Agent skill
okrs
Use when asked to "set OKRs", "objectives and key results", "quarterly OKR planning", "align objectives", "measure OKR progress", or "focus priorities with OKRs". Helps teams focus on what matters most and create a cadence of progress. The OKR framework (originated by Andy Grove at Intel, popularized by John Doerr at Google) creates alignment, focus, and learning cycles. Christina Wodtke's Radical Focus approach emphasizes simplicity and avoiding common pitfalls.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/wdavidturner/product-skills/tree/main/skills/okrs
SKILL.md
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)
What It Is
OKRs are a goal-setting framework that creates focus, alignment, and a learning cycle for teams and organizations. The core insight: set one ambitious objective per quarter with 2-3 measurable key results, then check in weekly to maintain focus.
The key shift: Move from tracking activities ("What are we doing?") to tracking outcomes ("What progress are we making toward our goals?").
OKRs are a vitamin, not a medicine. They supercharge companies that already have their fundamentals in place (strategy, empowered teams, psychological safety). They won't fix broken organizations - they'll just reveal what's broken.
Credit: Originated by Andy Grove at Intel. Popularized by John Doerr who brought it to Google. Christina Wodtke's Radical Focus provides the most practical implementation guidance.
When to Use It
Use OKRs when you need to:
- Focus the team on the single most important thing for the quarter
- Align the organization so everyone knows what matters most
- Create accountability with measurable outcomes (not just activities)
- Build a learning cycle through weekly check-ins and quarterly retrospectives
- Scale leadership so founders/executives don't need to micromanage
- Accelerate progress by avoiding the "peanut butter" problem of spreading effort too thin
When Not to Use It
- You don't have a clear strategy (OKRs reveal missing strategy, they don't replace it)
- Your company lacks psychological safety (people will sandbag or game the metrics)
- You want to track ALL the work (OKRs are for priorities, not comprehensive task lists)
- Teams aren't empowered to decide HOW to achieve outcomes
Patterns
Detailed examples showing how to apply OKRs correctly. Each pattern shows a common mistake and the correct approach.
Critical (get these wrong and you've wasted your time)
| Pattern | What It Teaches |
|---|---|
| key-results-are-tasks | Key results must be outcomes, not activities or deliverables |
| too-many-okrs | One objective per quarter — not five, not ten |
| missing-strategy | OKRs without strategy is just goal theater |
| boring-objectives | Objectives should make you want to get out of bed |
| no-weekly-checkins | Set and forget kills OKRs — the cadence is the system |
High Impact
| Pattern | What It Teaches |
|---|---|
| sandbagging-goals | Goals should make you uncomfortable but not doomed |
| fluffy-objectives | Vague objectives like "improve quality" mean nothing |
| grading-without-learning | The retrospective matters more than the score |
| slow-approval-process | Approval cycles that eat weeks defeat the purpose |
| okrs-for-everything | Keep-the-lights-on work doesn't belong in OKRs |
| cascading-trap | Alignment doesn't mean every team mirrors company OKRs |
Medium Impact
| Pattern | What It Teaches |
|---|---|
| skipping-celebrations | Friday celebrations build momentum and morale |
| perfect-measurement | Don't let measurement precision block progress |
| annual-okrs | Quarterly is the sweet spot for most teams |
Deep Dives
Read only when you need extra detail.
references/okrs-playbook.md: Expanded framework detail, checklists, and examples.
Resources
Books:
- Radical Focus (2nd Edition) by Christina Wodtke — the practical guide
- Measure What Matters by John Doerr — the Google story
- High Output Management by Andy Grove — where it all started
Related frameworks:
- The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson — psychological safety (required for honest OKR updates)
- Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni — fixing team issues that block OKR success
Articles:
- Christina Wodtke's eleganthack.com — ongoing OKR insights
Recommended Agent Skills
Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.
wdavidturner/product-skills
radical-candor
Use when asked to "radical candor", "give feedback that cares", "have a difficult conversation", "challenge directly", "manage performance issues", or "give praise that lands". Helps deliver direct feedback while showing you care. The Radical Candor framework (created by Kim Scott) teaches how to challenge directly while caring personally.
wdavidturner/product-skills
shape-up
Use when asked to "shape up", "run a shaping session", "set an appetite", "scope a project without estimates", "betting table", or "ship in fixed cycles". Helps teams escape estimate-driven development and Scrum fatigue. The Shape Up method (created by Ryan Singer at Basecamp/37signals) uses fixed time boxes, variable scope, and collaborative shaping to ship meaningful work predictably.
wdavidturner/product-skills
hooked-model
Use when asked to "build habit-forming products", "Hooked model", "trigger action reward investment", "create sticky behavior loops", or "design habit loops". Helps design products that form unprompted user habits. The Hooked Model (created by Nir Eyal) explains how products create habits through Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment.
wdavidturner/product-skills
strategic-narrative
Use when asked to "strategic narrative", "Andy Raskin", "tell our company story", "write a pitch deck", "explain why customers should care", or "movement narrative". Helps craft compelling narratives that define movements rather than just selling products. The Strategic Narrative framework (created by Andy Raskin) transforms pitches from feature lists into stories about change.
wdavidturner/product-skills
design-sprint
Use when asked to "run a design sprint", "5-day sprint", "prototype in a week", "test ideas before building", or "Jake Knapp sprint". Helps teams go from problem to tested prototype in five days. The Design Sprint framework (created by Jake Knapp at Google Ventures) compresses months of work into one focused week.
wdavidturner/product-skills
hierarchy-of-marketplaces
Use when asked about "marketplace strategy", "chicken and egg problem", "liquidity", "two-sided market", "tipping a marketplace", "GMV growth", or "Sarah Tavel marketplaces". Helps founders and product leaders build defensible marketplace businesses by sequencing supply and demand. The Hierarchy of Marketplaces framework (created by Sarah Tavel / Benchmark) provides a progression from focused launch to market dominance.
Didn't find tool you were looking for?