Recently, I have been intensely studying a topic, which is OKRs, short for Objectives and Key Results. In my rough understanding, it is a framework with measurable goals that are relevant. One important aspect is that it is “measurable and relevant”. There are many tools to measure results, and they must be relevant; otherwise, why measure at all? However, the term 'relevant' sometimes depends on whose relevance? And is it truly relevant? If not, progress and development become difficult.

In fact, this framework has much more to offer than what I have briefly mentioned. In terms of organizational management, otherwise, organizations like Google and many others worldwide wouldn’t adopt it. Nowadays, it is popular in several places in our country as well. However, this is not a direct writing about OKRs; rather, I want to give credit to a guru on this topic, Professor Nopadol, who has created his own OKRs and has spoken and written in a book that since organizations can use it effectively, it should also help us develop ourselves. I completely agree and have started to set my own OKRs.

If you ask, “Why do it?” I would say it’s because I want to improve myself and my life. You might wonder if it can really make a difference? I would ask back, “Do you want to improve or not? If not, then don’t bother.” Nothing in this world can truly predict the future until that time arrives.

If you don’t try, thinking it’s a waste of time, then you truly waste time.

I used to be someone who didn’t easily believe anything just by thinking. This means I would conclude something was unlikely just by thinking about it without ever trying. I would tell myself that I had considered it from many angles, and it still didn’t seem right, so I would conclude it was a waste of time. Consequently, I wasted a lot of time in my life just by thinking.

It’s similar to trying to do complicated math in your head because you think writing it down is a waste of time. However, trying to write it down is easier and clearer than “thinking in your head.” Importantly, even though it may seem slower at times, the results are definitely more accurate. Therefore, trying gives you real results rather than just thinking.

Moreover, I often write something similar to this, which is to distinguish between dreams and daydreams — thinking by oneself versus results from actual trials. They cannot be compared at all. Many people who don’t know because they have never done it, up to the point of “teaching others but never doing it themselves, don’t teach.” This is where I come back to the question of why I do this...

A clear goal?

Regarding OKRs, if I only study without any experience, it would be hard to truly understand. Now, I don’t work in an organization that has a structure to apply this, so I started by trying it out on myself first. How?

I must say it’s probably not the same as applying it in an organization because the factors are very different. However, it’s not bad to experiment. I’ll give a simple example: if one of my goals (Objective) is “to improve”, the term 'improve' is very abstract. Here, I mean improving in my job, specifically becoming a better speaker. So how can I improve?

There may be several main factors and Key Results, but let me give one simple example that can help: “reading books.” Of course, I believe many people wouldn’t count comic books or fashion magazines; it should be books that provide knowledge that can be applied. The more I read, the more I know, which will help me improve. However, even this is still not measurable...

Because if I easily deceive myself, like saying I read 10 pages and consider that as progress, or 100 pages in 3 months, thinking I’ve improved a little and learned a bit, that is certainly useless. But setting a goal of reading 30 books a year or 10 books a month is a good challenge if I can do it. However, in practice, it often becomes difficult because halfway through the month, I might have only read one book and may feel discouraged and quit because no one is controlling me...

Why create a burden for yourself?

This point might differ slightly from setting actual OKRs because, for organizations, the principle is to set slightly over-the-top goals to challenge oneself. But for us, we all know our potential reasonably well. Therefore, I set a goal that is challenging yet achievable, like reading at least 30 pages a day (this is one Key Result).

Many might say that it’s not hard, just 30 pages. If we think quickly, that might be true. But think long-term about the word “every day.” That’s where it becomes challenging. Because when it comes to actual practice, is there a day when I slip up? I admit there are, but I compensate on another day by reading 60 pages (this is where it starts to get tough). Many times, I read more than 30 pages, but I don’t subtract from the next day; I start counting 30 again. If I summarize the measurement, in a month of 30 days, I read about 900-1000 pages, averaging 3-5 books a month, depending on the length and thickness of the books. This year, I’ve done well; next year, I might set it to 50-60 pages a day. At this point, I’ve managed to read about 10 books in one quarter. If I compare it to the past, I would say I only read 1-2 books a year. This is a significant advancement, a 10x improvement in reading (after the internet era, I’ve been diligent in reading only articles on websites).

Those who understand might find that this is similar to setting KPIs for oneself. Part of KPI (Key Performance Index) is not much different from Key Results, but it differs because of the O – Objective itself, including the actual application. If it’s for oneself, it’s not very different, but for organizations, there are quite a few differences.

..These matters, in one perspective, seem like creating a “burden” for oneself. People who know about KPIs that many organizations misuse often feel intimidated by this term. If it were mine, I would see it as a burden as well. For example, coming home late from work, instead of getting to sleep, I have to read 30 pages first. When tired and sleepy, having to endure reading is certainly torturous. Or in other matters, like exercising for 30 minutes, I have to tire myself further. Why create a burden for myself?

As I mentioned at the beginning, if we view ourselves as a business, one thing we should consider is we cannot only do what we like and expect to be good, develop, or succeed. Let’s assume it’s a bakery; you love baking, spending all day in front of the oven, decorating cakes, but you don’t think about or care for marketing or customer service. Would the shop succeed? It would be very difficult.

Burden – Burden of Duty

I think this is a clear example. The middle path that Buddhism speaks of is probably something similar. In a state of completeness, it depends on how we perceive what is important. But I believe that just taking what we think is important or just what we like is probably not balanced. Many people today live without liking the work they do or the people around them, yet they still carry it as a burden. And it’s a burden that doesn’t even enhance life. This is perhaps the distinction between the words “burden” and “duty.”

Forcing oneself to do something may seem like a burden, but for me and many others, it should be a duty to conquer something that leads to something, and that something is the Objective or goal of whoever it is, depending on where they want to be. We all know in our hearts that wanting alone is not enough; we must take concrete action.

It’s “hard,” many people think, and thus it becomes a burden. Most of us are already carrying burdens that are difficult and unavoidable. If we can turn various burdens into duties, it would be much better.

Ultimately, we must reflect on our own life paths. For me, setting multiple Objectives is something I don’t know how far I can go, but at least it’s not vague because I can see the path ahead. Each quarter or year doesn’t mean you have to do it this way or that way; just take a good look at whether today is filled with burdens or duties. It’s up to you whether to take action, “just write, just learn, just try… do” something to improve.

PS. If you want to seriously learn about OKRs, I recommend the book Measure What Matters by John Doerr, translated into Thai as Setting Clear Goals, Measuring Results with OKRs, or if you like something similar to this article, Developing Organizations and Lives with OKR Concepts by Professor Dr. Nopadol Rompho.

This revised article was first published on Facebook Sirichaiwatt on 14/7/2019.

SOURCE: www.sirichaiwatt.com