Sara's Book: OKRs and Beyond

You Are a Strategist

Use No-BS OKRs to Get Big Things Done

You have the insights and ideas to make meaningful change happen. But turning those ideas into reality? That's where things get stuck. This book shows you how to make that shift.

BookLife Editor's Pick 2,000+ practitioners trained using this methodology
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You Are a Strategist book on desk - Use No-BS Objectives and Key Results to Get Big Things Done by Sara Lobkovich

You know what needs to change. But it's not happening.

You've set the goals, made the case, and done the thinking. The direction was clear—to you, at least.

But weeks or months later, everything drifted back to business as usual. Fires got fought. Opportunities got chased. And the important work—the work that actually moves things forward—stayed stuck.

This isn't a strategy problem. It's a behavior problem.

"You Are a Strategist" cuts through the confusion of traditional goal-setting and gives you practical tools that actually work for change-making minds like yours.

No more complex frameworks that leave you with more questions than answers. No more spinning your wheels on plans nobody follows. Just simple questions and pragmatic frameworks you can use to create clear expectations and connect vision to changed behavior.

What's inside

Framework

The Connected Strategic Stack

Bridge high-level strategy and daily execution with a one-page framework. No more 182-page decks gathering dust.

Method

No-BS OKRs

A practical approach to Objectives and Key Results that focuses on outcomes, not activities—and drives real behavior change.

Practice

Implementation That Sticks

Embed strategic thinking into your organization's operating rhythm, so alignment doesn't evaporate after the offsite.

What you'll learn

This book is a practical playbook for people who think differently about work and want to make real change happen. You'll learn to:

  • Transform your strategic insights into clear, compelling direction others can follow
  • Create measurable goals that actually drive change (even if you don't have data today)
  • Build alignment and support for your ideas—without getting lost in politics and power discrepancies
  • Break free from endless planning and overworking, and start achieving real results

Written for leaders* who need to make strategy useful

This book is for you if you're:

A CEO or executive who has invested in strategic planning but keeps watching execution stall—and isn't sure why.
A Chief of Staff or strategic operator responsible for making alignment actually happen, but without the authority to mandate it.
A team leader who sees the gap between what leadership says matters and what actually gets prioritized.
An HR or L&D leader looking for a goal-setting methodology that drives performance without the dysfunction of traditional performance management.

Whether you're implementing OKRs for the first time or rescuing a failed implementation, this book gives you the practical methodology to make it work.

*You're a leader if you see ways things can be better, no matter what your title is.

What reviewers say

Kirkus Reviews

"A helpful guide to pursuing business goals [...] genuinely practical counsel in step-by-step form."

— Kirkus Reviews Read full review →
5-Star Review

★★★★★

"An essential guide for leaders at all levels who want to drive meaningful change."

— Reader Views Read full review → Reader Views 5-Star Review gold badge for You Are a Strategist
Industry Recognition

"Unlike traditional OKR books that focus heavily on theory or revolve around tech giant case studies, Lobkovich emphasizes practical implementation."

— Mooncamp, Best OKR Books 2026

What readers say

★★★★★

"You Are a Strategist is one of those books that the moment you start reading you feel like was written just for you."

— Jeremy B. Shapiro, Amazon Review

★★★★★

"Experience and insight on creating strategic alignment... What's most valuable is the experience shared on how to assess progress and adjust the approach for the outcome you need."

— Product Manager, Amazon Review

★★★★★

"This is a must-read for any team leader, manager, or executive."

— Kris Jennings, Author, Amazon Review

"This will be a game-changing book for neurodivergent brains."

— S. Katherine Sanders AACG, ADHD Coach + Strategist

★★★★★

"The way she cuts through the BS of strategy and gets straight to what will make a real impact is incredibly helpful, both for organizations and the people working in them."

— K. Ehrman, Amazon Review

Get your copy

Available in print and ebook. Audiobook coming 2026.

You Are a Strategist book on minimalist desk with pencil and dried flowers

Also available at:

(Free workbook only available with direct purchase)

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The book gives you the methodology. But implementing OKRs across an organization—with real teams, competing priorities, and entrenched habits—is where most implementations stall. Let's talk about making it work for yours.

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More OKR Reading

Want to see what's on my own OKR bookshelf? Here are a few other great reads.

Accessible

OKRs for All

by Vetri Velpuri

An accessible, practical introduction to OKRs across the organization, not just for start-ups and engineering.

Comprehensive

Objectives and Key Results

by Paul R. Niven & Ben Lamorte

The definitive work on OKRs—thorough coverage including scale for large organizations.

See all my book recommendations →

Sara Lobkovich, OKR Coach and author

About Sara

Sara Lobkovich is an OKR Master Coach and strategy execution consultant who has trained 2,000+ practitioners across 300+ organizations worldwide.

She works with mid-market companies ($50M–$200M revenue) to close the gap between strategic planning and actual behavior change—using the same No-BS OKRs methodology you'll learn in this book.

Sara is a National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach with 16+ years of executive leadership experience. She's based in Seattle and works with clients nationwide.

Learn more about working with Sara

Ready to unblock your inner strategist?

Get the frameworks and confidence you need to finally close the strategy execution gap—and get big things done.

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