How VC John Doerr Sets (and Achieves) Goals

John Doerr, the venture capitalist who’s funded companies including Google, Intuit, and Amazon, describes a system he calls “Objectives and Key Results,” or OKR, the subject of his new book. He learned it from Intel CEO Andy Grove in the 1970s, and has taught it to hundreds of organizations since then. He views it as a significant improvement over traditional methods of setting goals. In the OKR system, the objective is what you want to have accomplished. The key results are how you’re going to get it done. Doerr says this transparency helps organizations be more focused, aligned, and committed in their work.