Yes! That has been my experience at a (now long since failed) start-up.
We didn't communicate top-down, or cross-functionally very well. The executive team, with lots of support from HR, rolled out a really heavy, very process-centric OKR system and assumed that by announcing that Google uses OKRs and providing a portal that we'd start aligning.
It was an abject failure - not because (IMO) OKRs are a bad idea, but because the leadership teams made the mistake of confusing process for communication.
After the big announcement, it was mentioned only ONCE ever again. Seriously.
My team (of six) and I made use of it, but it was very difficult to align it with the goals of, say, our chief revenue officer; someone we met about three times in four years. We went back to using team & personal goals, creatively using our backlog and one-on-ones because there was no input, no updates and no communication about the OKRs.
The start-up failed because it wasted time chasing tactical low-value (tangential) deals instead of delivering against a viable, sustainable strategy. Great place to learn some hard lessons!
I'd use OKRs again for sure - both for their intended purpose, to help avoid the process-as-communication-proxy trap, and to gauge the nature of the organisation implementing them.
We didn't communicate top-down, or cross-functionally very well. The executive team, with lots of support from HR, rolled out a really heavy, very process-centric OKR system and assumed that by announcing that Google uses OKRs and providing a portal that we'd start aligning.
It was an abject failure - not because (IMO) OKRs are a bad idea, but because the leadership teams made the mistake of confusing process for communication.
After the big announcement, it was mentioned only ONCE ever again. Seriously.
My team (of six) and I made use of it, but it was very difficult to align it with the goals of, say, our chief revenue officer; someone we met about three times in four years. We went back to using team & personal goals, creatively using our backlog and one-on-ones because there was no input, no updates and no communication about the OKRs.
The start-up failed because it wasted time chasing tactical low-value (tangential) deals instead of delivering against a viable, sustainable strategy. Great place to learn some hard lessons!
I'd use OKRs again for sure - both for their intended purpose, to help avoid the process-as-communication-proxy trap, and to gauge the nature of the organisation implementing them.