Have you ever looked across your company’s OKRs and thought:
“Wait... isn’t this just a KPI?”
It’s more common than you think.
Using our own data, we analyzed 7,857 Key Results and found that 52% turned out to be KPIs in disguise. Not poorly written Key Results. Not misaligned ones. Just KPIs masquerading as KRs - and that’s a problem.
When Key Results turn into passive metrics instead of focused, intentional outcomes, the entire OKR system loses its power.
Teams confuse tracking with progress. Alignment becomes fuzzy. Accountability drifts. And leadership ends up with a dashboard full of numbers, but no real clarity about what’s actually changing in the business.
The good news? You don’t need to overhaul your process to fix it. You just need to know what to look for - and how to guide your team away from KPI thinking and toward true outcome-based Key Results.
Why Do So Many Teams Mistake KPIs for KRs?
Simple: It’s not laziness or carelessness. It’s just familiarity.
Teams default to KPIs because they’re comfortable - they already exist, they’re measurable, and they show up in dashboards. It’s easy to say, “Let’s increase web traffic by 20%,” because it’s a metric everyone recognizes.
But recognition doesn’t make it a good Key Result.
Another reason is structural. Most organizations and tools blur the line between performance monitoring and change-making.
When you’re asked to “add a Key Result metric,” your brain reaches for something it’s already tracking - often a KPI. Over time, this behavior gets baked in, and whole OKR cycles become dressed-up status reports.
There’s also a fundamental misconception that “numbers = KRs.” That’s not true.
KPIs have numbers. So do KRs. But what separates them is intent.
KPI vs. KR: A Simple Litmus Test
Ask this:
“Can I track this every week forever?”
If the answer is yes, it’s a KPI.
It’s a number you monitor to ensure steady-state performance. Website traffic, server uptime, ticket volume - these are all KPIs because you don’t want them to fluctuate too much. You want to keep them healthy.
Key Results, on the other hand, represent meaningful, time-bound change. You’re trying to improve something - not just observe it.
A good KR might aim to reduce churn in a particular segment, increase adoption of a feature, or improve the resolution time for critical support tickets. These are things that move the business forward in a measurable, deliberate way.
What a Strong Key Result Actually Looks Like
Let’s break it down.
A true Key Result should reflect:
- A specific segment or target (which customers, product flows, or behaviors are in focus)
- A measurable outcome - not a task or initiative
- A meaningful change by the end of the cycle
And importantly: if you’re using a modern OKR software tool that captures the start metric, target, and timeframe separately, your written KR doesn’t need to spell those things out. That data lives in the system. Your job is to describe the intended result.
Instead of writing, “Increase conversion from 12% to 18% by Q3,” just write:
“Improve trial-to-paid conversion in self-serve funnel.”
The tool will track the numbers. You’re just naming the outcome.
The Template That Prevents 90% of KPI-KRs
Here's a simple, foolproof template you can use:
“Improve [business outcome] for [specific segment].”
That’s it.
It forces the writer to think about who or what is being improved - and how. It filters out vague or activity-based language. And because it leaves the numbers to the system, it keeps the human’s job focused on impact, not formatting.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Instead of “Increase website traffic by 20%,” try:
“Improve qualified inbound lead generation from organic channels.” - Instead of “Achieve NPS score of 55,” try:
“Improve satisfaction among recently onboarded users.” - Instead of “Conduct 5 customer interviews,” try:
“Improve understanding of churn drivers among power users.”
The difference is subtle but important. The new phrasing pushes teams to think in terms of outcomes - not inputs or activity.
Why This Makes a Company-Wide Difference
Once teams adopt outcome-based KRs, alignment improves dramatically. Objectives stop being vague aspirational themes, and start acting like true strategic priorities. Key Results clarify what success looks like - not just what to measure, but what to move.
For leadership, this brings better visibility. You’re no longer trying to infer business impact from a long list of KPIs. You can see which outcomes each team is working toward, and whether they’re making meaningful progress. When OKRs are structured this way, you don’t just monitor. You manage.
And for individual teams, it leads to better focus. Instead of optimizing for whatever number is easiest to track, they work backward from impact - designing projects that actually shift the needle.
Common Pitfalls This Template Prevents
Most weak Key Results aren’t the result of laziness - they come from habit. Teams default to KPIs because they’re easy to measure, or they slip into activity mode because it feels productive.
This template interrupts that by forcing clarity on three fronts:
- Who are you improving? (Segment or scope)
- What are you improving? (Outcome or result)
- How will progress show up? (Beyond just tracking a number)
Instead of bloated KRs filled with inputs and qualifiers - like “Improve net retention from 88% to 105% through expansion revenue in APAC by Q3” - the template keeps it simple:
“Improve net retention in APAC.”
Let a platform - like OKRs Tool - hold the data. Let the team focus on the change.
KPI in Disguise → Real Key Result
Not sure if your Key Result is just a dressed-up KPI? Here's a side-by-side comparison to help reframe it using the "Improve [business outcome] for [specific segment]" structure.
Use this framework to shift your KRs from “what to monitor” to “what to improve.” It’s a small change that makes a big difference in alignment, clarity, and impact.
Stop Tracking. Start Changing.
Writing better OKRs isn’t about clever wording or perfect structure. It’s about intent. If your KRs are just a list of numbers you’re already tracking, you're not driving change - you’re just checking boxes.
That’s not a failure. It’s a signal that your team is relying on familiarity instead of focus. And it’s easy to fix. Use this rule of thumb:
If it can live in a dashboard forever, it’s a KPI.
If it describes a measurable shift this quarter, it’s a KR.
Lean on the template. Let your OKR tool hold the data. Let your team hold the outcomes.
And start writing Key Results that actually result in something.
