Lisa Guan's Innovation World

An imbalanced OKR is one that overemphasizes a single aspect — like ambition, numbers, or outputs — while neglecting others such as quality, clarity, or outcomes.

On paper, it looks impressive. In practice, it fails — because it drives activity without alignment, motivation, or sustainable impact. I have introduced the imbalanced OKR in my article “Imbalanced OKRs: The Hidden Trap That Derails Your Goals“. Today, let’s dive into about one that’s surprisingly common (and deceptively positive):
Too Fluffy to Drive Action.

The Problem with “Fluffy” OKRs

Here’s what a fluffy OKR looks like:

Objective: Be the leading innovation company in the industry.
Key Results:
– Encourage more creative ideas across teams.
– Explore new technologies.
– Strengthen our innovation culture.
– Support experimental projects.

The objective sounds exciting, right? It feels bold and visionary. But here’s the problem — it doesn’t tell anyone what to actually do.

The Key Results that follow — things like “Encourage more creative ideas” or “Explore new technologies” — sound positive, but they’re not measurable. Everyone can interpret them differently. One team might start brainstorming more ideas, another might attend tech conferences, someone else might launch an experimental project.

In the end, there’s a lot of motion but very little alignment. Teams are “busy,” but progress is fragmented.

That’s why fluffy OKRs, even when inspiring, rarely lead to real progress. They leave people guessing what success actually looks like.

The Simple Fix: Define What Success Looks Like

When you encounter a fluffy OKR, start by asking one simple question:

“What would success look like if we actually achieved this?”

This question forces clarity. It turns vague intentions into measurable commitments — connecting ambition to action.

Let’s apply it to our example.

From Fluffy to Focused

	Before	After
Objective	Be the leading innovation company in the industry.	Lead the industry in customer-driven innovation by turning emerging technologies into real products that improve client experience.
Key Results	-Encourage more creative ideas across teams. -Explore new technologies. -Strengthen our innovation culture. -Support experimental projects.	-Launch 3 new features co-created with customers. -File 5 patents on emerging technology applications. -Achieve >40% adoption for newly released features within 6 months. -Achieve 90% customer satisfaction for the new features.

See the difference? The objective is still ambitious, but now it gives direction. It defines what kind of innovation we care about — and why it matters. And the Key Results make that ambition tangible:

The new OKR is measurable, time-bound, and still creative. Now people can see what success looks like — and know exactly what steps to take to get there.

Clarity Channels Creativity

Fluffy doesn’t mean a lack of ambition — it means a lack of definition.

Fluffy objectives sound good in meetings. They make people feel motivated, at least temporarily. But without measurable outcomes, teams have no shared understanding of success.

You can have the most passionate, creative people in the world — but if everyone is chasing their own version of “good,” you’ll end up with a lot of activity and very little alignment.

That’s why this question matters so much:

“What would success look like if we actually achieved this?”

It doesn’t kill creativity — it channels it. It connects the big vision to specific, observable results.