I am curious to know if anyone has used Rocks as OKRs? We have been running on EOS for almost two years now (self-implemented).). We are trying to get more clarity on setting the right rocks...

Post

I am curious to know if anyone has used Rocks as OKRs?

We have been running on EOS for almost two years now (self-implemented).). We are trying to get more clarity on setting the right rocks, measurable for the whole team and aligning that with the business's long-term vision.

One of the challenges we are facing right now is strategic alignment and dependencies.

I know it's an ongoing process of testing and refining to find what works for the business.

I would love to hear if anyone has tried to use OKRs for the rocks to align with the strategic goals and bring clarity to the goals.

5 comments

Liked by Travis Richards

Travis Richards

10 months ago

Nirmal Gyanwali -- I have two questions:

1. What are your one year goals like on your V/TO?

2. Have you cascaded EOS down to the department level? Do your departments have one year plans and rocks?

Nirmal Gyanwali

10 months ago

Hi Travis,
Thanks for your comment.
Yes, we do have one-year goals on our V/TO but haven't set one-year goals for individual departments. It looks like there is a disconnection. (Thanks for pointing out).
We have company and departmental rocks though.

I can see there is no clear alignment between 1-year goals and individual rocks.

I guess this is what the process and hierarchy look like? correct me if I am wrong -
1. Define 1 year company goals
2. Define 1 year department goals that are aligned with the company goals. (Basically a distribution or combination of company goals to departments.)
3. Define departmental rocks every quarter that helps to achieve 1-year departmental goals eventually?

Travis Richards

9 months ago

Nirmal Gyanwali you're not alone when it comes to feeling like rocks and goals are disconnected. We've been running EOS for about twice as long as you with the help of an implementer and I feel like we're just now getting good at it.

For my first question I was wondering if your one-year goals are SMART. What we do is set the goal and add a few bullet points underneath it to help us clarify what done looks like. There is usually a lot of overlap between those bullet points and the department level one year goals.

I think you're on the right track. When you make your one year goal SMART, the resulting detail will probably provide the framework for the department level one year goals. I don't have a ton of experience with OKRs, but I think this is how they usually work as well -- a company-level key result is usually a department-level objective.

Let me know if you want to go over some specific examples to help you think through it. I'm about to go on vacation but am happy to help when I get back.

Nirmal Gyanwali

9 months ago

Travis Richards Thank you so much for your feedback.
Yes, it totally makes sense. We have been assessing our goals with the SMART framework.
I believe it's a continuous process of reflection and refinement. We are doing our quarterly meeting in 2 weeks so I am doing some background work to see where we can make improvements.
Thanks for your input.
Enjoy your holiday!

Angie Dianetti

9 months ago

Nirmal Gyanwali Early on in our EOS journey, rocks were often set with only loose connection to the 1 year and 3 year goals. This problem with this approach is that it allows too much chasing of shiny objects. Now we start with the 1 year plans and set company rocks around those - before any other rocks are taken. In addition, we are now setting prerequisites and budgets for those 1 year initiatives. This helps us to make sure we've accounted for the costs of developing the initiative.

Share Post