Late in the 1990s, 17 different search engines were fighting to dominate the web.
Then along came Number 18 – Google.
Normally someone arriving so late to the party would not stand a chance, especially having given all the others time to establish themselves.
So how did Google race ahead, with repeated annual growth and being rated as the best place to work more times than any other this century?
Google did this by using a method that guaranteed company-wide focus on a handful of priorities,
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), introduced to them in 1999 by John Doerr, business icon and author of Measure What Matters.
Google had (and continues to have) a quarterly focus on specific strategic objectives and measurements.
Every single person in the business is clear on Google’s objectives for that quarter and on the key measures with which to evaluate progress.
These OKRs are not used as financial incentives for the team; they are used for a higher purpose – to get collective commitment from each employee to truly stretch goals.
How clear are the people in your team of the objectives of your firm?
Even in times of uncertainty, the objectives of your firm are just as important.
Your team need reassurance that your firm has a future and that they are all a part of that future.
When you all focus on one priority, you can manage uncertainty and galvanise and motivate a team through a common purpose.
How long would it take you to write down a handful of strategic priorities for the future of your firm?
How long would it take you to trim this handful to just one priority?
OKRs force you to focus the future of your firm and your team on what matters most.
Click here to learn how to implement OKRs successfully in your firm. OKRs allow you to have a single objective and to track the activities and results to ensure that you and your team achieve this objective.