In a previous article we discussed creating a Vision and Mission statement for your OKR strategy. In this article we will explore creating a OKR strategy. From the Mission statement, we defined what the company did, who is your customer, how it is done and your philosophy of doing it. With the mission statement defined, a company can go on to define the strategies.

 Here is the format of a OKR strategy:

<Verb + action plan/ policy>

 Examples:

Grow and diversify revenue base

Encourage the collaboration across functional departments. Stop silo operations

 The Strategic action plan must be SMART:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Timely

 A SMART strategy will be measured by the benefits and OKRs aligned to it.

 7 types of OKR strategies

  1. Customer strategy – improve customer relationships, increase customer lifetime revenue
  2. Finance strategy – improve revenue, reduce cost, improve growth margin etc.
  3. Operational efficiency strategy – reduce red-tape, improve time to market etc.
  4. Employee collaboration strategy – encourage business/ IT teams to align, cross-functional collaboration etc.
  5. Compliance strategy – corp. governance, government regulation compliance, industry compliance etc
  6. Grown & Market strategy – grow new markets, handle disruptive technology coming into your space
  7. Talent management – hiring and attracting the right talent pool

 The Process

In the beginning of the fiscal year, gather your leadership team and define your strategy for the upcoming fiscal year. These strategies could last as long your define mission statement (could be revised every 1 -2 years) or as short as within the fiscal year.

 Once strategies (the action plan) is defined, create the benefit statements, then create your OKRs tied to them.

Your workflow would be as follows:

Vision > Mission > Strategy > Benefits > OKRs > Tasks (or projects)

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 In Conclusion

  1. Drive a strategy from the enterprise mission statement
  2. Create a strategy in the format: <Verb + Action Plan>
  3. Frame the strategies in the discussed 7 types of strategies
  4. Create benefits that align to the strategy and OKRs that align to the benefits.

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