Guide · OKR prework for management teams
Set your annual goals and must-win battles – then start with OKRs
Open this page on the screen, sit together as a management team and work through five questions. You leave with the two things every OKR introduction builds on: clear annual goals and a clear strategy.
How to use this guide
Prepare for your OKR introduction in one session
Your prework covers levels 1 and 2 of the pyramid. Everything else – company OKRs, unit and team OKRs – follows in the OKR workshop.
1
Sit together
The full management team, one screen, one shared document or flipchart.
2
One question at a time
Read the question and the example, then answer it for your company.
3
Write first, then talk
Everyone notes their answer alone before the discussion starts.
4
Rough is fine
Bullet points are enough. The OKR workshop sharpens them.
Part 1 · Pyramid level 1
Annual goals: what success looks like
Two questions. Result: three to five goals with today’s value and a target.
01
What does a great year look like in numbers?
Agree on three to five annual goals. Each one is a figure everyone in the room can repeat from memory.
Tip: Start with what the board or owners expect. Then add the one goal the team itself cares about most.
Example
| Annual goal | Target |
|---|---|
| Revenue | +20% on last year |
| EBIT margin | 12% |
| Recurring revenue share | 40% of total |
| Customer churn | below 5% |
Your answer
02
Where do we stand today?
Write today’s value next to every goal. The gap between today and the target shows where the year will be decided.
Tip: If a figure is not available, note who will bring it to the OKR workshop.
Example
| Annual goal | Today | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | baseline 2026 | +20% |
| EBIT margin | 8% | 12% |
| Recurring revenue share | 25% | 40% |
| Customer churn | 7% | below 5% |
Your answer
Part 2 · Pyramid level 2
Strategy: your must-win battles
Three questions. Result: three to five battles, a not-now list and a quick check.
03
Which battles must we win to reach these goals?
Name three to five must-win battles – the few strategic moves that decide whether the year succeeds. Each one starts with a verb.
Tip: Let everyone write their own list first, in silence. Then cluster the ideas and agree on the few that matter most.
Example
- Launch our new product line successfully
- Turn one-off projects into subscriptions
- Win key accounts in the healthcare sector
- Build a sales team that scales
Your answer
04
What do we deliberately not do this year?
Clear focus needs a not-now list. Naming what you set aside frees time and budget for the must-win battles.
Tip: A good not-now list feels slightly uncomfortable – that is a sign of real focus.
Example
- No new markets outside Europe this year
- No custom development for single customers
- Pause the second product line until launch is complete
Your answer
05
Does every battle move at least one goal?
A quick check before the OKR workshop: put goals and battles side by side. Every battle should clearly move at least one goal – and every goal should have a battle behind it.
Tip: A goal without a battle is a wish. A battle without a goal is a project to question.
Example
| Must-win battle | Revenue | Margin | Recurring share | Churn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch new product line | ||||
| Projects into subscriptions | ||||
| Win healthcare key accounts |
strong impact some impact
Your result
One page that carries you into the OKR workshop
This is all your management team needs to bring. Ideally every leader also notes their personal top three challenges and opportunities for the coming quarter.
1 · Annual goals
| Goal | Today | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | baseline | +20% |
| EBIT margin | 8% | 12% |
| Recurring share | 25% | 40% |
| Churn | 7% | <5% |
2 · Must-win battles
- Launch our new product line successfully
- Turn one-off projects into subscriptions
- Win key accounts in the healthcare sector
Not now: new markets outside Europe, custom development for single customers
Illustrative example of a mid-sized software company.
What follows in the OKR workshop
From your one page to OKRs for the next three months
With goals and strategy in place, the OKR workshop answers one question: what can we do in the next three months that moves the company forward the most?
Step 1 · Prework
Goals and strategy
Your one page from this guide.
Step 2 · Management
Company OKRs
Two to five Objectives for the quarter, each with two to four measurable Key Results and one owner.
Step 3 · Units and teams
Unit and team OKRs
Business unit and team leads propose how they best support the company OKRs – and commit to their own.
The four places company OKR topics come from in the workshop.
FAQ
Good questions before your OKR introduction
Do we need finished OKRs before the workshop?
No. Your annual goals and must-win battles are enough. The OKRs are what you create together in the workshop.
What if our strategy is not written down yet?
That is very common – questions 3 to 5 of this guide help you put it on one page.
How long does the prework take?
Most management teams get through the five questions in one focused session. Figures you do not have at hand can follow later.
Who should take part?
The management team that decides on company priorities. Business unit and team leads join in step 3, when they propose their own OKRs.
Can someone facilitate this for us?
Yes. We run this as a strategy, goal-setting or alignment workshop – see our OKR introduction.
OKR consultant
Joern Steinz (MBA)
I have been facilitating workshops since 2014 and supporting companies with OKRs since 2019. Before that I worked at Accenture and in corporate development at XING and the freenet Group, and I hold an MBA from EADA Business School Barcelona.
Selected OKR clients: Harvey Norman Ireland, Domino’s Pizza Germany, Zertus Group, Hero Software, Doktor.de.
Support for your OKR project
Want a guide for your own OKR introduction?
I support management teams from the first goal-setting session to the first quarterly review – as much or as little as you need.