Quick Reference
No-BS OKR Cheat Sheet
Everything you need to write better OKRs — on one page
Keep this reference handy during your OKR drafting sessions. It covers the essential rules for writing Objectives and Key Results that actually work.
Writing Good Objectives
Do This
- Make it qualitative and inspiring
- Use action verbs (Launch, Transform, Establish)
- Make it memorable and motivating
- Set direction without prescribing solutions
- Aim for 3-5 Objectives per cycle
Avoid This
- Including numbers or metrics
- Making it too vague ("Be better")
- Making it too tactical
- Setting more than 5 Objectives
- Writing it as a task list
Writing Good Key Results
Do This
- Make it quantitative and measurable
- Focus on outcomes, not activities
- Include a specific target number
- Set 2-4 Key Results per Objective
- Make sure you can actually measure it
Avoid This
- Measuring activities ("Complete project X")
- Using binary yes/no metrics
- Setting more than 5 Key Results
- Measuring things you can't influence
- Setting 100% as the only success
Quick Quality Tests
For Objectives
Can you explain why this matters in one sentence?
Would achieving this change how the organization operates?
Is it inspiring enough that people will remember it?
For Key Results
Can you objectively verify success with data?
Does it measure an outcome, not an activity?
Would achieving 70% still be meaningful progress?
Example: Good vs Bad
Needs Work
O: Improve customer satisfaction
KR: Send 500 surveys
KR: Complete CX training
Vague objective, activity-focused KRs
No-BS Version
O: Become the vendor customers recommend to peers
KR: Increase NPS from 42 to 55
KR: Grow customer referrals from 12 to 25 per quarter
Inspiring objective, outcome-focused KRs