MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Leading Change With a Culture of Experimentation

Many leaders will be familiar with objectives and key results (OKRs), a collaborative framework for aligning goal setting with strategic planning. Originally developed by Andy Grove at Intel, OKRs were later introduced to the founders of Google by John Doerr, a protégé of Grove’s and a leading investor in Silicon Valley.

Organizations use OKRs to set and communicate goals, track milestones, and achieve results. When employees can see how their work contributes to big-picture outcomes, they understand why their efforts matter, and their motivation increases — something that Rick Klau, who spent more than 13 years at Google, witnessed firsthand.

About the Author

Rick Klau (@rklau) is chief technology innovation officer for the state of California. Previously, Rick was a senior operating partner at Google, where he led the Google Ventures partnerships team. Chris Clearfield is a coach and consultant who works with engineers, software developers, and C-suite executives to solve complex problems. He is also coauthor of Meltdown: What Plane Crashes, Oil Spills, and Dumb Business Decisions Can Teach Us About How to Succeed at Work and at Home (Penguin Press, 2018).

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