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Framework · 16 min

Quarterly OKRs without the bureaucracy

OKRs aren't a spreadsheet. They aren't a 4-hour meeting at the start of the quarter. They're a focus instrument. This framework shows how agencies make OKRs work without killing the team with ceremony.

The anatomy of an OKR

OBJECTIVE
Aspirational, qualitative, inspiring
"Where we want to get to"
KR 1
Measurable, with a number, with a deadline
"How we'll know we got there"
KR 2
Measurable, with a number, with a deadline
"How we'll know we got there"
KR 3
Measurable, with a number, with a deadline
"How we'll know we got there"

1Good Objective vs mediocre Objective

Mediocre
  • • "Grow revenue"
  • • "Improve service"
  • • "Be a market reference"
  • • "Increase productivity"

Vague. Doesn't inspire. Any activity could fit.

Good
  • • "Become the go-to agency for CRM in D2C"
  • • "Eliminate creative rework to zero by December"
  • • "Turn Link into the #1 upsell channel"
  • • "Rebuild client base trust after the incident"

Specific, with direction, with healthy tension.

💡 Objective testIf you can swap your objective with that of a generic agency and nothing changes — it's not good. A good objective is specific to your moment.

2How to write Key Results that measure what matters

A bad KR measures effort. A good KR measures results.

Effort KR (avoid)Outcome KR (use)
Publish 60 posts in the quarterReach 8% average engagement (vs 3.2% today)
Train the team on AI70% of projects with documented AI use by Sep/26
Launch 3 new servicesReach 35% of new revenue coming from products launched in 2026
Hold a weekly growth meetingReduce CAC from R$ 1,200 to R$ 850

Structure of a strong KR

[Verb] [Metric] from [baseline] to [target] by [date]
// Example:
Increase client base NPS from 42 to 58 by Sep 30
Stretch vs commitment70% achieved on an ambitious KR = success. Always 100% = you're being too conservative. The point of OKRs is to create tension.

3How many OKRs per level? (no inflation)

The rule of thumb for agencies:

Company
3
objectives in the quarter
Team / squad
2
objectives in the quarter
Individual
1
objective in the quarter
❌ Classic anti-pattern"The marketing team has 5 OKRs, the operations team has 7, the founder has 4." Result: no one focuses on anything. If everything is a priority, nothing is.

4Check-in cadence (the part no one gets right)

OKRs without a review rhythm become a shelf plan. The cadence that works in an agency:

Start of quarter — 1 day

Definition workshop. Partners + leaders. Wrapped up in 6h (not 2 days).

Weekly — 15 min

Each leader updates the % of each KR. Red/Yellow/Green. No new meeting: it fits into the team's weekly.

Monthly — 60 min

Leaders + partner. Review of red KRs: what tactic to change (not change the target).

Mid-quarter — 2h

In month 2: reconciliation. KR beyond recovery? Document the learning and kill it. Others: acceleration.

End of quarter — 3h

Full retro. Final %, learnings per KR, decisions for the next cycle.

5The 6 anti-patterns that kill OKRs

OKRs become a to-do list
When KRs turn into a Notion backlog, they've lost their meaning. A KR measures impact, not activity.
Changing the target midway
You can adjust tactics. You can't change the target number. Otherwise the system has no credibility.
OKR with no clear owner
Each KR has ONE named owner. "The team" isn't the owner — one person is.
Financial bonus tied to the KR %
It turns into instant gaming. The team lowers the target to secure the bonus. OKR ≠ performance review.
Mechanical cascading
A team OKR isn't "copy the CEO's at a smaller scale." The team defines its own by looking at the macro objective.
Ignoring the past cycle
Without a structured retro, you repeat the same mistakes. Document the learnings per KR.

Full example: a quarter for a 25-person agency

OBJECTIVE 1 (COMPANY)

Become the go-to reference in CRM for D2C e-commerce in the South of the country

  • KR 1: Close 6 new D2C clients with a ticket of >R$ 25k/month by Sep 30
  • KR 2: Publish 4 public case studies with quantified results
  • KR 3: Reach a 4.8+ score in a brand survey among 30 prospects in the niche
OBJECTIVE 2 (COMPANY)

Eliminate rework as a systematic source of loss

  • KR 1: Reduce average approval rounds from 4.2 to 2.5 per project
  • KR 2: Average net margin of the client base rises from 11% to 18%
  • KR 3: 100% of new projects start with a signed canonical brief

How Centriu supports living OKRs

OKRs only work when the data that measures the KRs lives where the team works. The modules that support this:

Vesper

Where OKRs are born: linked to the strategic plan, with a Metrics Tree connected to the initiatives.

Gauge

Current % of each KR updated automatically. No parallel spreadsheet.

Run

Every initiative of the quarter tracked and tied to a KR. The team sees "which target am I helping right now."

Helix

Alerts when a KR won't hit at the current pace. Time to react, not an autopsy.

Want to run your next quarter with real OKRs?

In 2h we facilitate the OKR workshop together with your partners and get the quarter ready to start.

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