How to Set OKRs Right: A Step-by-Step Guide

Everything You Need to Know About Objectives & Key Results in One Ultimate Guide

Staying on track: The journey of achieving OKRs with unwavering focus and strategic guidance.

At Menthory, we’ve seen too many teams set OKRs with big dreams—only to watch them fizzle out due to vague goals, misaligned objectives, uninspired initiatives, or endless administrative headaches. As founders building an AI-powered platform to simplify company management, we’ve learned what makes OKRs truly work.

Before diving into our step-by-step guide, let’s explore what OKRs are and their structure. OKRs, or Objectives and Key Results, are a goal-setting framework that aligns teams and organizations toward ambitious, measurable outcomes. Here’s the hierarchy:

• Company Vision: The overarching mission driving your organization.

• Quarterly/Bi-Yearly/Yearly Goals: Specific targets to advance that vision.

• Department/Team Objectives: Key focus areas supporting the broader goal.

• Initiatives: Actionable projects to achieve those objectives.

  
  

This clear flow, from vision to initiatives, keeps teams focused!

Setting OKRs correctly isn’t just about writing goals—it’s about aligning teams, tracking progress, and saving time with smart tools. In this guide, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step process to set OKRs that drive results, using AI to make it easier than ever. Ready to stop struggling and start succeeding with OKRs? Let’s dive in!

Step 1 - Craft a Compelling Company Vision to Guide Your OKRs

A corporate vision statement is a formal sentence or paragraph that captures your organization's long-term aspirations. Think of it as the North Star for your OKRs. It should be forward-looking, vivid, and inspiring, describing the impact you’ll have on society while embodying your core values.

Unlike a mission statement, which defines your company’s purpose and main goals, a vision statement paints a desired future state. For example, “Empower every team to achieve more with AI-driven clarity.”

At Menthory, our vision is to empower companies with a unified platform that transforms management through AI-driven clarity, helping teams align and thrive. We believe AI integration unlocks powerful results. By co-developing with our clients, we’ll shape a future where every organization succeeds with AI-powered ease.

Make yours bold, keep it visible, and let it drive every OKR you set. Know that even as approaches evolve, your vision will keep efforts aligned and building toward success!

Step 2 - Set Quarterly Goals to Advance Your Vision

Quarterly goals are company-wide objectives that bring your vision closer. They act as ambitious milestones to achieve within a three-month cycle. These goals should be specific and bold. For example, “Revolutionize team alignment and management clarity with a unified AI-powered OKRs module.”

Each goal needs measurable key results to track progress. These are concrete outcomes, such as “Launch the OKRs module to 50% of our client base” or “Achieve an 80% user satisfaction score.”

Menthory Tip: “We do not suggest having more than 1-2 goals as it kills focus.”

To set them, gather your executive team or key stakeholders. Align the goals with your vision to ensure they inspire across departments. Brainstorm 3-5 key results together that are challenging yet achievable. Assign clear owners to the Indicators of your Key Results for accountability. Now that goals are set, don’t forget to notify your team members; the whole company must know what they are working toward this quarter.

Step 3 - Set Relatable Team OKRs to Align Your Squad

Objectives are sub-goals that support your quarterly goal. They are tailored for each department or team. For example, if your quarterly goal is to “Revolutionize team alignment and management clarity with a unified AI-powered OKRs module by Q3,” your marketing team might set an objective like “Boost user engagement with the OKRs module.”

Just like with goals, each objective needs measurable key results. These could be “Increase module sign-ups by 20%” or “Achieve 500 weekly active users.” At Menthory, our product team set a similar objective to support our rollout. They aimed to “Enhance user onboarding,” which directly tied to our client adoption targets. This made everyone feel involved.

Here’s how to do it: each team or sub-department should set its objective with its stakeholders—think team leads and members. Ensure it aligns with the quarterly goal. Communicate these objectives clearly within the team. This way, every member participates and knows their role. Then, cascade them to sub-departments for full alignment.

Menthory Tip: “Instead of just supporting the parent goal, pick a specific key result or performance indicator from it—like '50% client adoption'—to guide your objective. This makes tracking your impact on the goal much easier and keeps your team motivated, focused on measurable outcomes.”

Step 4 - Launch Initiatives to Drive Results

Initiatives are the actionable steps that bring your team's objectives to life. These turn plans into progress. Unlike goals or objectives, they’re concrete tasks that are either done or not done. Think of initiatives like “Develop a tutorial video for the OKRs module” or “Host a team training session by month-end.”

At Menthory, when we rolled out our OKRs module, our marketing teammate launched an initiative to “Launch this OKR guide blog post.” It was clear-cut—it either shipped or didn’t—keeping us grounded in action.

To set them, encourage each employee to identify 3-5 personal initiatives that support their team’s objectives and key results. Allow them to take ownership to foster creativity. Collaboration with managers is optional; however, trust your team to propose valuable ideas, such as a developer suggesting a feature demo. Empowering individuals to drive progress ensures that every step moves you closer to your OKR success.

Step 5 - Finish Strong

To keep your OKRs on track, establish a weekly monitoring process with two key actions. First, ensure your Objective Key Results and performance indicators—like “50% client adoption”—are updated to reflect current progress. You should always know where you stand.

Next, encourage every employee to monitor their own initiative progress. For example, confirm if “Launch this blog post” is done. At Menthory, we found that this rhythm kept us in sync. It clearly showed how our efforts, such as launching this blog, impacted our metrics. This clarity helps you adjust quickly and spot trends.

Menthory Tip: Schedule a brief team huddle each week to review OKR progress together. This sparks ideas and keeps everyone motivated to hit their targets.

Conclusion

You’ve now built a solid OKR framework—from vision to weekly tracking. Revisit your goals quarterly, trust your team, and start setting OKRs to align your company today! Ready to take the next step? Click here to explore how Menthory can help you streamline your OKR process. We’d love to hear your thoughts—leave a comment below with your OKR tips!