In closing this edition of Measure What Matters, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. First, that I was so lucky to be heir to Andy Grove’s system to amplify human potential. And then to watch inspiring entrepreneurs, leaders, and teams adapt it to reach for their dreams. I am also thankful for our great country that rewards risk taking, something I never take for granted.
Most of all, I thank you, my readers, for your attention, engagement, and feedback. I hope you’ll write to me at john@whatmatters.com.
The coming-to-be of this book confirms my mantra that it takes a team to win. From inception to finished product, I thank the Portfolio/Penguin team that made it all possible: my publisher, Adrian Zackheim, who foresaw its potential; my superlative editor, Stephanie Frerich, who went so many extra miles and somehow kept her good humor; and also Tara Gilbride, Olivia Peluso, and Will Weisser. I am grateful as well to my agent, Myrsini Stephanides, and my attorney, Peter Moldave. And to the skilled and versatile Ryan Panchadsaram, whose insights and judgment proved indispensable.
A special thank-you goes to the individuals who took time out of their impossibly busy schedules to read the manuscript and offer the feedback that made it so much better:
To Bing Gordon, who also introduced me to Debra Radabaugh, who introduced me to Coach Campbell.
I thank Jonathan Rosenberg, who furnished so many perceptive observations on the Google way of using OKRs and pointed me to our “stretch” case studies.
Thanks to Laszlo Bock, a brilliant thought leader on goals, continuous performance management, and culture. And to Dov Seidman, the great business philosopher, for his wisdom on culture and values.
Thank you Tom Friedman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Al Gore, Randy Komisar and Sheryl Sandberg, friends with big brains and kind hearts, who shared their unique values and wisdom on building teams and institutions.
Thanks to Jim Collins, my favorite business author, whose data-driven, crystalline thinking challenged and clarified my purpose. I couldn’t have written this book had Jim not pointed the way forward in his own groundbreaking work.
And I thank Walter Isaacson, biographer extraordinaire, whose good counsel and advice were instrumental as Measure What Matters began to take shape.
I’d also like to thank my partners at Kleiner Perkins, whose commitment to entrepreneurs lifts me up every day: Mike Abbott, Brook Byers, Eric Feng, Bing Gordon, Mamoon Hamid, Wen Hsieh, Noah Knauf, Randy Komisar, Mary Meeker, Mood Rowghani, Ted Schlein, and Beth Seidenberg. Also, thanks to Sue Biglieri, Alix Burns, Juliet deBaubigny, Amanda Duckworth, Rouz Jazayeri, and Scott Ryles. And a special thanks to Rae Nell Rhodes, Cindy Chang, and Noelle Miraglia for their unflagging support, and Tina Case, who found the photographs that brought this book to life.
The four OKR superpowers, supported and made meaningful by CFRs, are the scaffolding for Measure What Matters. But this book would be hollow without our insider stories to depict OKRs and CFRs in real life and real time. So here is a special thanks to the storytellers, who shared so generously from their experiences.
I want to start with the Gates Foundation team, past and present, who are especially inspiring for the breathtaking scope and lifesaving impact of their work. Thank you, Bill and Melinda, Patty Stonesifer, Larry Cohen, Bridgitt Arnold, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Susan Desmond-Hellman, Mark Suzman, and Ankur Vora. Your achievement will make its own epic book that we cannot wait to read.
Thanks to our favorite Irish rock star, who has built a global crusade to fight disease, poverty, and corruption. Thank you Bono and your team of Jamie Drummond, David Lane, Lucy Matthew, Bobby Shriver, Gayle Smith, and Ken Weber for your creation of ONE.
Now, the Google gang merits special mention. Yes, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt have made Google the twenty-first-century prototype for structured goal setting. Their resolve and results with OKRs impressed even Andy Grove. But I would be remiss not to recognize as well the 100,000-plus Google employees and alumni who have spread the goals gospel globally. I particularly thank Sundar Pichai, Susan Wojcicki, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Cristos Goodrow. Also, Tim Armstrong, Raja Ayyagari, Shona Brown, Chris Dale, Beth Dowd, Salar Kamangar, Winnie King, Rick Klau, Shishir Mehrotra, Eileen Naughton, Ruth Porat, Brian Rakowski, Prasad Setty, Ram Shriram, Esther Sun, Matt Susskind, Astro Teller, and Kent Walker.
Intel’s past and present leaders were magnanimous with their insights. Thank you to Gordon Moore, Les Vadasz, Eva Grove, Bill Davidow, Dane Elliott, Jim Lally, and Casey Powell. Also to CEO Brian Krzanich, Steve Rodgers, Kelly Kelly, and to Terry Murphy, Andy Grove’s longtime executive assistant.
From Remind: Brett Kopf, David Kopf, and Brian Grey.
From Nuna: Jini Kim, David Chen, Katja Gussman, Nick Sung, and Sanjey Sivanesan.
From MyFitnessPal: Mike Lee and David Lee.
From Intuit: Atticus Tysen, Scott Cook, Brad Smith, Sherry Whiteley, and Olga Braylovskliy.
From Adobe: Donna Morris, Shantanu Narayen, and Dan Rosensweig.
From Zume: Julia Collins and Alex Garden.
From Coursera: Lila Ibrahim, Daphne Koller, Andrew Ng, Rick Levin, and Jeff Maggioncalda.
From Lumeris: Andrew Cole, Art Glasgow, and Mike Long.
From Schneider Electric: Hervé Coureil and Sharon Abraham.
From Walmart: John Brothers, Becky Schmitt, and Angela Christman.
From Khan Academy: Orly Friedman and Sal Khan.
I am honored to acknowledge the experts who lent their insights, input, and many contributions to the OKR movement and this book: Alex Barnett; Tracy Beltrane; Ethan Bernstein; Josh Bersin; Ben Brookes; John Brothers; Aaron Butkus; Ivy Choy; John Chu; Roger Corn; Angus Davis; Chris Deptula; Patrick Foley; Uwe Higgen; Arnold Hur; General Tom Kolditz; Cory Kreeck; Jonathan Lesser; Aaron Levie; Kevin Louie; Denise Lyle; Chris Mason; Amelia Merrill; Deep Nishar; Bill Pence; Stephanie Pimmel; Philip Potloff; Aurelie Richard; Dr. David Rock; Timo Salzsieder; Jake Schmidt; Erin Sharp; Jeff Smith; Tim Staffa; Joseph Suzuki; Chris Villar; Jeff Weiner; Christina Wodtke; and Jessica Woodall.
Thanks especially to CEO Doug Dennerline and the goal-oriented crew at BetterWorks, who are advancing OKRs and CFRs like no one else while working better themselves every day.
Not least, I’d like to thank some special individuals with whom I’ve been privileged to work over the years, and whose lives are exemplars of excellence. Notable among them: Jim Barksdale, Andy Bechtolsheim, Jeff Bezos, Scott Cook, John Chambers, Bill Joy, and KR Sridhar. And Andy Grove, Bill Campbell, and Steve Jobs, gone but never to be forgotten.
I sincerely thank Jeff Coplon, who was at the center of the team that made this happen—and who proved, once again, that execution is everything.
Long before I encountered OKRs, my father and hero, Lou Doerr, taught me the value of focus, commitment, high standards, and higher aspirations (and RMA—the Right Mental Attitude). My mother, Rosemary Doerr, gave me her unconditional support to put those lessons into practice.
Finally, I offer my undying gratitude to my wife, Ann, and daughters, Mary and Esther, whose patience, encouragement, and love kept me going through this long and challenging project. Each and every day, they remind me of what matters the most.