From Inclusive to Focused Goals using Even Over statements
Inclusive culture is good. Inclusive goals are not. How Even Over statements force the trade-off conversations your OKRs need to have real teeth and drive actual focus.
Do you ever feel like your goals are too inclusive?
Being inclusive is essential for culture but not so good for setting goals.
You want your goals to mean something.
They shouldn’t be an excuse to enable you to continue to spread your attention all over.
A question you can ask about your goal/s is “What are the investments we WON’T be making as a result of these goals?”
(This is my favorite question to drop into a group of Portfolio Leaders trying to figure out their Strategic Themes / OKRs…)
I added this question to the worksheet I use for drafting and considering Goals/OKRs. (If you want me to create a template of this worksheet, reply and let me know…)
Another technique you can try is “Even Over” statements. “Improved Customer Onboarding Experience Even Over New Features” “Plug Churn even over new logos”
(The Agile Manifesto for Software Development is an excellent example of even over statements)
So…
Consider your current Goal/s. Whether they are Product Goals, Strategic Themes, Outcome Hypothesis for an Epic / Feature.
Does the goal enable trade-offs of what’s in/out?
Is it clear what’s really important?
Can you use an “even over” statement to help clarify?
Get the AI prompt swipe file for diagnosing and rewriting broken OKRs — practical prompts for leaders who are done with OKR theater.
Yuval Yeret helps product and tech leaders move from agile theater to evidence-informed delivery. Work with Yuval →
