What is an OKR? A plain-English guide for team managers
What OKR means, how objectives, key results and weekly check-ins fit together, and a full example for one quarter. From the Manager Kit guide.
5 min readMANAGER KIT · READY · 7 MODULESManage your team.
Run your team person by person.
What does my team need from me this week?
1:1s, the work you hand over, the promises you make, OKRs, observations and meeting cost in one file. For a manager with a team of three to fifteen who keeps track of it alone.
One payment through Lemon Squeezy. One HTML file, about 1.5 MB.MODULES
Seven modules, one set of data
Pick a module to see its screen.
The start screen: work due a check-in, promises and to-dos that are yours, key results waiting for a check-in, this week’s 1:1s and the people who need you. All of it comes from the other modules. The manager coach adds short notes on who you have not met and promises past their date. No AI, just simple rules over what is in the kit.
Pulls facts from every moduleA person’s page shows your 1:1s with them, the work and promises between you, the key results they own, your observations, their growth goals and the meeting time you share. Your own manager and your mentees live here too. The team map shows how much you work with each person. Someone on time off is not counted as late for a 1:1, and when someone leaves, their history stays in the archive.
Every module adds a tab to the person’s pageWrite who you gave the work to and when to check in; on that date it comes back on This week. Promises you made and your own to-dos have their own tabs.
Links work to a key resultA 1:1 schedule for each person, topics saved for next time, and mood. Actions from the meeting go straight into Work. The summary opens as an email draft in your mail app, Gmail or Outlook. A mood round notes everyone’s mood in a minute, and mood history shows it week by week. Private notes can be encrypted with a passphrase.
Sends actions to WorkObjectives and key results with their owners. A weekly check-in records progress and confidence; the quarter chart shows where you are against the plan. The calendar holds every review, check-in and comment, filtered by type or person, with their history below. A key result you flag in a review goes on its owner’s 1:1 agenda.
Shows linked work beside each key resultWhat recurring meetings cost a year, worked out from pay data by role and level. Your team’s 1:1s come in on their own; suggestions show what you could win back.
Takes the 1:1 schedule from 1:1sWork finished and open, 1:1s held, key result changes, meeting hours and observations come in on their own. You answer three questions; actions become work, and a short update for your manager is ready to copy or email.
Sends actions to WorkA WEEK IN THE KIT
How the modules work together
Step by step, with sample data. Click a step.
- 11:1s1:1 with NoraTopic: manual testing before each releaseAction: automate the login suiteThe action goes into Work
- 2WorkWork givenAutomate the login suite · NoraCheck in: ThursdayLinked to a key result
- 3OKRsKey resultManual testing per release from 6 h to 2 hCheck-in: confidence 6/10Progress goes to the review
- 4This weekThursdayNora’s work is due a check-inYour promise to Sam: promotion criteriaClose it or move the date
- 5Weekly reviewFriday, ten minutes6 pieces of work done, 5 1:1s heldThe update for your manager is readyActions become work
GUIDES
Read the Manager Kit guides
The guides inside the file, written out in full. Read them before you buy.
Common OKR mistakes: six things an OKR is not
Six OKR mistakes that quietly kill a quarter, from to-do lists to bonus targets, and how many objectives a team can carry. From the Manager Kit guide.
5 min readHow to write key results that measure outcomes, not tasks
How to write key results with a clear finish line: outputs versus outcomes, the from X to Y formula and examples by team. From the Manager Kit guide.
5 min readOKR scoring: confidence, weekly check-ins and the 0.7 rule
How OKR scoring works from 0.0 to 1.0, why 0.7 is a good score, what confidence means and how to run a weekly check-in. From the Manager Kit guide.
5 min readOne-on-one meetings: a practical guide to better 1:1s
How to run one-on-one meetings people value: how often to meet, a simple 1:1 agenda, good questions and honest notes. From the Manager Kit guide.
5 min readHow to delegate work: hand it over, then check in
How to delegate work so it does not go quiet: the check-in date, what to say at the hand-over and the one question to ask. From the Manager Kit guide.
4 min readPerformance review notes: how to keep fair notes all year
How to keep performance review notes that hold up: observations instead of labels, both kinds of feedback, and a fair review. From the Manager Kit guide.
4 min readHow to calculate meeting cost per year, and what to cut
The meeting cost formula with a worked example, and how to decide which recurring meetings to keep, shrink, fix or cut. From the Manager Kit guide.
5 min readWeekly review for managers: ten minutes on Friday
A ten-minute weekly review for managers: what to look at, three questions, who needs your time and an update upward. From the Manager Kit guide.
4 min readPRICE
Buy it once. Keep it.
What this is notNot a team tool. Only you use the kit; there is no sharing and no comments.No live calendar connection. Import meetings from an .ics file or add them yourself; you log your 1:1s.No sync between devices. Move data with a backup file.Not a performance system. Observations help you prepare for reviews; you make the call.
$69once. Every 1.x update is free.
This is a digital product, so purchases are not refundable once delivered. Try the demo and look through the screens and guides first.
This weekTeamWork1:1sOKRsMeeting costWeekly review
Buy on Lemon SqueezySold through Lemon Squeezy. Taxes and invoicing are handled at checkout.oneonone-backup.jsonopens in 1:1s
QUESTIONS
Questions about Manager Kit
Can my team see this file?
The file opens in your browser and the data stays on that device. When you want to send something, such as the weekly update for your manager, you copy it as text or open it as an email draft.
I use OKR Quarter Board or One-on-One Log. What happens to my data?
Export a backup from the tool and open it in Manager Kit. People are matched by name, you see a preview first, and nothing is overwritten. Passphrase-protected 1:1 backups open too.
Will Meeting Cost stay free?
Yes, on its own it stays free. The kit’s version runs the same numbers from your real team and adds your 1:1s by itself. A backup from the free tool comes into the kit.
What happens if I protect private notes with a passphrase?
Private 1:1 notes and observations are encrypted with it. If you forget the passphrase, those notes cannot be recovered, not by you and not by us.
Do I have to use all seven modules?
No. This week, Team and Work are always on. 1:1s, OKRs, Meeting cost and Weekly review can be switched off in Settings → Modules; data in a module you switch off is not deleted.
How do I tell you something is missing?
Settings → Give feedback. There are drafts for a new module, a change, a problem or anything else, and your mail opens with the text filled in. Only what you write goes in, plus the kit version, language and browser. Nothing about your team.
Is there a subscription?
No. You pay once through Lemon Squeezy and keep the file.
Hear when a module ships.
One email per release. Nothing else.