[rexreed]

"They’re hard, but sold as something that everyone should do, so everyone does them poorly, and most people don’t see any value as a result."

OKRs are inane management fad. OKRs are "hard" because Objectives are vague and Key Results are vague leading to vague definitions of success and arbitrary flag planting.

Any management concept that is simultaneously so hard that no one does it right, but yet everyone is doing it is proof in point how valueless it truly is. Of course, when compensation, bonuses, and kudos are tied to OKR, people will keep doing them, as hard or as vague as they might be.

"Good OKRs tell a story about what is important, they help you inspire people to think about why they are working on what they’re working on, and I think they carry a bit of energy that comes from seeing how it all fits together in a succinct form."

That sounds more like a mission statement to me.

[steveBK123]

My experience was with them being imposed by mid level tech managers who went to a conference, read half a book or had a consultant whispered in their ear.

They didn't know what a good OKR looked like, but know the one your proposed isn't what they want. Keep iterating until everyone gets fatigued and you eventually settle on a set of OKRs everyone hates. Then priorities move enough that none of it matters by the time you planned to measure.

[bennine]

OKRs should be used to craft major projects and initiatives. They shouldn’t be used for direct performance evaluation.

They are helpful because they align effort and energy, top to bottom, in the direction most relevant for the business.

It goes without saying that if the organizational OKRs are messed up, then it’s messed up all the way to the bottom.

[xiphias2]

What do you mean vague?

OKRs were used for pivoting Intel from being a memory company to a processor company in a super short time frame. I believe they were quite successful.

[hbrn]

So the team behind Intel is irrelevant, the success was all due to methodology, right?

Almost every person that tried to cure flu with homeopathy was successful.