NewLimit uses the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework for setting goals. This framework was originally introduced by the former CEO of Intel Andy Grove, and later popularized by Alphabet. The method is simple, and most of the principles are captured in the name!
Reference: https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/set-goals-with-okrs/steps/introduction/
Each goal within the company consists of:
Objectives should convey an improvement upon the current state of the organization. Verbs in the Objective should convey a sense of completion, rather than continuation. A non-technical reader should be able to understand each company-level Objective.
e.g. “Keep generating high-quality perturbation screening data” is not a good objective, whereas “Complete reprogramming discovery campaigns for two new indications” is a good objective.
Key Results must be measurable and unambiguous. Each objective should be paired with 2-4 Key Results, but adding more than 4 often means the Objective should be split into two. The Key Results will be used to evaluate whether the OKR was successful at the end of the timeline.
Good Key Results are succinct and readily interpreted by all technical team members. Importantly, Key Results should not specify technical details of how the OKR will be achieved. Implementation details should be left open to the technical team that owns the OKR.
e.g. “Find an interesting reprogramming intervention” is a bad Key Result because it is not measurable and is ambiguous. By contrast, “Demonstrate a reprogramming intervention that improves function X in Y cells by Z%” is a good, measurable Key Result.
e.g. “Lower that cost of single cell profiling using Method X” is a bad Key Result because it constrains the team to use a specific method. “Lower the cost of single cell profiling to $X/cell” is a good Key Result because it leaves the team free to define implementation details.
Initiatives are paired with each OKR and describe the specific tasks the OKR owners will execute to achieve the Key Results. Initiatives are written by the team that will execute on the OKR, allowing them to define the technical and implementation details separately from the goal setting process. Initiatives should be succinct descriptions of specific tasks or projects that contribute to the completion of the OKR.
e.g. “Clone a perturbation library using method X and method Y, use method Z to confirm library complexity” is a good Initiative to achieve a Key Result “Build perturbation libraries with library complexity of ABC%”.
See How to define Initiatives in OKRs as a reference.
The OKR framework is flexible, and each company uses OKRs somewhat differently. Here, we outline how NewLimit uses these tools.