What makes OKRs so revolutionary? OKRs, or Objectives and Key Results, is a management framework best summarized by one phrase: “Do the most essential thing.”
The recent rollout of OKRs for EQuest’s leadership team was met with surprising enthusiasm. Contrary to the stereotype of teachers being resistant to change, our educators embraced the framework immediately. Our Higher Education block has already deployed OKRs down to the department level, while the K12 schools (Newton, Alpha, and Thực Nghiệm Victory) are requesting personalized training for campus-wide implementation.
The power of focused priorities
For an organization, OKRs require choosing only a few essential objectives each year and defining a few key results necessary to achieve them. The mandate is simple: focus intently on achieving those goals and avoid distraction. An organization with too many priorities spreads its resources thin.
This principle is equally vital for teachers. Educators are burdened by hundreds of tasks. Studies show that over 50% of a teacher’s time is dedicated to non-essential, low-impact tasks that do not directly improve student learning, such as administrative reports, lesson plan compliance, trivial grading, and adherence to non-critical regulations. Meanwhile, time for actual teaching, inspiring students, curriculum research, and providing personalized feedback is scarce.
OKRs are a powerful tool to increase educational effectiveness by forcing focus on what truly matters:
Case study 1: The academic OKR
A group of teachers applied the framework to their mission:
- Objective: 80% of graduating students achieve an average English score above 8/10, up from 50% last year.
- Key Results (KRs):
- KR1: 100% of students complete 70% of homework assignments with a score above 8/10.
- KR2: 100% of students write at least one essay per week with timely teacher feedback.
- KR3: 90% of students read at least one 50-page English book every month.
Case study 2: The personal OKR
This framework is also transformative for personal life. An EQuest employee set this goal for three months:
- Objective: Reduce abdominal fat by 3 kg in 3 months.
- Key Results (KRs):
- KR1: Do not eat anything after 9:00 PM.
- KR2: Run 3 times per week, at least 5 km per run.
- KR3: Drink beer a maximum of once per week.
These three KRs make the objective achievable and measurable.
In summary, I highly recommend that both organizations and individuals manage their work and lives with the OKR spirit. An individual or organization that clearly knows what the boss wants, what the most essential institutional goal is, and what they want for themselves, has already achieved one-third of the journey to success.
