Financial Glossary
Objectives and key results (OKR)
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a goal-setting methodology in which an organization defines qualitative Objectives, which describe what it wants to achieve, and pairs each with two to five measurable Key Results, which define how success will be quantified. Objectives should be ambitious, inspiring, and time-bound, typically set for a quarter or year. Key Results must be specific, measurable, and verifiable: at period end, each KR can be scored objectively. The OKR framework was developed at Intel and popularized by Google; it is widely used in venture-backed startups and increasingly adopted in PE-owned companies to cascade strategic priorities from company to team to individual.
Problem & Application
A property management SaaS company might set an Objective such as: Become the top-rated reservation platform for independent campground operators. Supporting Key Results could include: achieve a net promoter score of 55 or above (from a current 42), reduce customer support ticket volume per account by 20%, and grow the number of five-star reviews on major software review sites from 80 to 150. Each KR is independently measurable, and progress is tracked weekly. The CFO's role in the OKR process is to ensure financial KRs are set realistically against the operating plan, to flag when aggressive growth targets imply hiring or infrastructure spending not budgeted, and to tie OKR scores back to performance reviews and bonus calculations. For owner-operated businesses without a formal planning process, adopting a simplified OKR cycle, even informally with two or three company-wide priorities per quarter, imposes useful discipline on where management attention and capital are deployed.
In Short
OKRs help businesses achieve alignment and drive performance by setting clear goals and measurable outcomes.