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Radical Focus : Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results
This edition is discounted because the second edition is out 4/20/2021!
"This book is useful, actionable, and actually fun to read! If you want to get your team aligned around real, measurable goals, Radical Focus will teach you how to do it quickly and clearly." - Laura Klein, Principal, Users Know
A actionable business book in the form of a fable.
Radical Focus tackles the OKR movement and better goal setting through the powerful story of Hanna and Jack’s struggling tea startup. When the two receive an ultimatum from their only investor, they must learn how to employ Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) with radical focus to get the right things done. Will they be able to accomplish the few critical actions that will save their startup? Or will they end up mired in distractions and choices as their time runs out?
The author pulls from her experience with Silicon Valley’s hottest companies to teach practical insights on goal setting in fable form. How do you inspire a diverse team to work together, going all out in pursuit of a single, challenging goal? How do you stay motivated despite setbacks and failures? As you see through Hanna and Jack’s story, it’s about creating a framework for regular check-ins, key results, and most of all, the beauty of a good fail. Wodtke adds a bonus section in the second half of the book to lay out her most practical insights into applying Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to your specific workplace and challenges.
Ready to move your team in the right direction? Read this book together, and learn Wodtke’s powerful system of decision making to create your focus and find success.
"This book is useful, actionable, and actually fun to read! If you want to get your team aligned around real, measurable goals, Radical Focus will teach you how to do it quickly and clearly." - Laura Klein, Principal, Users Know
A actionable business book in the form of a fable.
Radical Focus tackles the OKR movement and better goal setting through the powerful story of Hanna and Jack’s struggling tea startup. When the two receive an ultimatum from their only investor, they must learn how to employ Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) with radical focus to get the right things done. Will they be able to accomplish the few critical actions that will save their startup? Or will they end up mired in distractions and choices as their time runs out?
The author pulls from her experience with Silicon Valley’s hottest companies to teach practical insights on goal setting in fable form. How do you inspire a diverse team to work together, going all out in pursuit of a single, challenging goal? How do you stay motivated despite setbacks and failures? As you see through Hanna and Jack’s story, it’s about creating a framework for regular check-ins, key results, and most of all, the beauty of a good fail. Wodtke adds a bonus section in the second half of the book to lay out her most practical insights into applying Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to your specific workplace and challenges.
Ready to move your team in the right direction? Read this book together, and learn Wodtke’s powerful system of decision making to create your focus and find success.
147 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2016
1,062 people are currently reading
8,435 people want to read
About the author
Christina Wodtke
14 books174 followersAn established thought leader in Silicon Valley, Christina is a “curious human” with a serious resume. Her past work includes re-design and initial product offerings with LinkedIn, MySpace, Zynga, Yahoo! and others, as well as founding three startups, an online design magazine called Boxes and Arrows, and co-founding the Information Architecture Institute. She is currently a Lecturer at Stanford in the HCI group in the Computer Science department.
Christina teaches worldwide on the intersection of human innovation and high-performing teams. She uses the power of story to connect with audiences and readers through speaking and her Amazon category-bestselling books. Christina’s work is personable, insightful, knowledgeable, and engaging.
Her books include Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web, Pencil Me In, and The Team that Managed Itself. Her bestselling book is a business fable called Radical Focus, which tackles the OKR movement through the powerful story of Hanna and Jack’s struggling tea startup. When the two receive an ultimatum from their only investor, they must learn how to employ OKRs and radical focus to get the right things done.
To connect with Christina or to get more information on how to become a whole-mind, high performing team, visit http://cwodtke.com/ or http://www.eleganthack.com.
Christina teaches worldwide on the intersection of human innovation and high-performing teams. She uses the power of story to connect with audiences and readers through speaking and her Amazon category-bestselling books. Christina’s work is personable, insightful, knowledgeable, and engaging.
Her books include Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web, Pencil Me In, and The Team that Managed Itself. Her bestselling book is a business fable called Radical Focus, which tackles the OKR movement through the powerful story of Hanna and Jack’s struggling tea startup. When the two receive an ultimatum from their only investor, they must learn how to employ OKRs and radical focus to get the right things done.
To connect with Christina or to get more information on how to become a whole-mind, high performing team, visit http://cwodtke.com/ or http://www.eleganthack.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 434 reviews
June 24, 2016
This is a really difficult one to rate. The ideas in the book are great—we are implementing OKRs at our company and this model is perfect for us. That said, the first 2/3rds of the book is almost entirely unnecessary. It's meant to be a real-life application but it reads like a bad romance novel ("Jack grimaced ruefully" is an actual sentence in the book).
My advice is to skip the first 2/3rds entirely, and get to the really great stuff in the last 1/3rd of the book.
My advice is to skip the first 2/3rds entirely, and get to the really great stuff in the last 1/3rd of the book.
April 16, 2018
Folks, here's our second podcast - on the book Radical Focus. Please listen, share and give us feedback. Podcast
The text review is available at Digital Amrit
Here's an excerpt...
---------------------
Today we will be looking at Radical Focus – a book which introduces the concept of OKRs – Objectives and Key Results and how they can be used in organizations as well as in our personal lives. Well, what are OKRs and how can they help you?
Let us consider these fictional situations.
You are part of a team and every day your team leader changes the priority. Something that was urgent yesterday is no longer so today or vice versa. Obviously, this is incredibly frustrating.
Or what about this?
You are in a team which is working hard, doing the right things and everything is going on smoothly. All your metrics are great, but you don’t seem to be selling more or your customers continue to be unhappy or maybe the rest of the organization does not understand what you are building.
How about this?
You attend your organization town hall or read a communication about the organizations goals for the next year. You are unable to figure out how this applies to you and you end up trashing the email or zoning out the boring presentation. Maybe you are the one who is communicating your strategy to your employees and they just don’t seem to be getting it.
All these situations have a common theme – how do we set goals for an organization and how do we achieve them. Also, how do we ensure that these larger goals are applicable to teams and to individuals so that there is alignment throughout the organization.
OKRs – Objectives and Key Results – are a fantastic way of achieving all of the above.
----------------
The text review is available at Digital Amrit
Here's an excerpt...
---------------------
Today we will be looking at Radical Focus – a book which introduces the concept of OKRs – Objectives and Key Results and how they can be used in organizations as well as in our personal lives. Well, what are OKRs and how can they help you?
Let us consider these fictional situations.
You are part of a team and every day your team leader changes the priority. Something that was urgent yesterday is no longer so today or vice versa. Obviously, this is incredibly frustrating.
Or what about this?
You are in a team which is working hard, doing the right things and everything is going on smoothly. All your metrics are great, but you don’t seem to be selling more or your customers continue to be unhappy or maybe the rest of the organization does not understand what you are building.
How about this?
You attend your organization town hall or read a communication about the organizations goals for the next year. You are unable to figure out how this applies to you and you end up trashing the email or zoning out the boring presentation. Maybe you are the one who is communicating your strategy to your employees and they just don’t seem to be getting it.
All these situations have a common theme – how do we set goals for an organization and how do we achieve them. Also, how do we ensure that these larger goals are applicable to teams and to individuals so that there is alignment throughout the organization.
OKRs – Objectives and Key Results – are a fantastic way of achieving all of the above.
----------------
March 20, 2016
Fantastic model - average book
The OKR model is a great way to drive more focus into an organization and achieve greater results. My issue is the structure of the book. Part overview, part fable, and part testimonial it seems like the author should have stuck with a single approach for clarity's sake. Really enjoyed the fable part actually as she writes this as if it were a novel with a great detail orientation.
The OKR model is a great way to drive more focus into an organization and achieve greater results. My issue is the structure of the book. Part overview, part fable, and part testimonial it seems like the author should have stuck with a single approach for clarity's sake. Really enjoyed the fable part actually as she writes this as if it were a novel with a great detail orientation.
November 17, 2019
A novel with some good advice about OKRs. But, still a novel.
The essence of the boom could be written in 5 pages and save me a few hours of my time.
If I want to read a novel I read a novel, not a business book.
The essence of the boom could be written in 5 pages and save me a few hours of my time.
If I want to read a novel I read a novel, not a business book.
March 7, 2020
Quick fiction-business read (like The Goal, or Five Dysfunctions) on running simpler projects, with some variant of OKRs. I've read Measure What Matters on OKRs before, which in retrospect needs to be more humble in its approach, which Radical Focus is. I read this book because I wanted to see if it would be a good, digestible book to recommend budding tech leads. For that purpose, it's recommended. It frames what good goals look like, and the importance of a weekly drumbeat to hold each other accountable to those goals. If you're championing projects and looking for an easy-to-read book to gain some perspective, Wodtke has you covered.
January 25, 2021
A lot of common sense riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. The book could be condensed to: set a large objective you can use to frame your goals, set smaller reach goals that support the larger objective, rinse and repeat every quarter. Things to watch out for: sandbagging (setting easily-achieved goals), losing momentum after the first failure, maintaining steam and morale in the face of intentionally hard-to-reach goals.
I wouldn't recommend this book. Search "OKRs" and I'm sure the first article or two will give you enough of an introduction to this concept that you can apply it immediately. No need for 150-some odd pages of repetition.
I wouldn't recommend this book. Search "OKRs" and I'm sure the first article or two will give you enough of an introduction to this concept that you can apply it immediately. No need for 150-some odd pages of repetition.
September 24, 2017
The book is an oxymoron. The title is intriguing but the 150 pages could have been one A4 instead. I’m a big fan of OKR system, but the book is written for either very low intelligence or for someone who has a lot of downtime. Skip the first 100 pages and read titles from then onwards. There are better resources on web.
May 4, 2016
I enjoyed parts of this book especially the chapters on the fictional startup. But the rest felt like a really long blog post. If you're new to OKRs, I'd recommend High Output Management by Andy Grove instead.
April 9, 2016
I primarily read business and personal development books, and I tend to have an aversion to any kind of fiction. When I read stories or novels, they're almost always based on real events or are biographies.
The way Christina Wodtke wrote "Radical Focus" is a refreshing approach to business books, which uses storytelling as a method of teaching the goal-setting philosophy behind OKRs. I'm certain I will find myself referring to the events and learning from the characters in the book while my team embarks on the collective setting of our own OKRs.
Quick and easy read with lots of actionable advice you can set into motion at your own place of work.
The way Christina Wodtke wrote "Radical Focus" is a refreshing approach to business books, which uses storytelling as a method of teaching the goal-setting philosophy behind OKRs. I'm certain I will find myself referring to the events and learning from the characters in the book while my team embarks on the collective setting of our own OKRs.
Quick and easy read with lots of actionable advice you can set into motion at your own place of work.
December 28, 2017
Skip the stupid narrative about the hipster tea company and go straight to the end of the book where there’s some helpful info on OKRs. Like most business books, this could have been a pamphlet.
February 21, 2016
I never thought I'd rate a business-oriented book 5 stars, not owning a business myself, but here I am doing so. I've always been vaguely aware of OKRs and how they could be applied to business thinking, but never in such clarity as I now possess after reading this. Firstly, the book itself is beautifully engaging; using storytelling, Christina stays clear of the typical "shoulds and musts" in every technical book out there. Mind you, these bits exist, but they're very cleverly inserted between the storyline and after it ends.
I now feel like I have a superpower that very people know about. Even if you don't own a business, there's so many takeaways from this book that you can apply to pretty much every situation that implies a little bit of planning. While there's an overall feeling that all of this could be condensed into a dense blog post about OKRs, it's the way that it's written that separates this from all the others. Very recommended.
I now feel like I have a superpower that very people know about. Even if you don't own a business, there's so many takeaways from this book that you can apply to pretty much every situation that implies a little bit of planning. While there's an overall feeling that all of this could be condensed into a dense blog post about OKRs, it's the way that it's written that separates this from all the others. Very recommended.
March 19, 2017
Very nice book with a smart style that goes from the definition to an amazing example story to more insights to a number of valuable quotes to a final summary. I recommend to add more fine grained examples and guidance comments that cover lower management levels.
January 16, 2023
Great introduction to OKRs.
May 1, 2021
To borrow phrasing from my Dad, this book is absolutely... mediocre.
What's the point? To present a methodology for achieving goals called Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).
Did the book do so? Yes. Was there a ton of superfluous and redundant information? Oh yeah. Lots of typos and questionable grammar too.
All in all, there is good information presented in this book. As a software engineer that is aware of OKRs but has never experienced them in practice, I'm left with increased curiosity to seek opportunities where the OKR approach can be tried. That said, it came with the cost of a convoluted (though sometimes amusing) parable and also additional sections that seemed to attempt explaining the same concepts in as many different ways as possible.
What's the point? To present a methodology for achieving goals called Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).
Did the book do so? Yes. Was there a ton of superfluous and redundant information? Oh yeah. Lots of typos and questionable grammar too.
All in all, there is good information presented in this book. As a software engineer that is aware of OKRs but has never experienced them in practice, I'm left with increased curiosity to seek opportunities where the OKR approach can be tried. That said, it came with the cost of a convoluted (though sometimes amusing) parable and also additional sections that seemed to attempt explaining the same concepts in as many different ways as possible.
January 22, 2021
A great intro guide to the OKRs framework, but nothing ground-breaking if you've been working with them for some years. I found that story of the struggling organic tea start-up to be slightly too elaborate, yet it could be perfect and relatable for any SMB owner.
The best of this book actually starts by the end of it, at approx 80% progress mark. So, do not get discouraged by that extensive story in the beginning of the book ;) most practical tips comes after.
The best of this book actually starts by the end of it, at approx 80% progress mark. So, do not get discouraged by that extensive story in the beginning of the book ;) most practical tips comes after.
May 1, 2022
Μου πήρε παραπάνω και από το 100 χρόνια μοναξιά και ήταν μόλις 150 σελίδες. Μου το πρότεινε το boss. Εντάξει καλό ήτανε- τι να πω, μπορεί να μας ακούνε :D
Θέλω μυθοπλασία δεν τα μπορώ αυτά τα βιβλία-Το πρώτο μισό έχει ένα στορυ - το δεύτερο αναλύει τα OKRs και δίνει κάποια tips. Έχει κάποιο ενδιαφέρον το σημείο που περιγράφει πως τα OKRs μπορεί να έρχονται σε σύγκρουση (προσωπικά, εταιρίας, crossfunctional teams).
Θέλω μυθοπλασία δεν τα μπορώ αυτά τα βιβλία-Το πρώτο μισό έχει ένα στορυ - το δεύτερο αναλύει τα OKRs και δίνει κάποια tips. Έχει κάποιο ενδιαφέρον το σημείο που περιγράφει πως τα OKRs μπορεί να έρχονται σε σύγκρουση (προσωπικά, εταιρίας, crossfunctional teams).
March 4, 2021
Short and nice reading... starts as a fiction nicely done story with a classic startup conflict and focus problem. Then introduces in an elegant, succinct yet insightful manner the OKR concept with practical advice and tools for you.
It’s the kind of book you read and then you go and implement a change in your company.
It’s the kind of book you read and then you go and implement a change in your company.
April 22, 2021
Short and actionable book on the subject.
As usually with author books, the first half is a fictional story around company, the second half is theory.
As usually with author books, the first half is a fictional story around company, the second half is theory.
May 8, 2022
Very good theoretical and practical explanations.
More examples of good and bad OKRs would be really helpful, especially of things that are hard to measure.
More examples of good and bad OKRs would be really helpful, especially of things that are hard to measure.
February 13, 2023
What I expected was a mid-tier business book talking about importance of goal driven culture in a workplace, with full focus on achieving the same. And in a sense I did.
But I also got an excellent, practical, hands on example of how to implement an OKR framework, from a person who has used in multiple successful organizations, who has seen the downfalls and wins of the system, and has go-to advice on how to use it correctly. And it comes with a bonus of descriptive story of two founders, in a classical hero journey circle - they are ambitious, but they almost fail, before they are saved by the almighty deus ex-machina - the OKRs.
It's short and effective with it’s point, and I’d recommend this to any busy startup owner.
But I also got an excellent, practical, hands on example of how to implement an OKR framework, from a person who has used in multiple successful organizations, who has seen the downfalls and wins of the system, and has go-to advice on how to use it correctly. And it comes with a bonus of descriptive story of two founders, in a classical hero journey circle - they are ambitious, but they almost fail, before they are saved by the almighty deus ex-machina - the OKRs.
It's short and effective with it’s point, and I’d recommend this to any busy startup owner.
October 7, 2023
Its a great book on OKRs, and how to achieve full focus. Worth a read! If you are struggeling with OKRs, try this book for sure!
September 27, 2024
This is a short and practical book on the value of OKR (Objectives and Key Results) as a system creating for alignment and focus across a company. I wish that management teams either using or considering OKR would spend the time to read either Wodtke’s book, or John Doerr’s Measure what Matters, because the majority of companies are doing OKRs wrong. They are not intended to be highly-bureaucratic, centralized planning tools with six levels of cascading (ugh). OKR is first and foremost a system for executive team alignment and breaking down silos, and with a functional executive team, company OKR development should take no longer than 90-120 minutes, once a quarter. That’s seriously it.
I do have a couple of quibbles with this book. First is the extreme Silicon Valley bias and inherent privilege. The book is allegorical with an analysis that follows, yet the allegory concerns a supposedly dotcom-type startup into which VCs have invested. The product, however, is very much a bricks-and-mortar, non-VC-return-level business. One imagines Wodtke got talked into this to make the book more “accessible” to readers in middle America but sidebar phrases like “and because they went to Stanford and had made the right connections, they managed to raise a little money to make a go at it” will turn off that same audience — and in the worst case, could lead them to believe that OKR is only a useful system for bullshit Silicon Valley startups.
My second quibble is around Wodtke’s recommendation that OKRs get cascaded to individuals, which I think is an anti-pattern and the source of a lot of pushback about the OKR system. First, OKRs are not a professional development plan for employees and shouldn’t be treated as such. They are an alignment tool, and nothing more. Secondly, as Mathew Skelton and others correctly state, work in an organization should be assigned to teams and not individuals. Teams as the target of work execution have been shown to generate better outcomes by not unduly rewarding individual heroes. Individual OKRs fly in the face of the research.
Other than this — and it’s possible that the 2nd edition corrects some of these flaws — Wodtke’s book overall is a great introduction to doing OKRs properly. Were that more people would read it before using the system.
I do have a couple of quibbles with this book. First is the extreme Silicon Valley bias and inherent privilege. The book is allegorical with an analysis that follows, yet the allegory concerns a supposedly dotcom-type startup into which VCs have invested. The product, however, is very much a bricks-and-mortar, non-VC-return-level business. One imagines Wodtke got talked into this to make the book more “accessible” to readers in middle America but sidebar phrases like “and because they went to Stanford and had made the right connections, they managed to raise a little money to make a go at it” will turn off that same audience — and in the worst case, could lead them to believe that OKR is only a useful system for bullshit Silicon Valley startups.
My second quibble is around Wodtke’s recommendation that OKRs get cascaded to individuals, which I think is an anti-pattern and the source of a lot of pushback about the OKR system. First, OKRs are not a professional development plan for employees and shouldn’t be treated as such. They are an alignment tool, and nothing more. Secondly, as Mathew Skelton and others correctly state, work in an organization should be assigned to teams and not individuals. Teams as the target of work execution have been shown to generate better outcomes by not unduly rewarding individual heroes. Individual OKRs fly in the face of the research.
Other than this — and it’s possible that the 2nd edition corrects some of these flaws — Wodtke’s book overall is a great introduction to doing OKRs properly. Were that more people would read it before using the system.
January 17, 2025
It was nice to read a book that was so clearly a business book, as it has been a little while since I've read one. If you haven't encountered OKRs before, then this books will be fine as an introduction. If you've read Measure What Matters or Introduction to OKRs before, then you won't learn anything new here. I'd actually recommend Introduction to OKRs (by the name author, published by O'Reilly) rather than Radical Focus.
This book could have been an article. 20 pages would have been plenty to explain how to use OKRs.
The first 60% of this book is basically a "management parable," in which the author writes about a fictional company and how they are struggling until a new CTO introduces them to OKRs, which is a panacea that quickly aligns the whole company. Similar to The Goal, or Who Moved My Cheese, or The The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, these fictional stories used to illustrate how important a single concept (or sometimes a set of concepts) feel so bland and anecdotal. One the one hand I understand the use of storytelling for learning and teaching, and I am certain that the concepts are more strongly imprinted on my memory as a result of having a story with them. On the other hand, it feels so childish to read a story written at a 6th grade level in order to understand a concept. I have such mixed feelings. Simplicity is often very effective, but it still feels like I'm being patronized.
This book could have been an article. 20 pages would have been plenty to explain how to use OKRs.
The first 60% of this book is basically a "management parable," in which the author writes about a fictional company and how they are struggling until a new CTO introduces them to OKRs, which is a panacea that quickly aligns the whole company. Similar to The Goal, or Who Moved My Cheese, or The The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, these fictional stories used to illustrate how important a single concept (or sometimes a set of concepts) feel so bland and anecdotal. One the one hand I understand the use of storytelling for learning and teaching, and I am certain that the concepts are more strongly imprinted on my memory as a result of having a story with them. On the other hand, it feels so childish to read a story written at a 6th grade level in order to understand a concept. I have such mixed feelings. Simplicity is often very effective, but it still feels like I'm being patronized.
December 31, 2021
Due to OKR topic refresh at work I re-read 2016 book Radical Focus early november but as I went to update its reading status in Goodreads I discovered that second edition of the book had been published just a few months ago. I skipped over the leadership tale part as it was the same but 50 pages of new material about OKR methodology has been added to this one and in addition to what OKRs are it also covers why they work and what work habits are needed to stick to them. This is the OKR book that I recommend to casual reader as the Measure What Matters by John Doer goes more into the OKR history and philosophy + the very important domain of continous employee performance management. If someone would pick up Radical Focus today then I would definitely recommend the second edition for the added material.
August 22, 2019
I've read a review that said that the first 2/3 of the book can be totally avoided and you can easily go directly to 'part 3' where the stories end. I always try to give the author an opportunity but with some expectations because of the review. It happens to be true. Let's give credit to the author, she tried to build a good story in order to grasp the main points of the book in a different way but it felt too forced. When the stories ended the book improved a 100%. It's like this is her natural style and it felt great on reading, this part deserves a 4 star or even 5
February 20, 2016
This book explains about the OKRs system of management. It uses the format of a novel (like the book "The Goal" by Goldratt) to explain the concepts. It's very basic and doesn't go deep in specific details and questions, but it's a good book if you are starting with the OKRs system.
May 20, 2019
The book is a fable of an early stage startup and the author uses the story to show the importance of focus and introduced the OKR framework that will help with focus. Really excited about trying out the framework.
April 7, 2016
A page turner and a very useful one.
Read
August 28, 2017Amazing book, it's like 'ORK from the trenches"
January 22, 2020
Eu adoto OKR na minha empresa (com experimentos de Personal OKR também) desde 2016. Já consumi muita coisa desde então, mas nada como este livro. Muitos de vocês podem se enxergar na Hanna e no Jack, personagens retratados no início do livro; um negócio com falta de foco, gestão precária e sem entregas de valor real e resultados. OKR e os aprendizados do livro não são para seu time trabalhar mais, mas sim focar no que importa. Este livro será incrível pra você que está começando com OKR, mas também relevante pra quem quer expandir e ressignificar seus conhecimentos. Ps.: Amei o framework proposto de usar o foursquare com OKR, Health Metrics e acompanhamento através de prioridades da semana e celebrações. Estou ansioso para começar a adotar! Boa leitura pra vc!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 434 reviews