Getting Ready for a Board Meeting? Use OKRs to Show Progress

Preparing for a board meeting as a startup founder can be really stressful.

Your board members want to see concrete, measurable progress - proof that your startup is moving forward and hitting key milestones. 

But how do you present that progress in a way that’s clear, actionable, and meaningful?

The solution: OKRs (Objectives and Key Results).

OKRs are a powerful framework that helps you define clear objectives and track measurable progress toward them. When you use OKRs, you can give your board exactly what they need: data-driven insights on how you’re progressing with key initiatives. 

Whether you’re reporting on revenue growth, product development, or customer acquisition, OKRs give your board the transparency they expect and help you demonstrate your company’s performance.

In this article, you’ll learn how OKRs can help you showcase measurable progress in your next board meeting, making it easier to build trust, highlight achievements, and stay focused on what really matters.

How Startups Typically Update Their Boards on Progress

When you walk into a board meeting, you know that your board members are looking for tangible results. The challenge, however, is that many startups still rely on subjective and broad updates when reporting progress. 

Here are some common ways most startups report their progress in board meetings:

1. Vague Descriptions of “Hard Work”

Founders and managers often explain their team's efforts in terms of activity: "We're working hard to improve customer acquisition," or "We're focused on launching the next product feature." 

While this shows effort, it doesn’t provide concrete data or measurable outcomes, leaving the board to guess whether the activities are truly driving results.

2. General Metrics Without Clear Context

Startups like to present numbers such as “We grew our customer base by 15%” or “Revenue is up by 20%,” but without context or specific targets, these numbers don’t convey the full story (as we know, 1-2 is a 100% increase…).

Are these metrics on track with the company’s goals? Are they good or bad? 

The lack of clear benchmarks makes it difficult for the board to understand whether the company is progressing as expected.

3. Unclear Ownership

When updates are provided, it’s not always clear who is responsible for what. 

This can lead to confusion about accountability - if you don’t clearly assign ownership of goals, it becomes difficult to hold teams accountable for hitting key milestones or adjusting when things aren’t progressing as planned.

4. Lack of Transparency on Challenges

Many founders shy away from discussing setbacks, opting instead to present only the positives. While optimism is important, the reality is that challenges, missed targets, and obstacles are a natural part of any startup’s journey. 

Not being upfront about challenges can prevent your board from understanding what’s truly happening and make it harder to strategize solutions together.

While these methods can certainly provide some insight, they often fail to offer the level of clarity and transparency needed to make informed decisions. OKRs can change that, providing measurable, actionable progress that gives your board real data and a clearer view of where your startup stands.

OKRs vs Traditional Reporting in Board Meetings

When you report progress in a board meeting, the way you present results can significantly affect how the board perceives your startup's direction and growth. 

Without a structured framework like OKRs, you risk presenting unclear, unmeasurable, and unaccountable updates. 

But when you use OKRs, your reports become focused, actionable, and backed by data.

Here’s a comparison of what it looks like to report progress with OKRs versus without OKRs:

As you can see, using OKRs in your board meetings allows you to present clear, measurable progress and fosters accountability. It ensures that your board is aligned with your priorities and can make informed decisions based on real data, not subjective updates.

By switching to OKRs, you move beyond generic updates and instead provide your board with focused, measurable, and actionable data. 

Now that you understand how OKRs improve the quality of your reports, let’s dive into why OKRs improve transparency and accountability.

How OKRs Drive Transparency and Accountability in Board Meetings

OKRs do more than just set internal goals - they provide a structured approach to presenting measurable outcomes. By leveraging OKRs, you can clearly communicate your company's achievements and challenges, helping your board make informed decisions. 

Let’s break down how to effectively use OKRs in your board meetings.

Step 1: Align Your OKRs with Strategic Business Goals

Before walking into your board meeting, make sure your OKRs are aligned with your company’s strategic priorities. 

Whether you're focusing on scaling revenue, developing new products, or improving customer retention, your OKRs should reflect what matters most to the growth of your business.

Example OKR Alignment:

• Objective: Increase customer acquisition by 25% this quarter.
  
  
  
  • Key Result 1: Acquire 500 new customers through digital marketing campaigns.
    
    
  • Key Result 2: Achieve a 20% conversion rate from paid ads.
    
    
  • Key Result 3: Grow the email subscriber list by 30% through content marketing.

These OKRs are aligned with your overarching goal (increasing customer acquisition) and provide clear measurable results that your board can track. This alignment will give your board confidence that you’re focused on the right priorities.

Step 2: Present Progress with Measurable Key Results

When it’s time to present to your board, they will want to see real progress. 

With OKRs, you can provide them with quantifiable data that shows exactly how you’re performing. For example, if your objective is to increase customer acquisition, here’s how you could report on progress:

• Objective: Increase customer acquisition by 25% this quarter.
  
  
  
  • Key Result 1: 500 new customers acquired (60% of target)
    
    
  • Key Result 2: Conversion rate on ads at 18% (slightly below target)
    
    
  • Key Result 3: Email list growth by 35% (exceeding target)
    
    

By using OKRs, you’re showing your board how much you’ve achieved and identifying areas for improvement. This data-driven approach gives your board actionable insights into the health of the business.

Step 3: Use OKRs to Highlight Achievements and Address Challenges

OKRs are not only about showing progress - they’re also about transparency. 

If certain key results aren’t on track, use your OKRs to address challenges in a structured way. Your board will appreciate the honesty and your proactive approach to problem-solving.

For example:

• Objective: Increase monthly recurring revenue (MRR) by 20%.
  
  
  
  • Key Result 1: Customer retention up by 10% (On track)
    
    
  • Key Result 2: Upsell rate increase of 5% (Behind schedule)

In this scenario, the upsell rate is behind, but customer retention is on track. 

This gives your board a clear view of both your successes and where you need to focus more effort. The goal is to highlight the progress while showing how you're addressing any issues.

Step 4: Show Alignment with Long-Term Vision

OKRs don’t just help with short-term tracking - they also help you show how your quarterly objectives align with your long-term vision. 

It’s important that your board sees how current efforts are driving toward future goals.

For example, if your objective is to increase customer acquisition, you could connect it to a broader vision, such as:

• Objective: Increase customer acquisition by 25% this quarter.
  
  
• Long-term Vision: This increase in customer acquisition is a key part of our plan to achieve $10M in revenue by the end of the year, setting the foundation for our next round of fundraising.

Showing the connection between your OKRs and long-term goals helps your board understand how the work you’re doing today is directly contributing to the bigger picture.

Conclusion

When preparing for a board meeting, OKRs provide a structured and data-driven approach to demonstrate your startup’s progress. By setting clear objectives and measurable key results, you can provide your board with actionable insights that clearly show where the company stands.

With OKRs, you no longer have to present vague updates or subjective estimates. 

Instead, you can offer quantifiable evidence of how your startup is progressing, making it easier for your board to understand your growth and strategic direction.

Ready to set your OKRs and show progress? 

OKRs Tool makes it easy to create and track your OKRs, giving your board clear, real-time updates. Demonstrate measurable success, build trust, and streamline goal-setting. Start using OKRs Tool today. It’s free and you can create your first OKR in 30 seconds.