Frame the quarter: what matters most?
You have one quarter. Frame it so everyone sees the few outcomes that will truly move the business. Decide the goals, name the owners, and stop there. Mapping work comes later.
Outcome of this workshop
A one‑page quarter pitch that shows:
- One to three objectives written in plain language
- Two to four key results for each objective, each with a baseline, a target, and one named owner
- Any hard constraints on budget, headcount, or risk
That is all. Initiatives wait until you read the next part: Map the bets.
Timebox & roles
When: Run this 90 minutes workshop 2 weeks before the quarter starts. Book the follow‑ups before you leave the room.
Who (max 10 people):
- Decider: Sets constraints and breaks ties
- Facilitator: Keeps time and enforces guardrails
- Scribe: Drafts the quarter pitch and the decision log live
- Future KR owners: Update progress every Monday
One person can wear more than one hat, except the decider and the facilitator. Those two are mandatory.
Guardrails for the session
- No more than three objectives
- Two to four key results per objective
- Exactly one owner per key result
- Owners post updates every Monday before the review meeting
- No business‑as‑usual work inside OKRs
- No key result stays yellow three weeks in a row
- No owner holds more than seven weekly check‑ins
If you must break a rule, record the reason in the decision log.
Prep work to send forty‑eight hours in advance
- Final scores and retro notes from last quarter
- Current strategy and annual targets
- Market signals such as win–loss notes and churn themes
- Confirmed headcount, budget, and known absences
Bring facts to the meeting. The workshop is for decisions, not discovery.
Agenda: frame the quarter
Facilitator tip: use silent writing, then dot voting to move fast.
Quarter pitch template
Your pitch document should contain the following sections:
- Title: <team or org> OKRs - <quarter> <year>
- One-liner: One line summary of the main goal for the quarter
- Constraints: budget, headcount, risk
- OKRs
- Rituals: weekly review meeting, monthly objective health check
- Decision log: ideas cut, accepted risks, deferred goals, dependencies
Exit checklist before you leave the room
Make sure that the following points are covered before moving on.
When every box is ticked, move to Map the bets, where you connect initiatives to these OKRs.