What Matters
The world needs leaders. We’re here to help.
Our mission is to galvanize leaders to set and achieve audacious goals—through inspiration, education, and application.
Learn how a simple goal setting technique called OKRs—objectives and key results— propelled Google, The Gates Foundation, and Bono to exceed all expectations.
Surviving Financial Setbacks
How Upsolve is using OKRs to throw a financial lifeline to those affected by the pandemic.
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Turning the Ship Around
How Beam Dental's CEO, Alex Frommeyer, fixed his OKRs with transparency and vulnerability.
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Connecting Dots Across City Services
Learn how Syracuse, New York adopted OKRs to improve city services and save money.
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OKRs for a New Normal
Teams, companies, and industries are transforming at a rapid speed by going 100% virtual. Learn what it means to be an online team player.
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Learning New Languages With OKRs
Clear goal-setting turns a new product from failure to success.
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Learning Faster With OKRs
An OKR coach's perspective on becoming more agile.
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Improving City Hall in San Jose
Accountability, digital transformation, and OKRs in local government.
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OKRs for a Shared Mission
MASS Design Group uses OKRs to help build a stronger and safer future for mountain gorillas.
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OMG: When TED Adopted OKRs
Introducing a Big Idea with Storytelling
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OKRs for Building a Culture of Innovation
How Allbirds sets ambitious metrics for R&D.
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Building Successful Models Through Transparency
OKRs help CareMore elevate at-home care.
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Why Startups Should Use OKRs
Founders share the benefits and challenges.
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OKRs: A CEO's Perspective
An office-wide excel spreadsheet transparently levels the playing field at Apartment Therapy.
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Sparking an Organizational Renaissance
How 23andMe reinstituted OKRs to power its current phase of growth.
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OKR Sessions: What Are OKRs? Objectives and Key Results Basics (VIDEO)
Ryan Panchadsaram, co-creator of WhatMatters.com with John Doerr, explains the basics of the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) goal-setting method.
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Helping Clients Focus
A freelancer turns ideas into traction with OKRs.
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Advocacy Through Architecture
How OKRs are creating MASSive change.
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OKR Sessions: How to Write Ambitious OKRs (VIDEO)
In this video, Alexis Gonzales-Black explains how to write good OKRs with examples so you can start writing ambitious goals, too.
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Questing for the Magic Metric
How Superhuman discovered a galvanizing OKR.
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Autonomy and Structure with OKRs
How a company without managers gets where they need to go.
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Navigating the Future with OKRs
Minerva Schools is redefining what a university can be by using OKRs to illuminate the future of higher education.
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Anchoring OKRs to Your Mission
Allbirds co-founder Joey Zwillinger talks about measuring sustainability and their carbon footprint by using OKRs.
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OKRs Around the World
Learn How Possible and Nyaya Health are growing a global culture of collaboration with OKRs.
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Making BHAGs Possible With OKRs
Possible has improved healthcare in Nepal by using BHAGs to maximize their OKRs.
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Ending the Week With a Win With OKRs
Learn how WINS meetings give everyone at Apartment Therapy a sense of collective accomplishment within an OKR cycle.
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OKRs for Designers: Pivoting with Ease
Follow along as the digital publication Apartment Therapy uses OKRs to get to the next level.
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OKRs for Social Change: Accountability & A Larger Vision
Thaddeus Ferber of the Forum for Youth Investment nonprofit shares how OKRs encouraged bold moves during a time of budget cuts.
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The TED Talk
John shares his take on what makes the difference between success and failure. Telling stories of ambitious leaders and teams, John's keen observations and insights bring light to an oft-overlooked aspect of dreaming big.
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Transparency: How OKRs Can Restore Public Trust
How transparency makes an organization’s objectives clear and how it can be used in nonprofits, schools, and government.
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Laszlo Bock: Divorce Compensation From OKRs
Using OKRs to power growth, engagement, and diversity.
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How to Build the Workforce of the Future
Using OKRs to power growth, engagement, and diversity.
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Why Adobe Killed Performance Reviews
Learn how Adobe's Donna Morris became the catalyst for “Check-in,” a new model of continuous performance management.
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Be Your Own Boss
How to use OKRs even when your boss doesn't.
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OKRs For Every Day
A Silicon Valley luminary finds a new approach to defining success.
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The Origin Story
A closer look at the man who invented OKRs.
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OKRs for Students
Meet the California grade-schoolers charting their own path.
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Q&A with Anne Wojcicki
The founder and CEO of 23andMe shares the ups, downs, and in betweens of goal setting.
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The Newest Tech Disruption: Local Government
Code for America's Jennifer Pahlka and Lou Moore explain how the nonprofit uses OKRs to defeat local government bureaucracy.
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The TED Talk
John shares his take on what makes the difference between success and failure. Telling stories of ambitious leaders and teams, John's keen observations and insights bring light to an oft-overlooked aspect of dreaming big.
video
Execution is everything.
Learn about the OKR movement and its origins from our founder, John Doerr. Learn more about OKRs
Your reading list.
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FAQ
Help for the journey ahead.
OKR brainstorming starts with a blank sheet of paper
What are the foundations of successful OKR culture?
How quickly should we roll out OKRs?
OKR examples and how to write them
What is an OKR? Definition and examples
What are some free OKR tools to help with goal setting?
OKRs for software engineers: What are some examples?
OKRs for personal or life goals: How do they work?
How to grade your OKRs
Company-wide OKRs: What are some examples?
Office operations OKRs: What are some examples?
Committed vs. aspirational OKRs: What’s the difference?
I read over 100 books a year. Between being an author and podcast host, books are kind of my world. This was hands down one of the most useful books I’ve read in 2018. It forced me to take a look at how I was spending my time and what the people on my team were prioritizing. Even though I couldn’t directly relate to all of the interviews, there was a nugget in each one that I found valuable. Considering how many successful companies and individuals use this process, it’s worth learning about.
Srinivas Rao, CEO Unmistakable Creative Podcast
I love this book. It’s well written and interesting. John Doerr has both the experience and the ability to communicate this in a way that is understandable and motivating. It is now required reading for all of my team at Project CURE.
Dr. Douglas Jackson, CEO Project C.U.R.E.
What People Are Saying
Don’t take our word for it.
This book should be a staple for both future and established business leaders. OKRs and CFRs provide a clear path to setting and achieving the most inspired to the most trivial goals businesses and teams pursue. John’s storytelling and experience made this book tough to put down
Amanda Haworth
”Measure What Matters” by @johndoerr is by far the best book on strategic planning I have ever read as an entrepreneur. OKR is a simple yet powerful tool for startups to stay focused on what really matters while keeping the team aligned to maximize results and excel on execution.
David Ocumarez
OMG, buy this book if you need help getting your stuff together with a business. I had such clarity which I desperately needed even after the first couple chapters. It makes you empowered to make decisions and create plans to actually move your work forward, not drowning in endless busy work that doesn’t get you anywhere closer to meeting your goals. It’s relatable, entertaining and applicable to pretty much any organization size.
Melissa Kennedy
Recently finished Measure What Matters by @johndoerr. Fantastic read and highly recommend it. #OKRs are a fantastic approach to getting an organization moving in the same direction. I rolled out several OKRs at work and to my surprise, my team jumped on board immediately.
Sean Miler
What People Are Saying
Don’t take our word for it.
I read over 100 books a year. Between being an author and podcast host, books are kind of my world. This was hands down one of the most useful books I’ve read in 2018. It forced me to take a look at how I was spending my time and what the people on my team were prioritizing. Even though I couldn’t directly relate to all of the interviews, there was a nugget in each one that I found valuable. Considering how many successful companies and individuals use this process, it’s worth learning about.
Srinivas Rao, CEO Unmistakable Creative Podcast
I love this book. It’s well written and interesting. John Doerr has both the experience and the ability to communicate this in a way that is understandable and motivating. It is now required reading for all of my team at Project CURE.
Dr. Douglas Jackson, CEO Project C.U.R.E.
This book should be a staple for both future and established business leaders. OKRs and CFRs provide a clear path to setting and achieving the most inspired to the most trivial goals businesses and teams pursue. John’s storytelling and experience made this book tough to put down
Amanda Haworth
OMG, buy this book if you need help getting your stuff together with a business. I had such clarity which I desperately needed even after the first couple chapters. It makes you empowered to make decisions and create plans to actually move your work forward, not drowning in endless busy work that doesn’t get you anywhere closer to meeting your goals. It’s relatable, entertaining and applicable to pretty much any organization size.
Melissa Kennedy
”Measure What Matters” by @johndoerr is by far the best book on strategic planning I have ever read as an entrepreneur. OKR is a simple yet powerful tool for startups to stay focused on what really matters while keeping the team aligned to maximize results and excel on execution.
David Ocumarez
Recently finished Measure What Matters by @johndoerr. Fantastic read and highly recommend it. #OKRs are a fantastic approach to getting an organization moving in the same direction. I rolled out several OKRs at work and to my surprise, my team jumped on board immediately.
Sean Miler
I’d recommend John’s book for anyone interested in becoming a better manager.
Bill Gates
Founder of Microsoft
Measure What Matters shows how any organization or team can aim high, move fast, and excel.
Sheryl Sandberg
Facebook COO and Founder of LeanIn.org
Measure What Matters deserves to be fully embraced by every person responsible for performance, in any walk of life.
Jim Collins
Author of Good to Great
I’d recommend John’s book for anyone interested in becoming a better manager.
Larry Page
Alphabet CEO and Google Cofounder