The Danger of "Hope" as a Strategy
In our previous article, we explored the power of setting a single, inspirational Objective as our North Star for the quarter. It’s the qualitative, motivational “why” that gives our work meaning. Having an Objective like “Win the hearts of tea drinkers” is a fantastic starting point. It aligns the team and provides a clear direction. But inspiration alone doesn't guarantee success. How do you actually know if you’re winning their hearts? How do you measure affection? This is where many teams and individuals fall down. They have a beautiful goal, but no way to know if they are getting closer to it. They are, in effect, operating on hope, and hope is not a strategy.
This is the challenge that Hanna and Jack’s team faces in Christina Wodtke’s Radical Focus after they’ve set their inspirational Objective. They are excited and motivated, but they are still arguing about what to do next. The antidote to this ambiguity is the second pillar of the OKR system: Key Results. Key Results are the measurable, quantitative evidence that you are making progress toward your Objective. They answer the question, “How will we know if we’ve succeeded?” They are the ruthless, data-driven counterpart to the soft, inspirational Objective, and this combination of heart and head is what makes the system so powerful.
What Are Key Results?
If the Objective is the dream, Key Results are the reality check. They are not a list of tasks or projects. They are measures of outcomes. This is the most crucial, and often most misunderstood, aspect of setting good KRs. Doing a thing is not a Key Result. The result of doing the thing is the Key Result.
Wodtke provides a clear framework for what makes a good KR:
Quantitative and Measurable: This is non-negotiable. A Key Result must be a number. If it doesn’t have a number in it, it’s not a Key Result. This forces absolute clarity. You either hit the number, or you don’t. There is no room for subjective interpretation.
Measure Outcomes, Not Outputs: This is the key distinction. An output is a task you complete (e.g., “Launch the new marketing campaign”). An outcome is the result you hope to achieve with that task (e.g., “Increase signups from the new campaign from 100 to 250 per week”). Focusing on outcomes frees you and your team to be creative and adaptable. If the marketing campaign isn’t working, you aren’t locked into it. Your goal is to move the number, and you can experiment with different tactics to get there.
Small, Focused Set: You should have no more than 3-4 Key Results for your Objective. This forces you to identify the few metrics that truly indicate success. If you have ten KRs, you’ve lost your focus. You need to ask, “What are the vital few numbers that, if they move, will tell us we are definitely achieving our Objective?”
Ambitious: Good Key Results should feel a little bit scary. Wodtke, like many OKR proponents, suggests aiming for a 70% success rate. If you are consistently hitting 100% of your KRs, you are not setting them ambitiously enough. They should push you and your team beyond what you know you can comfortably achieve. This is where real growth and innovation happen.
In the book, Hanna's team learns this the hard way. Their initial KRs are task-based, like “Ship the new feature.” They soon realize that shipping the feature didn't actually change user behavior. They learn to reframe their KRs to focus on the outcome they wanted: “Increase weekly active users by 15%.” This changed everything. Now, their success wasn’t measured by whether they launched something, but by whether that something actually worked.
The Coach’s View: Applying Key Results to Your Life
This shift from outputs to outcomes is a game-changer for personal and professional development.
For Individuals in Transition: Let’s return to our Objective of “Position myself as a leading candidate for a product marketing role this quarter.” What are the measurable outcomes?
Bad KR (Output): “Apply to 50 jobs.” This measures activity, not effectiveness. You could apply to 50 jobs you are unqualified for and get zero results.
Good KR (Outcome): “Receive 5 invitations for first-round interviews.” This measures the result of your applications and networking. It forces you to think about the quality of your efforts, not just the quantity. Other good KRs might be: “Conduct 4 informational interviews with people in my target roles” or “Complete 1 portfolio project that demonstrates my skills.”
Health Metrics vs. Key Results: Wodtke introduces an important companion concept: Health Metrics. These are the metrics you are not trying to change, but that you must protect. For a team, this might be code quality, customer satisfaction, or team morale. You need to keep an eye on these to ensure your ambitious pursuit of your KRs isn’t causing damage elsewhere. For an individual, if your Objective is career-focused, your health metrics might be “get 7-8 hours of sleep per night” or “spend 1 hour per day of quality time with family.” This ensures that your ambition doesn't lead to burnout. You are succeeding if your KRs are moving in the right direction and your Health Metrics are stable.
The Confidence Score
One of the most valuable rituals in the Radical Focus system is assigning a confidence score to each KR during weekly check-ins. On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that you will hit this number by the end of the quarter? Wodtke suggests that a score of 5 is the sweet spot at the beginning of the quarter—it’s a coin flip, appropriately ambitious. This weekly check-in provides an invaluable early warning system. If a KR’s confidence score is consistently dropping, it’s a signal to the team that they need to swarm the problem, rethink their tactics, or ask for help. It replaces end-of-quarter surprises with real-time, transparent data.
Key Results are what ground your inspirational Objective in reality. They provide clarity, create alignment, and give you an unbiased way to know if you are winning. But setting a great OKR is a static act. The real magic happens when you bring it to life through a consistent, weekly rhythm. In our final article, we’ll explore the weekly cadence of commitments and celebrations that transforms Radical Focus from a goal-setting theory into a powerful cultural practice.
If any of these themes resonate with you, I strongly encourage you to read Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke for a richer understanding. Tailoring them for you and supplementing these concepts with personalized strategies and tools is where a coach comes in.
