Measure What Matters

I wish I had had this book nineteen years ago, when we founded Google. Or even before that, when I was only managing myself! As much as I hate process, good ideas with great execution are how you make magic. And that's where OKRs come in. John Doerr showed up one day in 1999 and delivered a lecture to us on objectives and key results, and how we should run the company based on his experience at Intel. We knew Intel was run well, and John's talk made a lot of intuitive sense, so we decided we'd give it a try. I think it's worked out pretty well for us. OKRs are a simple process that helps drive varied organizations forward. We have adapted how we use it over the years. Take it as a blueprint and make it yours, based on what you want to see happen! For leaders, OKRs give a lot of visibility into an organization. They also provide a productive way to push back. For example, you might ask: Why can't users load a video on YouTube almost instantly? Isn't that more important than this other goal you're planning to do next quarter?' I'm glad to join in celebrating the memory of Bill Campbell, which John has done very nicely at the conclusion of the book. Bill was a fantastically warm human being who had the gift of almost always being right especially about people. He was not afraid to tell anyone about how full of shit they were, and somehow they would still like him even after that. I miss Bill's weekly haranguing very much. May everyone have a Bill Campbell in their lives or even strive to make themselves be a bit more like the Coach!