^{Before we start planning for the new quarter, it's time to review this quarter and progress with an OKR Reboot meeting!}

‍An OKR Retro Reboot meeting is a significant OKR ritual that happens at the end of every quarter. Teams and leadership get together to discuss their progress and learnings of the entire quarter to better strategize for the next quarter.

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How does it work? 

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Teams get together with their learnings and insights to reflect on what went well and how can it be made better during the next quarter. This is the time to analyze results, celebrate success, and celebrate failure! As teams share learnings on prioritization and challenges and update their overall progress, the organization gets an understanding of the vision for the next quarter. This helps reset OKRs for the next quarter.

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Not sure how to run your first OKR Retro Reboot? Here’s how.

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The purpose of this meeting is to reflect on their 90-day learnings. These meetings are most often conducted two weeks prior to the beginning of a new quarter. 

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Here’s a downloadable template to run an OKR Retro Reboot.

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How to make OKRs Retro Reboot fun? 

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No one wants another boring meeting. In OKR culture, we celebrate the outcome-focused mindset by striving to be innovative and set aspirational goals, then aligning our activities to move the needle. Being boring or monotonous has the opposite effect - so, everyone should try to step out of their comfort zone. Here are some fun ways to keep teams agile, engaged, and on their toes throughout the meeting!

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1. Simon Says 

We’ve played this adorable game as kids, and here’s an OKR twist to ‘Simon Says’. Ask a volunteer to prepare a list of ‘Simon Says’ statements.  

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The Volunteer calls out each statement, and the players in turn mimic or enact it to the tune of Simon.  Here are a few to get you started: 

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Simon Says ‘All teams who have achieved 70% of their OKRs to jump up in the air!’ 

Simon Says ‘Walk or give a virtual high five to someone who helped you the most’ 

Simon Says ‘Pat yourselves on the back, if you have learned something new’ 

2. The Aliens Have Landed 

Who knows the language of the little green people?  Well, neither do I! Form two teams, and get a bunch of papers. As a team, draw all that you have achieved or not achieved, using simple infographic hand drawings. Show it to another team, and have them guess. 

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You must not say a word!  

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3. A Minute to Win It 

We’ve watched this popular TV show, and here’s your chance to win your way to crafting OKRs in a Minute.   

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1. Give your players/participants a powerful OKRs formula (psst… check the OKRs assistant on Fitbots) 
2. Start the time clock.  
3. Have the players craft an Objective Statement in a Minute.  

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While this is great fun to have teams scramble to set OKRs, give more time to refine them :) 

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4. Back to the Future

To those Michael J Fox fans out there, here’s Back to the Future 5. Have all the players sit together in teams. If you have a virtual meet, form breakout groups.   

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1. Make two columns: Past and Future 
2. List down your OKRs reflections of the past 90 days
3. Write your OKRs for the future, imagining what would make you proud if you achieved them after 90 days.  

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While these are really fun games to play with your teams, they also offer meaningful insights into the confidence levels and engagement of your teams with the strategic priorities of the company. Retro Reboots don’t have to be dull - Minute to Win It and Back to the Future are great for strengthening the outcome-focused OKR culture and making employees comfortable with aspirational goals. 

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Don’t forget to record these interactions to show your teams how far they have come!

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About the Author

Vidya Santhanam is the Co-Founder of Fitbots OKRs. Having coached 600+ teams, and conducted 1000+ check-in meetings, Vidya likes writing about Metrics, high performance, and leadership.

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