OKR for growing companies: how not to turn goals into bureaucracy

Why companies adopt OKRs, and why most of them fail

OKR (Objectives & Key Results) is a goal-setting methodology that has become an almost mandatory item in management fashion. Because well-known technology companies use it, many leaders conclude: we will roll out OKRs and grow too. In practice, though, for most of the companies I have seen, the rollout fails. Some abandon the system within six months; others keep it as a handsome facade over the same old goal-setting system.

Why? Because OKR is not a goal-setting system. OKR is a company management system. It requires a change in culture, in how you communicate, in how you make decisions. Introduce OKRs only on paper, and nothing changes.

In this article I will explain: (1) the difference between OKRs and the old KPI system; (2) how to roll out OKRs so they actually work; (3) the mistakes companies make; (4) which kind of company this applies to.

The difference between OKRs and KPIs: a simple example

OKR is about "where we want to go" and "how we will know we got there."

KPI is about "how the system is performing right now."

An example:

KPI approach: "Our goal is to grow revenue by 20% next quarter."

OKR approach: Objective: "Become the No. 1 solution in a niche segment for small agencies." Key Results: (1) daily active users grow from 15,000 to 25,000; (2) churn rate drops from 6% to 4%; (3) average revenue per user grows from ₽10,000 to ₽14,000; (4) NPS of 60 or higher (currently 42).

See the difference? A KPI is a number. An OKR is a direction plus the metrics that show you are genuinely moving toward it.

When to start using OKRs

When a company is small (up to 20 people), people still understand the strategy through conversations with the founder. OKRs are overkill here.

(1) The company has several departments or teams. With a single team, you do not need OKRs. With two teams (sales and engineering), OKRs start to make sense.

(2) Growth begins to slow. Here is the paradox: OKRs are needed when growth slows. When a company is growing 5–10% a month, OKRs will slow it down, because it will spend time aligning goals. When growth slows to 1–3% a month, OKRs help you find new avenues for growth.

How to roll out OKRs: a step-by-step process

Preparation (week 1)

Gather the leadership team and answer four questions: (1) What is the company's strategy for the next 1–3 years? (2) Which three directions matter most? (3) What result do we want from this quarter/year? (4) What risks or opportunities do we see?

Building company-level OKRs (week 2)

Write 3–5 OKRs for the company as a whole. Each OKR consists of: (1) an Objective (4–6 words, describing what we want to achieve); (2) 3–5 Key Results (SMART metrics that show we have achieved the Objective).

A sample company to work with: a SaaS for project management.

Company: 30 people, revenue of ₽5M per month, 15,000 daily active users, churn rate of 6%, average revenue per user of ₽10,000, NPS of 42.

Strategy: become the No. 1 solution for small agencies within the next 12 months.

Company-level OKRs for the first quarter:

Objective 1: Become the primary solution for small agencies.

KR1: Daily active users grow from 15,000 to 21,000 (40% growth in the quarter).

KR2: Churn rate drops from 6% to 5%.

KR3: NPS rises from 42 to 50.

Objective 2: Expand the product from basic project management into adjacent tools.

KR1: Integrations with 5 core tools (Slack, calendar, etc.).

KR2: Usage of these integrations by 40% of daily active users.

Building team-level OKRs (week 3)

Each team (sales, engineering, marketing, support) develops its own OKRs based on the company's OKRs. For example:

Sales OKRs:

Objective: Win the top 10% of small agencies in our niche.

KR1: Outreach to 100 agencies, 30 demos, 10 contracts.

KR2: Improve the conversion funnel: landing page > trial > paid by 20%.

KR3: Reduce customer acquisition cost from ₽7,000 to ₽5,000 per customer.

Engineering OKRs:

Objective: Build integrations with the core tools small agencies use.

KR1: Build integrations with Slack, Google Calendar, and Figma in 8 weeks.

KR2: 40% of daily active users use at least 1 integration.

KR3: Bug-tracking system: improve 2x (new integrations have fewer than 5 bugs per week).

Marketing OKRs:

Objective: Build a brand that small agencies trust.

KR1: Use cases, case studies, and proven approaches available publicly.

KR2: The referral program generates 30% of leads.

KR3: Organic traffic doubles.

Weekly check-in (every Monday, 15 minutes)

Team leads report progress on the OKRs: (1) what percentage of completion we are at; (2) blockers; (3) whether the OKRs need adjusting (they should not, unless circumstances have changed fundamentally); (4) what needs to be done next month?

Quarterly review and retrospective (2–3 hours)

At the end of the quarter: (1) Score the achievement of each OKR (% complete). (2) Discuss why targets were missed, if they were. (3) Capture the lessons. (4) Develop OKRs for the next quarter.

Common mistakes when rolling out OKRs

Mistake 1: Too many OKRs

Companies often write 10–15 OKRs. The result: no one remembers what the point was. The rule: 3–5 OKRs at the company level, 3–5 OKRs at the team level, 2–3 personal OKRs.

Mistake 2: OKRs that are really KPIs

For example, "close 100 contracts" is a KPI, not an OKR. A good OKR: "Build a brand that customers trust (Objective). Key Results: NPS of 70, improve retention by 20%, earn a place in the top 10 review platforms."

Mistake 3: OKRs hit at 100%

If you hit all your OKRs at 100%, they were not ambitious enough. A good OKR is designed so that 70% completion already counts as a success: the company has clearly moved forward, even if it did not take everything at once.

Mistake 4: OKRs turn into a staff-evaluation tool

Instead of a tool for alignment and management, OKRs become a way to evaluate employees. The outcome is predictable: people set themselves easier goals so they can close them at 100% faster. OKRs are not about bonuses.

How this can work: a quarterly sample of results for a SaaS company

Company: 30 people, revenue of ₽5M per month.

Quarterly goal:

Objective 1: Become the primary solution for small agencies.

Result: Daily active users grew from 15,000 to 25,000 (the target of 21,000 was exceeded), churn rate fell to 5.5% (not quite 5%, but good), NPS rose to 55 — the target of 50 was comfortably exceeded.

Objective 2: Expand the product.

Result: Integrations with 5 tools (success), usage at 45% (success, the target was 40%).

Quarterly score: 2 of 2 Objectives substantially achieved. That equals 70% achievement, which is a success.

Results by team:

Sales: Outreach to 120 agencies (success), 40 demos (success), 12 contracts (success!), the conversion funnel improved by 22% (success), customer acquisition cost fell to ₽5,500 (success).

Engineering: Integrations shipped (success), usage at 45% (success), 4–6 bugs per week on integrations (success).

Marketing: Use cases ready (success), the referral program generates 25% of leads (not quite 30%, but close), organic traffic grew by 180% (more than 2x, success).

Result after the quarter: daily active users grew from 15,000 to 25,000 — that is 119% of the 21,000 target. Churn rate fell to 5.5% (not quite 5%, but better). Average revenue per user grew to ₽12,000. NPS rose to 55 — the target of 50 was comfortably exceeded. Score: 75% OKR achievement, which counts as a success.

Tools for managing OKRs

You do not need complex software. At the early stage, plain Notion or Google Sheets will do. As the company grows, you can consider dedicated tools: 15Five, Lattice, 7Geese.

The minimum you need to track for each OKR: (1) the Objective; (2) the Key Results; (3) the owner; (4) the target value; (5) the current value; (6) the status (on track, at risk, behind); (7) the update date.

Conclusion

OKR is a powerful tool for managing a growing company. But it is not a cure-all. OKRs work only if: (1) they are backed by the culture (transparency, ambition, learning from mistakes); (2) leadership genuinely believes in the tool; (3) the company is ready to invest time in weekly and quarterly syncs. Roll OKRs out properly, and the system will rally the company around a shared goal, help it grow faster, and adapt to change more easily.