11 Nov How did Google go from late starter to pack leader?
Google growth
Late in the 1990s, 17 different search engines were fighting to dominate the web.
Then the 18th search engine started up – Google.
Normally someone arriving so late to the party would not stand a chance, especially having given all the other time to establish themselves.
So how did Google race on with repeated annual growth and become rated as the best place to work more times than any other this century?
Google did this by using a method that guaranteed company-wide focus on a handful of priorities –
OKRS (Objectives and Key Results), introduced to them in 1999 by John Doerr (business icon and author of ‘Measure What Matters’).
Google had (and continue to have) a quarterly focus on specific strategic objectives and measurements.
Every single person in the business is clear on Google’s objectives for that quarter and the key measures to evaluate progress.
These OKRs are not used as financial incentives for the team, they are used for a higher purpose – to get a collective commitment from every employee to truly stretch goals.
How clear are the people in your team of the objectives of your business?
Even in times of uncertainty, the objectives of your business are just as important.
Your team need reassurance that your business has a future and that they are all a part of that future.
When you all focus on one priority together, you can manage the uncertainty and galvanise and motivate a team through a common purpose.
How long would it take you to write down a handful of strategic priorities for the future of your business?
How long would it take you to make this handful just one priority?
OKRs force you to focus on the future of your business and your team on what matters most.