16 OKRs (aka "Objectives and Key Reasons Engineers Start to Hate Their Lives")

The Innovation Engineer Podcast

Does every company need to introduce OKRs? Obviously not, but most do it anyway. And why are there so many engineers who hate OKRs? It’s getting hot, so tune in and learn about what OKRs are, when not to use them and what the real benefits are.

Tarek and Waschi both have very mixed experiences with using OKRs. It’s a love/hate relationship! There is great value in using them and we saw them bringing so much value to companies! But we also saw them go to waste way too often and being burned, even hated. There is only one thing we can do: We explain why and when to introduce them and discuss the potential pitfalls of OKRs. And provide you with valuable insights on how to avoid them! Join us as we dive deep into the world of OKRs, and help you determine if they are the right tool for your company.

Hosted by two former CTOs who decided to stay hands-on, both veterans of the industry with decades of experience as engineers. You can expect many stories from current and past ventures. Meet Innovation Engineer Tarek Madany Mamlouk and Principal Engineer Sebastian "Waschi" Waschnick.

Key Takeaways

• OKRs are a tool, meant for a certain set of problems. It’s not a multi-tool and not a Swiss Army knife.
• Understand it before you do it. Learning by doing can be harmful in this case. Understanding what you are trying to do and why you are introducing OKRs is important.
• Most of the time you actually don’t need OKRs.
• Stay agile - OKRs don’t work against agile methodologies, always keep reflecting and check if you are still on course. Use regular check-ins and train your mind to think in iterations.
• Less is more - start with very very few Objectives and Key Results.
• Technical goals are not meant to be Key Results. Except if they are your business. Always think about the business.

Show Notes

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:09 The nerdiest mug
• 3:30 OKRs are triggering me, everyone hates them for the wrong reasons
• 5:15 Where do OKRs come from?
• 8:25 The beauty of it and why you should love OKRs
• 12:29 What are OKRs and how do they work?
• 18:50 The simple explanation
• 23:05 Why engineers start to hate OKRs
• 24:12 The story which made Tarek fall in love (with OKRs)
• 27:56 Things engineers don’t understand about the value of meetings
• 30:39 Today we have “product developers”, not “software engineers”
• 32:52 The Five Superpowers of OKRs
• 35:00 Does your company really need OKRs?
• 39:09 The most common way do destroy the value of OKRs
• 40:31 What if you work project based?
• 48:02 Technical goals make for bad Key Results
• 50:41 The most important point: Understanding what you are trying to do
• 52:21 Key Takeaways
• 55:04 Outro and Outlook

Stuff we mentioned

We really need to talk more about cool gadgets - I promise we will do this more in future episodes!

• 🧑‍🎨 Bitly - the best link management of the world with a great taste in nerdy mugs

What should we talk about next?

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