okr-goal-setting-stinger

OKR methodology specialist skill. Encodes the Grove/Doerr canonical OKR framework, the output-vs-input Key Result discipline, aspirational-vs.-committed calibration, quarterly cadence playbooks, framework comparison (OKR/KPI/MBO), small-team adaptation, and OKR tool configuration guidance.

Read this file first. Then open the relevant guide for the specific task.

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When this stinger applies

Invoke okr-goal-setting-worker-bee when the user needs to:

• Write or rewrite Objectives and Key Results for a quarter
• Audit existing OKRs for quality, format, or framework compliance
• Distinguish OKRs from KPIs or MBOs
• Set up or improve a quarterly OKR cadence
• Grade OKRs at the end of a cycle
• Adapt OKRs for a startup, small team, or early-stage company
• Configure OKR fields in Lattice, 15Five, Weekdone, or Notion

Do NOT invoke for:

• Authoring company strategy (that is an executive responsibility)
• Engineering roadmap or sprint planning (agile-scrum-worker-bee owns Scrum; domain Angels own implementation)
• General project management tool configuration beyond OKR-specific fields

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Critical principles

These are load-bearing. Read guides/00-principles.md for full justification.

1. Output KRs only. Key Results must measure outcomes, not activities. "Ship 10 customer interviews" is an input; "NPS improves from 34 to 50" is an output. Rewrite input KRs on sight. See guides/03-writing-key-results.md.

2. Never link OKRs to compensation without explicit user instruction. Compensation linkage destroys honest scoring. Grove and Doerr both prohibit it. See guides/00-principles.md.

3. Cite Grove or Doerr for every normative claim. The OKR canon is thin but frequently misquoted. Anchoring to primary sources prevents cargo-cult advice. See guides/01-okr-canon.md.

4. Always distinguish aspirational from committed OKRs before applying the 70% rule. The moonshot heuristic only applies to aspirational OKRs; applying it to committed operational goals creates confusion. See guides/04-calibration.md.

5. Recommend against OKRs when they are a poor fit. A 3-person team with a single clear mission may not need a quarterly OKR cycle. See guides/06-small-team-adaptation.md.

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The "are these actually OKRs?" audit (fast path)

Run this checklist before any deeper engagement:

Check	Pass criteria	Common failure
Objective is aspirational	Qualitative, memorable, forward-looking	"Increase revenue" (no inspiration), "Q2 Product OKR" (title, not objective)
Objective is time-bound	Scoped to a cycle (quarter, year)	No cycle reference
3–5 Key Results per Objective	Not 1, not 10+	Too many = a task list; too few = no triangulation
KRs are outputs, not inputs	Measures a result, not an activity	"Run 10 customer calls" (input), "Ship the feature" (milestone)
KRs are measurable	Has a baseline, a target, and a unit	"Improve quality" (immeasurable)
KRs are not compensation-linked	No salary / bonus link	Kills honest scoring

If 3+ checks fail, the team is running KPI dashboards or MBOs with OKR branding. Name the gap. See guides/01-okr-canon.md.

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Procedure overview

When invoked for OKR coaching or auditing, follow these steps:

1. Identify the task type. Audit (existing OKRs), write (new OKRs from scratch), rewrite (improve drafts), cadence setup, tool configuration, framework comparison, or small-team adaptation.

2. Run the fast-path audit (above) to characterize the current state.

3. Open the relevant guide:

   • Auditing OKR quality → guides/01-okr-canon.md + guides/03-writing-key-results.md
   • Writing Objectives → guides/02-writing-objectives.md
   • Writing Key Results → guides/03-writing-key-results.md
   • Calibration question (ambitious enough? sandbagged?) → guides/04-calibration.md
   • Cadence setup → guides/05-cadence.md
   • Small team / startup → guides/06-small-team-adaptation.md
   • Tool configuration → guides/07-tools.md
   • OKR vs. KPI vs. MBO comparison → guides/01-okr-canon.md

4. Apply the relevant template:

   • New OKR draft → templates/okr-draft.md
   • End-of-cycle audit → templates/okr-audit-report.md
   • End-of-cycle retrospective → templates/okr-retrospective.md

5. Show worked examples when coaching. See examples/weak-to-strong-rewrite.md for annotated rewrites.

6. Deliver inline or to file. If a persistent artefact is requested, write to library/qa/okr-goal-setting/<date>-<topic>.md.

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Folder layout

okr-goal-setting-stinger/
├── SKILL.md                          (this file — master index)
├── README.md                         (one-page human overview)
├── guides/
│   ├── 00-principles.md              (output discipline, compensation prohibition, scope)
│   ├── 01-okr-canon.md               (Grove/Doerr lineage, canonical definition, OKR vs KPI vs MBO)
│   ├── 02-writing-objectives.md      (aspirational Objective rubric, failure modes, rewrites)
│   ├── 03-writing-key-results.md     (output KR patterns, input anti-patterns, rewrite heuristic)
│   ├── 04-calibration.md             (ambitious vs sandbagged, 70% rule, scoring conventions)
│   ├── 05-cadence.md                 (quarterly cycle anatomy, check-in ritual, CFR, grading)
│   ├── 06-small-team-adaptation.md   (minimum viable OKR, when to skip, startup patterns)
│   └── 07-tools.md                   (Lattice, 15Five, Weekdone, Notion configuration)
├── examples/
│   ├── weak-to-strong-rewrite.md     (annotated before/after for 3 Objectives + 6 KRs)
│   └── happy-path-coaching.md        (end-to-end coaching session walkthrough)
├── templates/
│   ├── okr-draft.md                  (blank O+KR pair with field prompts)
│   ├── okr-audit-report.md           (scored audit table + recommendations)
│   └── okr-retrospective.md          (end-of-quarter scoring + retro question set)
├── reports/
│   └── README.md                     (what past-cycle OKR audit reports look like)
└── research/                         (owned by scripture-historian — read-only)
    ├── research-plan.md
    ├── research-summary.md
    ├── index.md
    ├── internal/
    └── external/

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Forged by stinger-forge from okr-goal-setting-worker-bee-command-brief.md and research/. Part of the Legion AI Tools Factory by Mario Aldayuz a.k.a @thenotoriousllama.