What’s wrong that OKRs are not working as we were told in that inspiring workshop last year?

“Are OKRs for any company?”

If these phrases ring a bell – you’ve heard them in a meeting or while looking at that Excel sheet full of goals that no one follows – this article is for you. Especially if you are trying to apply OKRs in a traditional company, where not a single line of code is programmed.

You are not alone. There are many of us who have gone through this.

And yes, OKRs can work.

Even – and especially – in traditional companies.

But (and here comes the plot twist), they don’t work by magic or by copying Google.

Spoiler: not even Google uses OKRs like you think.

We will debunk myths, share real examples and give you a clear framework for making OKRs work in your organization, even if you don’t have a technical team.

We don’t need more targets. We need better conversations.

What are OKRs?

Just in case:

• Objectives: What you want to achieve. It should be ambitious, inspiring, clear.
  Ex: “Radically improve customer experience”.
• KR (Key Results): How you’ll know you’re on track. Measurable, realistic, but challenging.
  Ex: “To reduce customer service waiting times by 30%”.

Important: KRs are not tasks. They are evidence of progress. What has changed in the world if your goal moves forward?

If you want, I’ll tell you about it in this TEDx talk:

OKRs in traditional companies or just for techies?

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) have been the guest star in a thousand talks, books and podcasts on modern management. And no wonder: used well, they help align teams, focus efforts and measure real impact.

But there is a problem: most examples come from the tech world: Google, Intel, Spotify, Airbnb, Netflix….

And of course, you work in a logistics company, in a hospital group, in an insurance company, in retail, in a university… and you wonder:

“Is this applicable here… or is this another fad coming from the startup world with foosball tables and ping-pong tables?”

The short answer: yes, it can be applied.

The long one: yes, but you have to adapt. Because trying to apply OKRs without understanding the context (structures, culture, leadership, way of operating) is like trying to salsa dance with an engineering manual in your hand. As an OKR consultancy, we help you do it.

What happens when OKRs are applied in traditional companies? Spoiler: yes you can

It may sound like heresy in some boardrooms. OKRs are not just for techie startups or Silicon Valley unicorns.

Used well, OKRs can be a powerful strategic compass. But between the workshop’s inspirational PowerPoint and its actual implementation… there is a chasm.

The key: avoid common mistakes and understand the organizational complexity of your company.

Common myths and pitfalls with OKRs

Let’s go through some “classic mistakes” that we see over and over again in non-tech companies trying to implement OKRs:

First myth: “That’s for technology companies”.

No, and a thousand times no. OKRs are a tool for focus, clarity and alignment. What happens is that we often associate them with software companies because they were the first to use them in a visible way (thanks, Google). But the problems they solve are universal:

• Does your company have more ideas than focus?
• Is your team working hard but you don’t know if it is making progress?
• Are there initiatives that start out strong and deflate after a month?
• Are strategic objectives… a nice list that lives in a PDF?

So yes, you probably need OKRs. Even if you sell screws. Or do corporate yoga.

Second Myth: Cascading targets… no conversation

“The steering committee defines the OKRs and mails them out. Each area translates them and that’s it.”

This model seems efficient. But it is not. Why? Because teams don’t understand the what for. And when there is no conversation, alignment is a mirage.

There are many examples, but there was one that I found “curious”: A healthcare company defined an organizational OKR: “Improve the patient experience by 30%”. But the teams didn’t know what that meant or how to measure it. Result: everyone did what they could… and no one moved the needle.

Myth 3: OKRs as a to-do list

“Update the quality report” is not an objective.

“Review the procurement process” is not a Key Result.

An objective should answer the question “what do we want to achieve and why? KRs should answer “how will we know we will achieve it?

If your goal can be checked off like a Monday morning checklist, it’s not an OKR. It’s a task.

Myth 4 OKRs are immovable

There are companies that set OKRs in January… and don’t touch them until December. As if they were the Tablets of Moses.

In complex environments (spoiler: almost all today), OKRs must be alive, adapt, evolve. Learn from reality.

The real barrier: organizational complexity

Many non-tech companies have rigid structures, silos, micromanagement and excessive reporting. Thus, OKRs become tasks in disguise. The challenge is not the technique, but the context.

In an industrial company, OKRs were defined by areas. Good. But then each manager wanted to control the “how”. Result: each team had to report progress differently, and the KRs became task checklists. Bye bye purpose.

Principles for successful OKR implementation

1. Align without control

Align ≠ impose. The purpose of OKRs is not to have everyone in sync like robots, but to row in the same direction each in their own style. How to achieve this? With clear direction and conversation spaces.

Tip: Don’t cascade OKRs down without dialogue. Co-create. Strategic alignment is a social act, not an Excel.

Less is more

Has it ever happened to you that teams have more goals than capacity? It’s like going to the gym and wanting to train chest, back, legs, glutes and yoga… in 30 minutes.

OKRs should be few and powerful. Better 1-2 targets with 2-3 well defined KRs, than 8 targets that only live in the Notion, a ppt or wherever.

3. Objectives, not tasks

“Update the database” is not an objective. “Improve the efficiency of the commercial area” may be.

Does it hurt to leave out important tasks? A little.

But remember: OKRs are not a substitute for day-to-day operational management. They are there to mark the important from the urgent.

4. Itera, learn, adapt

OKRs are NOT a promise carved in stone. They are compasses that adjust as we learn.

Did a KR cease to make sense because of a change in the environment? It is changed. It is not “fulfilled just because”.

Does a team propose a new KR that best fits the target? Heard.

Something is not working? Check it. And change it.

This learning cycle is what makes OKRs not “just another fad” but a living practice.

OKRs and complexity: compass, not a map

We have said it before: we live in a complex world, not a complicated one.

• The complicated things can be solved with manuals.
• Complexity requires conversation, listening, learning.

Applying OKRs as if they were a recipe book is a recipe for failure. In complex environments, we need more compasses and less GPS.

OKRs are not to know if we are “complying”, but to understand if we are learning.

How to introduce OKRs in a non-technology company?

Let’s go with a more practical, step-by-step guide to applying OKRs successfully.

Step 1: Start with purpose, not template: define the “what for”.

Before you write a word, ask yourself this question:

“What do we want to accomplish as an organization in the next 6-12 months that is really important?”

OKRs without a clear strategic north are like compasses without magnetism. They adorn, but do not guide.

Practical tip: Have a “narrative alignment” conversation. Ask leaders to write, in less than 300 words, what would need to happen this year for us to say it was a success.

What do you want to use OKRs for?

• Align the equipment?
• Measuring impact?
• Connecting strategy and execution?

If you are not clear on the “what for,” everything else will be confusing.

Step 2: Start small: define few OKRs.

Don’t make the mistake of “doing it with everyone at once”. Start with a pilot team. Learn. Adjust. Share learnings.

Less is more. Seriously.

One of the most common mistakes: making an infinite list of objectives, “just in case”. This only generates confusion and dispersion.

The ideal:

• 1 to 3 objectives per team.
• Maximum 3 key results per objective.
• Objectives should not be generic (“to be the best”) or operational (“to review monthly reports”), but transformational and aligned with impact.

An example of OKRs for a food distribution company could be:
Objective: Reduce delivery time for urgent orders.
KR1: Lower the average delivery time from 48h to 24h for critical orders.
KR2: Increase the % of orders delivered without incidents to 95%.
KR3: Improve the customer satisfaction index for urgent orders from 6.8 to 8.5.

Start with one team, not the whole company.

It’s more common than you think, the example of a logistics company used OKRs first in the customer service area. They measured impact on response times and satisfaction. Then the rest of the company wanted to imitate them. Not by imposition, but by contagion.

Step 3: Accompany with conversations, not templates.

Create conversations, not just documents

The best OKRs are born from strategic conversations. Not from downloaded templates.

Question:

• What is at stake this quarter?
• What impact do we want to generate?
• How will we know that we are doing well?

OKRs are an excuse to have better conversations. Not a document to comply with and keep.

Powerful questions for an OKRs follow-up meeting:

• What did we learn this month?
• Do we still believe that this objective is relevant?
• Is there anything we need to adjust?
• What is preventing us from moving forward?

Step 4: Do not use them to evaluate people

OKRs ≠ individual assessment

Engrave this on your forehead: the OKRs are NOT individual assessment tools.

If you use them to reward or punish people, you will kill honesty, learning and collaboration.

OKRs are for aligning and learning as an organization, not for playing good cop-bad cop with teams.

OKRs are reviewed to learn, not to evaluate people.

If the KRs are not met, the conversation should be: What did we learn? What changed? What would we do differently?

A good OKR is not always fulfilled. But it always teaches something.

Step 5: Adapt the language to your reality

Does your team get lost with “Key Results”? Does talking about “targets” generate rejection because it sounds like more work?

Don’t get married to jargon. Use the language that works for your teams.

For example, an organization in the educational sector talks about:

• Purposes instead of Objectives
• Indicators of change instead of Key Results

And it works. Because the key is not in the name, but in the dialogue it generates.

Step 6: Experiment. Adapt. Iterate.

What if instead of launching OKRs across the entire organization all at once, you start with a pilot area?

Make a proof of concept. Learn. Adjust. Scale.

As you would do with a new process, tool or even a cooking recipe.

A company in the logistics sector started with OKRs in the operations team. It worked for them. Then they took it to customer service. Within 6 months, they were using it in management and HR.

Step 7: Don’t use them if there is no clear strategic direction

Sometimes it’s not the right time. If the company does not have a clear purpose, if the leaders are not aligned, if there is no learning culture… forcing OKRs is like putting GPS on a car with no direction.

First work on the context. Then OKRs will be a powerful tool.

Common anti-patterns (things you should NOT do)

1. Copy OKRs from other companies without context.
   What works in Google doesn’t necessarily work in your gourmet bakery.
2. Use them as individual KPIs.
   Nothing kills an improvement system like turning it into an audit.
3. Have 12 objectives per person.
   This is not the year-end shopping list. It is strategic focus.
4. Don’t follow up.
   If you define OKRs and don’t check them… it’s the same as not having them.

What about the OKRs on the steering committee?

Many steering committees say they “work with OKRs”… but what they have are PowerPoints with generic phrases like “to be market leaders”.

The real leap is when the steering committee uses OKRs to focus, stop doing what doesn’t contribute and open up real conversations about impact.

OKRs are also useful to the committee, if used well. For example:

Objective: To be recognized for our customer experience.
KR1: Improve NPS by 10 points.
KR2: Reduce waiting time complaints by 30%.
KR3: Achieve an internal recommendation of 8.5/10.

Easy to say, challenging to achieve, powerful to align.

In summary (in case you want to print it on a post-it)

• OKRs ≠ tasks.
• They are a compass, not a GPS.
• In non-tech environments, they need even more conversation and accompaniment (conversations > control).
• Less is more.
• If they don’t change, you’re probably not learning (learn > comply).
• They are not magic. They are constant, imperfect and human practice.

It’s not about OKRs… it’s about management and learning.

“A good system with bad habits… fails.
But an imperfect system with good habits… evolves.

”
The secret is not in writing perfect OKRs. Nor in copying what Google does. The secret is to create spaces where teams and leaders can talk, learn, adapt and focus on what really matters.

Do you want OKRs to work? As an OKR consultancy for companies, we help you.

Start by making them a tool of clarity, not control. Of purpose, not pressure. Of impact, not illusion.

And if you make mistakes along the way (spoiler: you will), celebrate. Because that means you’re learning.

What’s next?

If you are thinking about introducing OKRs in your non-tech company, remember:

• It is not a fad, it is a practice of strategic alignment.

• It’s not an Excel, it’s a conversational and purposeful tool.

• It is not a magic solution, it is a discipline that transforms when well accompanied.

Can we help you implement OKRs in your context? At Smartway we offer expert consulting in OKRs and organizational transformation adapted to complex realities.

Review your current objectives. Ask yourself:

• What is the real purpose behind it?

• What conversation are we avoiding having?

• What impact are we really looking for?

And if you need help… you know where to find us. As OKR experts we help you.

But above all: begins. Learn. Adjust. And follow .