👋 Hi, it’s CJ Gustafson and welcome to Mostly Metrics, my weekly newsletter where I unpack how the world’s best CFOs and business experts use metrics to make better decisions.
I have a confession to make. I suck at OKRs.
If you’re like me, you fall victim to treating OKRs as a check-the-box exercise, or failing to make them specific enough to support your true organizational goals.
Luckily for you (and me, lol) I know people who don’t suck at OKRs.
In fact, they’re seasoned pros when it comes to mastering Objectives and Key Results. Here’s a tactical (and extremely timely) guide to nailing OKRs for you to use in 2025. Don’t let your OKRs become a forgotten slide deck next year.
(Thanks to Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase, Paul Mulé, CFO at Arcadia, Daniel Kang, VP of Finance at Mercury, and Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense for their insights and appearances on the RTN Podcast.)
Our roadmap for getting OKRs right:
Limit OKRs to Essentials
Clearly Define Success
Focus on Incremental Impact
Avoid Vanity Metrics
Align, Don’t Cascade
Balance Aspirational vs Committed Goals
Establish a Cadence to Avoid the Midyear Fade
Use Finance as the Bridge Between Strategy and Execution
Set Dates for Accountability
Course-Correct with Confidence
1. Limit OKRs to Essentials
Overloading OKRs dilutes their focus and overwhelms teams. Set no more than 3–5 company-level objectives to maintain clarity and impact.
Key Tactics:
Keep OKRs concise to spotlight the most critical goals.
Focus on company-wide objectives that resonate across departments.
Push back against the temptation to set an exhaustive list of KRs.
From the Pros:
"If you focus on everything, you focus on nothing. Two to three OKRs are more than enough for most companies, especially smaller ones. It keeps everyone aligned and avoids wasting time on things that don’t move the needle.”
—Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense
“Where companies struggle is when OKRs become a vanity contest about how many they can set. Stick to what truly moves the needle.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
2. Clearly Define Success
Vague objectives like “improve customer experience” fail to provide actionable direction. You need to specify success with clear, measurable criteria.
Key Tactics:
Replace generic goals with detailed outcomes (e.g., “achieve 90% NPS in Q3”).
Include specific metrics and timelines in every KR.
Test clarity by asking: Can anyone on the team tell if this was achieved?
From the Pros:
“Avoid ambiguity. You don’t want a debate at the end of the quarter over whether a goal was met.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“Having clear definitions and shared understanding across departments prevents chaos. For smaller companies, transparency about OKRs can build trust and alignment throughout the organization.”
—Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense
3. Focus on Incremental Impact
OKRs should push teams to innovate and improve—not merely maintain the status quo. Prioritize incremental advancements that align with business goals.
Key Tactics:
For G&A teams, go beyond operational tasks and focus on improvements (e.g., reduce financial close time from 10 to 7 days).
Prioritize initiatives that enhance efficiency or customer value.
Celebrate small wins that add up to meaningful impact.
From the Pros:
“OKRs aren’t just checklists for routine work—they’re about what’s next.”
—Daniel Kang, VP of Finance at Mercury
“Never let your OKRs become a checklist of things you already do. Focus on incremental changes that actually improve execution.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“Sometimes, the best improvements come from optimizing the basics. For us, it meant cutting our data models to just three to five key tables per department. That small change improved clarity and decision-making across the board.”
—Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense
4. Avoid Vanity Metrics
Vanity metrics like “number of meetings held” or “hours logged” don’t reflect real progress. Focus on measurable outcomes that align with company strategy, and avoid cumulative metrics (all time downloads) or metrics that just make people feel good about stuff they are already doing.
Key Tactics:
Prioritize metrics that drive outcomes, such as revenue growth, retention, and time-to-market.
Challenge teams to connect every metric to a meaningful, tangible, real-world impact.
Avoid “business-as-usual” KRs that simply track ongoing activities.
From the Pros:
“It’s not about how many metrics you track—it’s about tracking the right ones.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“Metrics should always tell a story that informs action. If a number doesn’t lead to a decision or insight, it’s just noise.”
—Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense
5. Align, Don’t Cascade
Forcing every team’s OKRs to mimic company-wide goals often leads to misalignment. Instead, choose an “aligned” approach, where team objectives loosely tie to broader goals but retain flexibility.
Key Tactics:
Use aligned OKRs to give teams the freedom to define paths to achieving goals.
Allow departments like engineering or support to set objectives tailored to their unique challenges.
Ensure every OKR aligns with company priorities without being rigid or force-fitting for sake of completeness.
From the Pros:
“Aligned OKRs work best when teams can see how their efforts tie back to company objectives without being shoehorned into irrelevant metrics.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“OKRs can’t be one-size-fits-all. What works for one team may not work for another. Finding the right balance for each group is critical.”
—Paul Mulé, CFO at Arcadia
“OKRs that don’t account for interdependencies across teams are bound to fail. Involving stakeholders from the start is key to creating goals that the entire organization can rally around.”
—Daniel Kang, VP of Finance at Mercury
“Alignment isn’t a one-time exercise. It’s about continuously making sure teams are speaking the same language and working toward the same goals. Data governance plays a huge role in that.”
—Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense
6. Balance Aspirational vs. Committed Goals
A mix of stretch and achievable goals keeps teams motivated while maintaining realism.
Key Tactics:
Distinguish between committed goals (must-hit) and aspirational goals (reach).
Calibrate stretch targets to inspire growth without creating confusion.
Communicate the rationale behind each goal type clearly.
From the Pros:
“Stretch goals should challenge teams but not make success feel impossible.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“Aspirational goals are great, but only if they fit within the organization’s actual capacity. A good planning process requires honest assessments of constraints.”
—Daniel Kang, VP of Finance at Mercury
7. Establish a Cadence to Avoid the Midyear Fade
Without regular reviews, OKRs can lose momentum. You need to embed OKRs into ongoing team rhythms.
Key Tactics:
Schedule monthly OKR reviews to track progress and remove roadblocks. Quarterly is great, but may be too infrequent. At the same time, daily check ins may be overkill, and sap productivity.
Make OKRs a standing agenda item in leadership and department meetings.
Use real-time tracking tools to maintain transparency across teams.
From the Pros:
“OKRs need to stay visible to ensure they don’t fade into the background.”
—Daniel Kang, VP of Finance at Mercury
“OKRs need to stay visible. If you only revisit them at the end of the quarter, you’ve already lost the battle.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“I can’t do standing one-on-ones or daily OKRs. People spend more time preparing for the meetings than actually working on the objectives. Keep it simple.”
—Paul Mulé, CFO at Arcadia
8. Use Finance as the Bridge Between Strategy and Execution
Based on the unique vantage point finance leaders have, they can connect strategic goals to execution by evaluating resources, bandwidth, and trade-offs. Therefore, it’s finance’s role to ensure goals remain realistic.
Key Tactics:
Conduct spans-of-control reviews to ensure leaders aren’t spread too thin.
Use OKRs to highlight resource gaps or organizational debt.
Use resources to break down barriers. Some problems can indeed be solved with some money.
From the Pros:
“Finance is uniquely positioned to evaluate bandwidth and ensure resources align with the company’s goals.”
—Daniel Kang, VP of Finance at Mercury
“Finance leaders have to think beyond the numbers and act as translators, helping teams align their priorities with the company’s strategy.”
—Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense
9. Set Dates for Accountability
Vague timelines like “by Q3” lead to missed deadlines and unclear priorities. Set specific dates for every objective and key result. Don’t set OKRs as ranges.
Key Tactics:
Replace “end of quarter” with specific deadlines like “August 15.”
Add interim milestones to track progress throughout the quarter.
Communicate deadlines clearly to create accountability.
From the Pros:
“Without specific dates, OKRs can drift into ambiguity. Deadlines drive focus.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“Transparency and clear timelines empower people to align their decisions with broader objectives. Without that, you’re setting teams up to fail.”
—Paul Mulé, CFO at Arcadia
10. Course-Correct with Confidence
Static OKRs won’t survive dynamic markets. Adapt OKRs to reflect changing circumstances.
Key Tactics:
Treat OKRs as living documents that evolve with the business. You don’t have to wait for artificial, annual milestones to switch things up. Success isn’t beholden to the Roman Greco calendar.
Reassess metrics at least around midyear to ensure they remain relevant and achievable.
Use retrospective reviews to learn from successes and failures.
From the Pros:
“Your OKRs are only as good as your ability to adapt them. When the data shifts, your strategy has to shift too.”
—Alyssa Shadinger, CFO at SiSense
“It’s shortsighted not to adjust OKRs as circumstances change. A rigid process will break under dynamic conditions.”
—Bryan Morris, CFO at Demandbase
“Nimbleness is key. A rigid process doesn’t work across all teams or projects. Constantly revisit and adjust OKRs to find the equilibrium that drives results.”
—Paul Mulé, CFO at Arcadia
“Planning is about making the best decisions with the information you have, but the real skill is adapting as new data emerges. Building that flexibility is crucial.”
—Daniel Kang, VP of Finance at Mercury
TL;DR:
Limit OKRs to Essentials: Stick to 3–5 company-level objectives. Overloading your list creates confusion and dilutes focus.
Define Success: Avoid vague outcomes like “launch product X.” Instead, specify criteria like “increase adoption to 80% by Q3”.
Focus on Incremental Impact: For G&A teams, ensure OKRs go beyond routine tasks. Instead of “close the books,” aim for “reduce close time from 10 to 7 days”.
Balance Aspirational vs. Committed Goals: Mix ambitious stretch goals with achievable targets to drive both innovation and measurable progress
Thanks again to our contributors. You can check out their appearances on the RTN podcast here:
Alyssa Shadinger: Drops in December! Stay tuned.
