The Anatomy of a Great Key Result

Meta Description: Learn how to write measurable, impactful Key Results that drive your OKR objectives forward. Includes examples, templates, and expert tips.

Keywords: key results, OKR key results, measurable goals, KR examples, writing key results, OKR metrics

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Introduction

If Objectives are the "what" of your OKRs, Key Results are the "how." They transform inspirational goals into measurable outcomes, providing the concrete milestones that prove you're making progress.

But not all Key Results are created equal. Poorly written Key Results can lead teams astray, encourage gaming the system, or fail to capture what truly matters. Great Key Results, on the other hand, focus effort, enable accountability, and celebrate meaningful progress.

This guide will teach you how to craft Key Results that drive real outcomes.

What Is a Key Result?

A Key Result is a measurable outcome that indicates progress toward an Objective. It answers the question: "How will we know we've succeeded?"

Key Results share these characteristics:

• Quantitative: They include numbers
• Outcome-focused: They measure results, not activities
• Time-bound: They're achievable within the OKR cycle
• Ambitious: They stretch the team (aim for 70% achievement)
• Verifiable: Success is objective, not subjective

The Three Types of Key Results

1. Metric-Based Key Results

These measure a change in a specific metric.

Format: [Verb] [metric] from [X] to [Y]

Examples:

• Increase Net Promoter Score from 32 to 50
• Reduce customer churn rate from 8% to 5%
• Grow monthly active users from 10,000 to 25,000
• Improve page load time from 3 seconds to 1 second

2. Milestone-Based Key Results

These track completion of significant deliverables that have measurable impact.

Format: [Verb] [deliverable] with [measurable outcome]

Examples:

• Launch mobile app with 4.5+ star rating
• Complete SOC 2 certification with zero critical findings
• Ship new pricing page with 15% conversion rate improvement
• Deploy to 3 new AWS regions with 99.9% uptime

3. Binary Key Results

These are either achieved or not achieved (use sparingly).

Format: [Verb] [specific deliverable/outcome]

Examples:

• Secure Series B funding
• Hire VP of Engineering
• Achieve ISO 27001 certification
• Launch in Japan market

Note: Binary Key Results should only be used when the outcome is truly binary and significant. Prefer metric-based Key Results when possible.

The SMART Framework for Key Results

Great Key Results are SMART:

Specific

The Key Result should be clear and unambiguous.

❌ "Improve customer satisfaction"
✅ "Increase CSAT score from 78 to 88"

Measurable

You must be able to objectively measure success.

❌ "Make customers happier"
✅ "Achieve Net Promoter Score of 50+"

Achievable

Ambitious but possible within the timeframe.

❌ "Achieve 100% market share"
✅ "Capture 15% market share in target segment"

Relevant

Connected to the Objective and business value.

❌ "Publish 50 blog posts" (if Objective is about product quality)
✅ "Reduce critical bugs from 15 to 3"

Time-bound

Achievable within the OKR cycle.

❌ "Eventually become profitable"
✅ "Reach break-even by end of Q3"

Key Results by Objective Type

For Growth Objectives

Objective: Accelerate customer acquisition

Key Results:

• Increase monthly new customers from 200 to 500
• Grow organic traffic from 50K to 100K visits/month
• Improve trial-to-paid conversion from 5% to 12%
• Reduce customer acquisition cost from $150 to $100

For Product Objectives

Objective: Deliver a world-class mobile experience

Key Results:

• Achieve 4.7+ star rating on app stores (currently 4.1)
• Reduce app crash rate from 2% to 0.1%
• Increase mobile user session length from 3 to 7 minutes
• Launch 5 most-requested mobile features

For Efficiency Objectives

Objective: Build a scalable operations foundation

Key Results:

• Reduce manual processing time from 40 to 10 hours/week
• Automate 80% of repetitive workflows
• Decrease average ticket resolution time from 48 to 12 hours
• Achieve 95% first-contact resolution rate

For People Objectives

Objective: Create a culture where talent thrives

Key Results:

• Increase employee NPS from 25 to 50
• Reduce voluntary turnover from 20% to 10%
• Achieve 90% completion rate on career development plans
• Improve Glassdoor rating from 3.5 to 4.2

Common Key Result Mistakes

Mistake 1: Measuring Activities, Not Outcomes

Bad: "Complete 10 customer interviews"
Why: This measures activity, not impact. You could do 10 interviews and learn nothing.
Better: "Validate 3 product hypotheses through customer research"

Bad: "Send 5,000 marketing emails"
Why: Sending emails isn't the goal; generating results is.
Better: "Generate 200 qualified leads from email campaigns"

Mistake 2: Setting Sandbagged Goals

Bad: "Increase revenue by 2%" (when 10% is easily achievable)
Why: OKRs should stretch teams. Sandbags undermine the framework.
Better: "Increase revenue by 15%"

Key Results should have about 50% confidence of achievement at the start of the quarter.

Mistake 3: Including Too Many Key Results

Bad: 8 Key Results per Objective
Why: Too many Key Results dilutes focus and makes tracking overwhelming.
Better: 3-5 Key Results per Objective (3 is ideal)

Mistake 4: Vanity Metrics

Bad: "Reach 1 million social media followers"
Why: Followers don't equal business value unless they convert.
Better: "Generate 500 leads from social media channels"

Mistake 5: Key Results Outside Your Control

Bad: "Get featured in TechCrunch"
Why: You can't control editorial decisions.
Better: "Generate 10 earned media placements in tier-1 publications"

Mistake 6: Moving the Goalposts

Bad: Starting with "Reach $1M revenue" then changing to $800K mid-quarter.
Why: Changing targets undermines accountability and learning.
Better: Keep original targets; reflect on misses at quarter end.

The Scoring System

Key Results are typically scored on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0:

Score	Meaning
0.0-0.3	Failed to make progress
0.4-0.6	Made progress but fell short
0.7-0.9	Strong performance
1.0	Fully achieved (possibly sandbagged)

Target average: 0.7 (70%)

If you're consistently hitting 1.0, your Key Results aren't ambitious enough. If you're consistently at 0.3, they may be unrealistic.

Calculating Scores

For metric-based Key Results:

Score = (Actual - Starting) / (Target - Starting)

Example: Increase revenue from $1M to $2M

• Achieved: $1.7M
• Score: ($1.7M - $1M) / ($2M - $1M) = 0.7

For milestone Key Results:

• Not started: 0.0
• In progress: 0.3-0.6
• Completed: 1.0

Key Result Quality Checklist

Before finalizing your Key Results, verify each one:

• Is it measurable with a number?
• Does it measure an outcome, not an activity?
• Is baseline data available?
• Is the target ambitious but achievable?
• Can it be achieved this quarter?
• Is it within the team's influence?
• Does it directly support the Objective?
• Is it clear who owns it?
• Can progress be tracked weekly?

Examples by Department

Engineering Key Results

Objective: Build infrastructure that scales without limits

• Achieve 99.99% system uptime (from 99.5%)
• Reduce average API response time from 500ms to 100ms
• Scale system to handle 100K concurrent users (from 10K)
• Reduce deployment time from 4 hours to 15 minutes

Sales Key Results

Objective: Build a predictable revenue engine

• Increase quarterly bookings from $2M to $3.5M
• Improve win rate from 20% to 30%
• Reduce sales cycle from 60 to 45 days
• Achieve 90% forecast accuracy (from 65%)

Marketing Key Results

Objective: Establish thought leadership in our industry

• Grow newsletter subscribers from 5K to 20K
• Achieve 50K monthly organic website visitors (from 20K)
• Generate 30 speaking opportunities at industry events
• Publish research report with 1,000+ downloads

Customer Success Key Results

Objective: Create customers who can't imagine life without us

• Increase Net Revenue Retention from 95% to 115%
• Achieve Net Promoter Score of 60 (from 35)
• Reduce time-to-value from 60 to 30 days
• Increase customer health score average from 70 to 85

Tracking Key Results

Weekly Check-ins

Update Key Result progress weekly. This enables:

• Early identification of at-risk KRs
• Course correction while there's still time
• Celebration of progress along the way

Confidence Levels

In addition to progress, track confidence:

• On track: Confident of achieving 70%+ of target
• At risk: Uncertain; may need intervention
• Off track: Unlikely to achieve without major changes

Leading Indicators

Identify leading indicators for each Key Result—metrics that predict future performance. If your Key Result is "Achieve $5M in Q4 revenue," leading indicators might be:

• Pipeline coverage
• Qualified opportunities created
• Average deal velocity

Conclusion

Key Results are where inspiration meets measurement. They transform ambitious Objectives into concrete, trackable outcomes that teams can rally around.

The best Key Results are specific enough to focus effort, ambitious enough to inspire stretch, and measurable enough to celebrate progress. They measure outcomes, not activities, and they're firmly within the team's ability to influence.

Take the time to craft Key Results carefully. They're the difference between vague aspiration and focused execution.

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Related Articles:

• How to Write Effective Objectives That Inspire Action
• Common OKR Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
• How to Run Effective OKR Check-ins