Objectives and Key Results is an essential system for businesses across industries to streamline success. Objectives and Key Results follow a formula. This goal tracking system has been so successful for companies of all types because it creates alignment and direction throughout the company.  

Everyone from individual players to departments understands their purpose within the company and how it relates to the common business goal. This method was developed by Andrew Grove, based on Peter Drucker’s concept, Management by Objectives. Although the goal system can be detailed, it is simple to understand and begin implementing on a fundamental level. 

For the most part, the idea behind an OKR is to have a reliable way to measure the progress of a given goal for a company. WIGs can also be introduced to handle the biggest priorities. To find out which style of goal tracking is best for your business, read on for more information on each method. 

What Is An OKR Goal? 

OKRs are used to track business performance. Objectives are the big pictures you want the company to achieve. Your Key Results are the measurements of how you track these steps of progress to determine where you are with your goal. In other words, Objectives are broad, and Key Results are specific. 

You need to track and measure your progress to see how far you are from your goal. At its core, an OKR is a strategy for problem-solving, and as such, it works for all different types of businesses. To amplify your results with an OKR, you can use software designed to establish an intuitive approach to your OKR so that your business is managed using technology that is specific to the established needs.

What Are WIGs? 

The WIG goal system was developed by Stephen Covey in his work, The Four Disciplines of Execution. Unlike with an OKR, Wildly Essential Goals (WIGs) focus on two measured components. WIGs limit the number of measured factors because the system itself is designed to work on only the essential goals that may create an outstanding impact. 

Which Goal Method Is Best? 

The WIG system is also much more flexible in that there are no low-level specifics. Instead, the framework is set for ambitious goals that significantly impact the company. Although no specific timeframes are used, goals are often long-term. The main reason to use WIGs is to create a greater focus on the most critical tasks for the business. 

If your business is new, you might integrate WIGs because they deal with framework-related details instead of goals met by deadlines. The OKR Key Results are broken into periods of progress outside of the big picture. If your business is established and you’re looking to progress on a smaller scale, OKRs are more applicable, as they are primarily detailed objectives rather than foundational goals. 

Consider Your Business

WIGs might be most effective if you’re building your business, but then again, Key Results provide additional progress markers. Choose the best system for your business!