goal-based methods: "Goals can cause systematic problems in an organization because they can get too narrow a focus, to encourage a Unethical behavior, taking too much risk, diminishing co-operation and motivation Be careful with the way you apply goals to your organization. "

And have the different goal-based methodologies become too aggressive in some cases, especially when they are linked to a system of rewards and punishments. In 2009, the Harvard Business School published a very interesting article entitled "Goals Gone Wild", in which several cases were reported.

Andy Grove, former CEO of INTEL and creator of OKR. Master, scientist, entrepreneur and student in psychology and management, he managed to give a twist to the already known management models

That's why it's very important to design them properly. The way goals are reflected influences the commitment of the work team, and that is precisely what the OKR looks for. Doerr cites a two-year study conducted by Deloitte in which it is shown that the most important factor in achieving employee engagement is related to "clearly defined objectives that are written and shared in an open and transparent manner . Well-defined goals create union, clarity and job satisfaction, "the research concludes.

That's why Google decided not to link OKRs to bonuses, raises, or promotions. But to make it a sort of "social contract" about what's important.

This does not mean that everything in the OKR system must be separated from bonuses or incentives at all; But if all of the OKRs are tied to premiums and incentives, then the risk is not encouraged, nor are the ambitious goals, not the cooperation.

Every organization has to adapt the OKR to their culture, to make it theirs. The methodology is not a "silver bullet", but those who adopted it emphasize "the magic" that manages to break loose (Getty)

THE IMPORTANT OF IMPORTANT: WHAT

"Many of us do not set any goals for us – most people start with the goals, what I want to achieve and how, but the most fundamental question is why," Doerr explains. , while stating that there are not enough business leaders to consider this issue.

"We are at a critical time in the technology industry and in the economy in general, where people have lost trust in institutions," Doerr said in an interview with Fortune. "Many leaders are bad or immoral, but all too often our institutions do not lead us to the right goals, we should take the OKRs beyond our activities and see them successfully used in governments and schools," he says. and confesses, "I dream that this methodology can have an impact on our schools, maybe our hospitals or even our governments." The OKRs can make differences in the personal domain.

Source: Infobae