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
“Quiet Quitting” and the “Great Detachment” Reflect Your Culture, Not Your Workforce
“Quiet Quitting” and the “Great Detachment” Reflect Your Culture, Not Your Workforce

“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.

Read More →
How to Do OKRs for Corporate Functions, An OKR FAQ
How to Do OKRs for Corporate Functions, An 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.

Read More →
OKR FAQ: What are some common OKR mistakes organizations make?
OKR FAQ: What are some common OKR mistakes organizations make?

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: Generative AI, Strategic Planning, and OKRs
OKR FAQ: Generative AI, Strategic Planning, and OKRs

Let’s look at how generative “AI” tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot can (and can’t) assist in strategic planning and the creation of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). We’ll look at some benefits, and some cautions about the limitations and IP implications of using these tools in practice.

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Newest Thinkydoer Podcast Episodes

Featured
The Science of Play with TJ Matton
The Science of Play with TJ Matton

Are you an overthinker looking for a way to calm your mind? Have a busy brain, and struggle with the question in therapy of: "Where do you feel that in your body?" Join host Sara Lobkovich and guest TJ Matton, founder of the Playful Revolution, as they explore how play can be a powerful mindfulness practice. Discover how play, a primal drive essential for our neurological health, can help break the cycle of constant rumination. Learn about balancing novelty and repetition, and creating safe play environments. This episode promises to bring more joy, curiosity, and mindfulness into your life. Tune in to transform your approach to mindfulness through the science of play.

Product Engineer to CEO: Sten Pittet, A Thinkydoers Career Profile
Product Engineer to CEO: Sten Pittet, A Thinkydoers Career Profile

Have you ever thought about a career in product -- whether product management, product development, or product engineering?

You'll enjoy this conversation with Sten Pittet, CEO of Tability. In our last episode, Sten interviewed Thinkydoers host Sara about her journey into OKRs; today, we flipped the script for Sara to interview Sten about his fascinating journey starting in software development after uni, into product engineering in a mid-size company (that became a large company during his tenure), and then the transition into the CEO and founder seat with his latest venture, Tability.

OKR Expert Interview: Sten Pittet Turns the Tables on Sara To Talk No-BS OKRs
OKR Expert Interview: Sten Pittet Turns the Tables on Sara To Talk No-BS OKRs
Self-Leadership for Individual Contributors, with Sally Ivester on Thinkydoers
Self-Leadership for Individual Contributors, with Sally Ivester on Thinkydoers

Have you ever wondered how to take charge of your career without a formal leadership title? In our latest Thinkydoers episode, we dive deep into self-leadership strategies with Sally Ivester. Discover how to manage up, communicate your boundaries, and work loudly to ensure your contributions are recognized. Learn to create a personal operating model that sets you up for success and helps you navigate the corporate game with confidence. Whether you’re an early-career professional or looking to refine your approach, this episode is packed with practical insights to help you excel.

Posts by Category

Principles of No-BS OKRs

Featured
WTF are OKRs?
OKR FAQ, No-BS OKRs
WTF are OKRs?
OKR FAQ, No-BS OKRs

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

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OKR FAQ, No-BS OKRs
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
The Connected Strategic Implementation Stack
Strategic Planning, The Connected Strategic Stack
The Connected Strategic Implementation Stack
Strategic Planning, The Connected Strategic Stack

The Connected Strategic Implementation Stack is a framework that helps us understand where OKRs may fit into an organization's existing operating Stack; and, spot what gaps they may fill in connecting what we do, to what's strategically most important.

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Strategic Planning, The Connected Strategic Stack
Preview: The No-BS OKRs Playbook
No-BS OKRs
Preview: The No-BS OKRs Playbook
No-BS OKRs

After years of writing alone and then sharing with (wonderful, patient) beta readers, with this rewrite I’m doing something different. It’s time to write in public.

Here, I’m sharing the first full chapter, Chapter One. (It’s also available in podcast form via the Thinkydoers Podcast.) I look forward to your feedback; the rewriting is done, but the editing is not, so there’s still time to incorporate constructive edits.

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No-BS OKRs

Leadership + Management

Featured
“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.

Read More →
Management, Leadership
Expand your leadership toolkit with assessments
Leadership
Expand your leadership toolkit with assessments
Leadership

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 …

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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
Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

Read More →
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.

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OKR Coaching

All posts about OKR Coaching →

Architecting Change: Rethinking goal setting's role in achieving necessary change
Sara Lobkovich Sara Lobkovich

Architecting Change: Rethinking goal setting's role in achieving necessary change

We talk a lot around here about Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), and in this episode, we dive into an adjacent topic: the role that goal setting can play in making a case for and achieving important change in our organizations. The audio for this episode is from a LinkedIn Live that I hosted recently (if you'd like to hear about our every-other Wednesday Live gatherings, join our email list). Those Live sessions are geared toward changemaker leaders and strategic implementors within organizations who are hungry for ways to increase change effectiveness, increase employee engagement, and spend more time focused on achievement of their most important priorities.

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How to: Create low-fidelity index measures to fill progress data gaps
OKR FAQ Sara Lobkovich OKR FAQ Sara Lobkovich

How to: Create low-fidelity index measures to fill progress data gaps

We come across a scenario often, when teams are subjectively estimating their progress (overly optimistically), and then missing the mark on their ultimate outcome goals. In the OKR biz, that's a "watermelon metric" scenario: our performance is "green" on our estimated progress all quarter and then flips to "red" when the actual data comes in at the end of the term. Green on the outside, red on the inside = the metric went watermelon….

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The Goal-ification of OKRs
No-BS OKRs Sara Lobkovich No-BS OKRs Sara Lobkovich

The Goal-ification of OKRs

With the recent launch of Microsoft Viva Goals, and Asana Goals, this episode touches on how OKRs are moving more mainstream. We also share why and how — even in casual goal-setting approaches — the term “Key Results” should be treated as a term of art, with a careful definition and usage to preserve the power of Key Results in goal-setting.

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What we can learn during the annual goals “silly season”
Goals, Thinkydoers Sara Lobkovich Goals, Thinkydoers Sara Lobkovich

What we can learn during the annual goals “silly season”

This time of year is called the "silly season" in motorsports because we're in the literal middle of our racing season AND we're all already operating in the 2023 season: planning partnerships, talent moves, and logistics for the year we won't start for another six months.

Every summer I see something really similar with my corporate clients who set goals annually…

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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