I recently took OKR Certification: Leadership and Goal Setting by Measure What Matters on Coursera. This course was added to the Class Central catalog in September 2022.

Why I Chose this Course

At Class Central, we recently started setting quarterly OKRs to boost the company’s performance. I previously worked in the banking industry and was familiar with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), but had never heard of OKRs. I decided to find out more by taking this course with my Coursera Plus subscription.

OKRs are Objectives and Key Results. Basically, you set your objectives for the quarter, then set 3-5 key results that, if met, will mean that your objective has also been reached. We learn how OKRs can complement KPIs, with the advantage of taking on new trajectories. While KPIs are usually “stretch targets” of previous results, effective OKRs can help different aspects of the business to flourish.

Instructors

John Doerr (co-founder and chairman of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins) learned about OKRs when he worked for Intel at the start of his career. Since then, he has introduced KPIs to many businesses, individuals, and non-profits including Google, LinkedIn, and U2’s Bono. He also wrote a book about OKRs, titled Measure What Matters.

While John Doerr appears in a few of the videos, most feature Kleiner Perkins co-founder and technical advisor Ryan Panchadsaram.

My Skills

There are no prerequisites for this course. As I worked through the course, I realized that creative thinking skills I’ve developed from such courses as Ignite Your Everyday Creativity helped me come up with useful objectives. Learners are encouraged to set ambitious objectives even if they don’t meet them. Chances are, the objectives will become achievable during a future quarter.

Success

To be successful in this course, the main thing you need is an open mind and be willing to think outside the square. Resources include a useful template to download or work on in Google Docs.

Certificate

The certificate is issued by Coursera and Measure What Matters. If you audit the course for free, you can’t submit the graded items or receive a certificate.

The Course

It can take practice to think up powerful and creative OKRs. The four weeks of the course take learners through various aspects of OKRs and how to frame them for the most effective results. Where do you want to be in a year’s time? What do you need to do to achieve that goal? If it seems impossible, what can you do to work towards it, so perhaps next year or the year after, that big audacious goal will become possible?

OKRs can be used in our personal lives as well, with the example of training for a 10K run discussed. We are shown how to break down the Objective into achievable Key Results which can be modified as time goes on.

Grading

The auto-scored quizzes were all relevant to the material presented. If you pay attention to the videos and readings, you should have no trouble passing the course.

Conclusion

I found this course surprisingly motivating. Not only did I complete it, but I also discovered renewed enthusiasm for my work. I realized I’d been drifting along in a rut for a while, but the OKRs helped me focus and become more productive. While OKRs work best if they’re embraced by the whole company, it’s possible to set your own personal OKRs and boost your performance even if those around you are skeptical.