
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
Discover the top OKR mistakes that can derail your implementation and learn how to avoid them for successful goal-setting in your organization.
Learn how to use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to increase clarity, focus, and alignment in your organization with practical example OKRs and a No-BS approach.
“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.
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.
Newest Thinkydoer Podcast Episodes
What happens when AI, strategy, and culture collide in today’s complex organizations?
In this candid quarterly update, Sara Lobkovich is joined by OKR experts Maria Rowcliffe and Natalie Webb to explore the real-world shifts in how teams are setting and actually using OKRs in 2025. From generative AI’s growing role to the dangers of the “two lists” trap, this episode dives deep into what’s working, what’s not, and how culture, localization, and retrospectives can make—or break—your strategy execution.
What if the communities we need most aren’t loud, fast, or constantly buzzing—but calm, quiet, and deeply human?
In this thoughtful episode, Sara Lobkovich sits down with community strategist Carrie Melissa Jones to explore how introverts, neurodivergent folks, and the socially anxious can find belonging on their own terms. Learn why quiet communities matter, how participation isn't always the point, and what it really takes to build spaces where people feel safe enough to show up as themselves.
In today's uncertain world, how do you maintain strategic momentum? Sara Lobkovich tackles this challenge head-on, revealing why both over-planning and abandoning strategy are equally dangerous reactions to chaos.
Learn her practical three-step framework for keeping your organization moving forward when forecasting feels impossible, and discover how building in public can create strategic advantages during rapid change.
What happens when high-achievers hit a wall of burnout—and how do they find their way back to purpose and clarity?
In this episode of Thinkydoers, Sara sits down with Jessica Manca, a self-development coach who helps perfectionists and introverts reconnect with their goals and inner motivation. From her journey out of corporate burnout to her insights on the “four inner limits” that hold us back, Jessica shares how she helps clients move past mindset traps and into sustainable self-motivation. If you’ve ever struggled to talk about your impact, feared failure, or found yourself stuck in your own head—this one’s for you.
Together lets learn how shifting just one word in your vocabulary could unlock major personal and professional breakthroughs.
Posts by Category
Principles of 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.
Learn how to use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to increase clarity, focus, and alignment in your organization with practical example OKRs and a No-BS approach.
Don’t know an OKR from a KPI from any other TLA? Dive into the world of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) with our no-nonsense WTF are OKRs guide. You’ll find basic words, meanings, and context about when and how OKRs are useful, and access No-BS OKR cheat-sheets not available anywhere else
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.
Leadership + Management
“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.
I’ve always found assessments helpful not only for personal development and self-knowing, but also for helping organizations develop a shared language around important topics in how we work together. I am a huge supporter of using assessments personally for self-discovery and increasing your understanding about yourself, your default modes, and non-default options for behavior. Here, I share the assessments I use most frequently in my coaching and consulting …
All posts about Leadership & Management →
Strategic Planning
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.
All posts about Strategic Planning & Goals →
OKR FAQs
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.
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.
All No-BS OKRs FAQs →
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.
All posts about OKR Coaching →
Serendipity
Communication, conflict, behavior, justice, equity, ideation, creative fuel, energy, rest, and the reality that we’re all humans doing what we can with what we have where we are. This is where our life and work intersect, and where you’ll find occasional recaps and round-ups of the serendipity in the work (and lives) we do (and live).