To start with, it should be noted that there are no significant differences between outcomes and OKR outcomes. In fact, nearly anything that can be measured or accomplished can be considered an outcome in the right context.

When creating key results for OKRs, it’s essential to consider the context carefully. For instance, a company’s outcomes might include revenue, margin, and market share. However, when you dive deeper, you’ll find that what the finance team needs to achieve or what the marketing team needs to achieve to contribute to these business outcomes can vary significantly.

Suppose you aim to increase your revenue from 5M to 10M. Revenue is unquestionably a key outcome in this case. However, for the marketing team, the key outcome will be delivering well-qualified leads to sales to help increase revenue. Therefore, the equation:

Inputs → Outputs → Outcomes

is context-specific. What it means at the company level will differ from what it means at the department level and all the way down to individual employees.