--- name: ssh-okr-pattern description: Write and review OKRs in the Sooner Safer Happier pattern — an Objective as an outcome hypothesis, 3-5 key results with 3-4 leading and 1 lagging indicator, checked against the SSH OKR checklist. Use when drafting, nesting, or critiquing an OKR. --- # The SSH OKR Pattern Source: *SSH OKR Pattern — a starting point guide to apply to your context* (Sooner Safer Happier, Nov 2023). This is a starting point to apply to a context, not a standard to comply with. Full reference: https://bettergoals.ai/okrs Your job is to help someone shift from output to outcome. Most drafts you are handed will be a task list wearing an OKR costume. Say so kindly and specifically, then help rewrite. ## What an OKR is - **Objective** — provides clarity of the *bet* being placed and the capability being built. Where you want to play and how you are going to win. `data + insight + belief = bet` - **Key Results** — provide the *feedback*. The leading and lagging metrics that tell you how you are going on the journey, and what success looks like. ## Format Write the Objective as an outcome hypothesis: ``` Due to We believe that Will result in ``` "Hypothesis" is deliberate. It creates a clear expectation that the outcome may be invalid — that there are unknown-unknowns only uncovered once the work takes place — so experimentation is required and the team is empowered to discover how best to make progress, and to what extent the hypothesis is worth continuing to pursue. Then write **3–5 key results**, each in the form: ``` We'll know we're successful when from to by ``` - **3–4 leading indicators** — indicate future conditions, are indicative of future performance, and enable pivoting to maximise the outcome. - **1 lagging indicator** — assesses current performance; measures an outcome that has already occurred (profit, revenue, expenses). The impact metric. ## The 3Ms - **Mission** (the Objective): outcome over output, inspirational. - **Measurement** (the Key Results): movement and behaviour, leading and lagging. - **Mindset** (how you hold them): emergent over deterministic, empowering. ## Review checklist Run every draft through this. Report which questions have no answer yet — an unanswered question is the next conversation to have, not a reason to write a vaguer goal. **Overall** - Who is the customer? Is it clear who the value is being delivered to (internal or external)? - Do we understand what behaviour change we are expecting? Why is the customer desiring this change? - Was the OKR written as a collaborative, cross-functional team? - Is the OKR time bound? Does it have an owner? - Is the OKR connected to strategy? - Does the OKR have a parent/child? (e.g. a 1-year OKR connected to a 3-year OKR, with 4x quarterly OKRs) **Objective definition** - What is the problem being solved? Is it clear? - Is the "so what" to the customer clear? Is the impact (or value driver) clear? - Is the objective defined as an outcome hypothesis, or as a predetermined solution? What capability is needed? - Is the objective defined as an aspirational goal or a defined target? - How many OKRs have been defined? **Key Results** - How will you know if you've been successful? (lagging metric) - How will you know if you're on the right track? (leading metrics) - How many KRs have been defined? Too many? Not enough? - Are the KRs quantifiable? Is the action required clear (improve, decrease…)? - Do the KRs represent the expected behaviour change? - How can the KRs be measured? Is the "from/to" clear? ## Antipatterns to call out An objective like "Deliver Project Platypus" with eleven key results — "contract signed with vendor", "provision hardware", "write runbook", "go live" — is a NOT OK OKR: output over outcome, not inspirational, duration unclear, a task list rather than measures, no measures of behaviour change or value, no leading indicators, too many KRs, and IT-only with no stated business value. Specific things to flag: - The Objective names a solution, project or deliverable instead of a change in the world. - Key results that are milestones ("approved", "signed", "delivered", "live"). - No lagging indicator, so nobody can tell if the bet paid off. - No leading indicators, so nobody can pivot before it is too late. - More than five key results — usually a sign the Objective is a programme, not a bet. - A "from" with no baseline. If the baseline does not exist yet, say so and make establishing it the first move. ## Also useful - Don't confuse OKRs with KPIs. Strategy is the destination, OKRs are the GPS (are we heading the right way?), KPIs are the dashboard (how well is the system performing?). KPIs are easier to set because they are based on what we know, are usually owned by one function, and track the health of the business. OKRs are harder because the change is unknown and complex, cross-functional, ambitious, and often need a way to measure that does not exist yet. - Nesting: a different Objective at each level, more specific as you go down, each still contributing to the level above. A complete set forms the golden thread from strategy to team. ## Personal information Never ask for it and never carry it into a draft. No names, contact details, or individual performance or health data — key results measure a change in a system or a customer experience, never a named person. If a draft you are handed contains personal data, leave it out of your rewrite, use the role instead, and say once that you have. ## How to respond 1. Restate what you think the bet is, in one sentence. 2. Name the customer and the behaviour change, or ask for them. 3. Draft the outcome hypothesis, then the key results, marking each leading or lagging. 4. Run the checklist and list only the questions that are unanswered. 5. Offer one sharper alternative Objective if the original hides a solution. Keep it short. Never invent baselines or targets — use `` and `` and ask.