Welcome to the No-BS OKRs™ Blog

Here, you’ll find resources we create to help teams create, implement, and operationalize No-BS OKRs™ (called Evolutionary OKRs® in some workplaces) to set clear goals, stay focused, and build cultures of growth, learning, and high performance.

Featured No-BS OKRs Posts

Featured
OKR vs KPI: Understanding the Key Differences
OKR vs KPI: Understanding the Key Differences

Curious about the difference between OKRs and KPIs? This post explains how each measurement approach works, when to use them, and why keeping your metrics clear can lead to better business results. Learn how OKRs and KPIs can work together to help you focus on both tracking performance and driving real improvement.

Read More →
A No-BS Approach to Aligning Team OKRs
A No-BS Approach to Aligning Team OKRs

The #1 question organizations ask about OKRs? "How do we cascade them to every team and person?" After training 2,000+ OKR coaches across 300+ organizations, my answer is controversial: You don't. Traditional OKR cascading creates a "mathematical nightmare"—turning 4 company objectives into 100+ unmanageable goals. There's a better way: flexible localization that helps teams align through a simple 3-question framework without drowning in complexity. Learn why cascading fails, when teams need different goal tools, and how to implement team OKR alignment that actually works.

Read More →
OKR Best Practices: No-BS Strategies for Success
OKR Best Practices: No-BS Strategies for Success

Many OKR implementations fail spectacularly. After training over 2,000 OKR coaches across 300+ organizations globally, I've seen the same chronic issues sink even well-intentioned goal-setting efforts: way too many objectives, activity-focused key results, and "rules for thee, not for me" approaches where senior leadership doesn't participate. This guide shares the battle-tested best practices from the No-BS OKRs methodology—proven strategies that separate high-performing organizations from those struggling with OKR confusion and overhead.

Read More →
Are you making any of these common OKR mistakes?
Are you making any of these common OKR mistakes?

Discover the top OKR mistakes that can derail your implementation and learn how to avoid them for successful goal-setting in your organization.

Read More →

Newest Thinkydoer Podcast Episodes

Featured
Leading Leaders Toward Masterpiece Creation
Leading Leaders Toward Masterpiece Creation

What separates leaders who create lasting change from those who simply manage existing problems? Charles Spinosa, management consultant and author of "Leadership as Masterpiece Creation," argues it comes down to moral courage—the willingness to take systematic risks that challenge industry norms to build something genuinely better.

In this conversation, Charles shares his framework for moving from seeing what's wrong to creating what's right, even when your board, team, and entire industry resist change.

Beyond The Binary and Queering Goal Setting with Zephyr Williams
Beyond The Binary and Queering Goal Setting with Zephyr Williams

What if everything you've been taught about goal setting is working against you? Anti-hustle strategist Zeph Williams shares why SMART goals fail neurodivergent entrepreneurs & introduces the SLIC method. Plus: the beautiful reframe from "goal setting" to "becoming" that changes everything.

Breathwork for Busy Brains: Another Novel Path to Mindfulness
Breathwork for Busy Brains: Another Novel Path to Mindfulness

Ever felt like meditation isn't for you? Chauna Bryant, founder of Breath Liberation Society, shares why breathwork succeeds where traditional meditation fails for busy brains. Discover trauma-informed somatic practices that work for overthinkers who struggle with sit-still-be-quiet approaches.

Q2 2025 OKR Forecast Part 2: Flexibility, Timing, and Hot Takes with Three Trusted OKR Experts
Q2 2025 OKR Forecast Part 2: Flexibility, Timing, and Hot Takes with Three Trusted OKR Experts

The OKR Dream Team returns with controversial takes on flexible implementation, timing models, and tool choices. Discover why monthly check-ins might be sabotaging your goals, how Excel is beating expensive platforms, and the hot takes challenging popular OKR advice.

Posts by Category

Principles of No-BS OKRs

Featured
OKR vs KPI: Understanding the Key Differences
No-BS OKRs
OKR vs KPI: Understanding the Key Differences
No-BS OKRs

Curious about the difference between OKRs and KPIs? This post explains how each measurement approach works, when to use them, and why keeping your metrics clear can lead to better business results. Learn how OKRs and KPIs can work together to help you focus on both tracking performance and driving real improvement.

Read More →
No-BS OKRs
A No-BS Approach to Aligning Team OKRs
No-BS OKRs
A No-BS Approach to Aligning Team OKRs
No-BS OKRs

The #1 question organizations ask about OKRs? "How do we cascade them to every team and person?" After training 2,000+ OKR coaches across 300+ organizations, my answer is controversial: You don't. Traditional OKR cascading creates a "mathematical nightmare"—turning 4 company objectives into 100+ unmanageable goals. There's a better way: flexible localization that helps teams align through a simple 3-question framework without drowning in complexity. Learn why cascading fails, when teams need different goal tools, and how to implement team OKR alignment that actually works.

Read More →
No-BS OKRs
OKR Best Practices: No-BS Strategies for Success
No-BS OKRs
OKR Best Practices: No-BS Strategies for Success
No-BS OKRs

Many OKR implementations fail spectacularly. After training over 2,000 OKR coaches across 300+ organizations globally, I've seen the same chronic issues sink even well-intentioned goal-setting efforts: way too many objectives, activity-focused key results, and "rules for thee, not for me" approaches where senior leadership doesn't participate. This guide shares the battle-tested best practices from the No-BS OKRs methodology—proven strategies that separate high-performing organizations from those struggling with OKR confusion and overhead.

Read More →
No-BS OKRs
Are you making any of these common OKR mistakes?
No-BS OKRs
Are you making any of these common OKR mistakes?
No-BS OKRs

Discover the top OKR mistakes that can derail your implementation and learn how to avoid them for successful goal-setting in your organization.

Read More →
No-BS OKRs

Leadership + Management

Featured
How to Motivate Employees: What the Research Shows
Leadership
How to Motivate Employees: What the Research Shows
Leadership

Too many leaders default to thinking they need to eliminate employee dissatisfaction to boost motivation. The truth? Removing dissatisfaction doesn't automatically create motivation. And the widely-held belief that stretch goals are "demotivating" if they're not achieved is not only wrong—it's actively harmful to employee engagement. Discover the three psychological needs from Self-Determination Theory that actually drive motivation, and a few practical frameworks you can use immediately—including the three questions that unlock employee engagement and a “Three-hat” leadership model for sustained motivation.

Read More →
Leadership
“Quiet Quitting” and the “Great Detachment” Reflect Your Culture, Not Your Workforce
Management, Leadership
“Quiet Quitting” and the “Great Detachment” Reflect Your Culture, Not Your Workforce
Management, Leadership

“Quiet quitting” isn’t over — recent Gallup Data shows that the “Great Detatchment” is still going strong. Learn how No-BS OKRs can counter this trend, fostering a more engaged and motivated workforce and management.

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Management, Leadership

All posts about Leadership & Management →

Strategic Planning

Featured
Thinkydoers Episode 16: Creating Leading Indicators with Elena Chopyak
Thinkydoer Careers, Goals
Thinkydoers Episode 16: Creating Leading Indicators with Elena Chopyak
Thinkydoer Careers, Goals
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Thinkydoer Careers, Goals
OKRs in Context: Do OKRs co-exist with other methodologies?
The Connected Strategic Stack
OKRs in Context: Do OKRs co-exist with other methodologies?
The Connected Strategic Stack

One of the first jobs to be done when implementing (or rebooting) OKRs is to identify how they fit into an organization’s existing planning “stack” and get clear about what job they’re being hired to do.

This is an excerpt from an early draft of Sara’s upcoming book, You Are A Strategist.

You’ll be introduced to the first of three models that Sara uses every day in her work with organizations implementing OKRs: the Connected Strategic® Implementation Stack.

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The Connected Strategic Stack

All posts about Strategic Planning & Goals →

OKR FAQs

Featured
How to Do OKRs for Corporate Functions, An OKR FAQ
OKR FAQ
How to Do OKRs for Corporate Functions, An OKR FAQ
OKR FAQ

Creating and aligning OKRs can be particularly tricky for busy corporate functions like HR, IT, legal, corporate communications, and finance. Here are some practical tips to help you create clear expectations for yourself and your team.

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OKR FAQ
OKR FAQ: What are some common OKR mistakes organizations make?
OKR FAQ
OKR FAQ: What are some common OKR mistakes organizations make?
OKR FAQ

Based on a reader question, learn some of the most common OKR mistakes I see organizations make, including lack of precise use of words and meaning, and failure to create important goals outside of financial, activity, and known KPI areas. Learn a few quick tips about why these mistakes matter, and how to prevent them in this FAQ answer.

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OKR FAQ

All No-BS OKRs FAQs →

OKR Coaching

Featured
Thinkydoers Episode 17: Meet an OKR Coach: Jason Johnston (Part One)
OKR Coaching
Thinkydoers Episode 17: Meet an OKR Coach: Jason Johnston (Part One)
OKR Coaching

Establishing clear objectives and key results (OKRs) isn't just about direction and accountability. It’s about driving real change within organizations. Today’s episode kicks off our two-part conversation with the wonderful Jason Johnston, OKR Practice Lead for Genetec, a leading tech company in the security products and solutions space. Jason is also a veteran whose 20-year military career has given him a unique perspective on leadership and problem-solving.

Read More →
OKR Coaching

All posts about OKR Coaching →

Strategic Goal Setting: Break the Busy Habit, Boost Results
Sara Lobkovich Sara Lobkovich

Strategic Goal Setting: Break the Busy Habit, Boost Results

You know that exhausting feeling when everyone's incredibly busy, working harder than ever, but somehow you're not making meaningful progress on what actually matters? Learn what separates “being busy” from actually doing strategic goal setting in this guide from OKR Coach Sara Lobkovich.

Read More
OKR vs KPI: Understanding the Key Differences
No-BS OKRs Sara Lobkovich No-BS OKRs Sara Lobkovich

OKR vs KPI: Understanding the Key Differences

Curious about the difference between OKRs and KPIs? This post explains how each measurement approach works, when to use them, and why keeping your metrics clear can lead to better business results. Learn how OKRs and KPIs can work together to help you focus on both tracking performance and driving real improvement.

Read More
A No-BS Approach to Aligning Team OKRs
No-BS OKRs Sara Lobkovich No-BS OKRs Sara Lobkovich

A No-BS Approach to Aligning Team OKRs

The #1 question organizations ask about OKRs? "How do we cascade them to every team and person?" After training 2,000+ OKR coaches across 300+ organizations, my answer is controversial: You don't. Traditional OKR cascading creates a "mathematical nightmare"—turning 4 company objectives into 100+ unmanageable goals. There's a better way: flexible localization that helps teams align through a simple 3-question framework without drowning in complexity. Learn why cascading fails, when teams need different goal tools, and how to implement team OKR alignment that actually works.

Read More

The Podcast

Thinkydoers is where we shift out of our heads and whiteboard drawings and work to find language for our thought-work and stories.

Each episode tackles a question, a thought experiment, or a resource intended to help you reduce frustration and friction, and increase satisfaction and flow, in your work.

Courses & Community

Thinkydoers, frustrated change agents, overthinkers, and challengers of the status quo:

You’ve found your people.

Here you’ll find our library of free downloadable tools, results-focused online learning options, and other ways to connect through our communities. Draft Evolutionary OKRs Playbook