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 Numerical to Inspire.

When OKRs Turn into Spreadsheets

Here’s a classic example.

Objective:	Increase revenue by 15%.
Key Results:	– Grow sales by 15% – Reduce costs by 10% – Improve profit margin by 5%

At first glance, it seems fine — it’s measurable, clear, and easy to track. But if look closer, it completely lacks context. It doesn’t explain why we want to grow or how we’ll get there. The Key Results underneath are all numbers too.

And here’s what usually happens next: the team starts chasing metrics instead of meaning.

With this OKR, you will find people push discounts to hit sales targets, cut corners to reduce costs, or prioritize short-term profits over long-term customer trust. Sure, you might end the quarter with better numbers — but also a burned-out team and unhappy customers.

The Fix: Add Purpose Back In

So, how do we fix this?

The key is to remove the “how” from the Objective and add the “why.”

Your Objective should be about purpose — the inspiring why that gives meaning to the work.
Your Key Results should measure how you know you’re succeeding — but in a balanced way.

Let’s look at an improved version.

	Before	After
Objective	Increase revenue by 15%.	Increase revenue by delighting customers with faster, smarter service.
Key Result	– Grow sales by 15%. – Reduce costs by 10%. – Improve profit margin by 5%.	– Cut average wait time 12h → 3h. – Reach 90%+ CSAT. – Generate $2M in new revenue.

See the difference? That one small shift adds heart to the goal. It tells the team why growth matters — not just for the numbers, but for the people we serve. And the key results make it concrete.

The difference is huge. The numbers are still there — but now they serve the purpose, instead of replacing it.

The team has something meaningful to rally around: make the service smarter, faster, and more delightful — and growth will follow naturally.

When you design OKRs this way, you don’t just measure performance.
You ignite motivation.

Metrics Measure Progress — Not Purpose

Numbers alone don’t inspire.

When OKRs turn into a list of percentages, revenue targets, and cost reductions, people stop seeing the bigger picture. They might know what to do, but lose sight of why it matters.

When Objectives start to look like Key Results, the vision disappears — and work becomes just another metric to hit, instead of a mission to believe in.

Always remember this simple truth:

Metrics measure progress, but they don’t create purpose. A great OKR inspires first — and measures second.