OKRs for Government & Healthcare: John Doerr’s Conversation with Seema Verma

Recorded in January 2021, John Doerr, Chairman of Kleiner Perkins and author of Measure What Matters interviews Seema Verma, health care consultant and former CMS Administrator, discuss how she used the OKR goal setting system to lead a large government agency.

“OKR” stands for “Objectives and Key Results.” OKRs are an effective goal-setting and leadership tool for communicating what you want to accomplish and what milestones you’ll need to meet in order to accomplish it. OKRs are used by some of the world’s leading organizations to set and enact their strategies.

00:00 Introduction and background
10:34 What does it take to be an effective leader in government?
11:36 Why CMS adopted OKRs
15:15 How to set OKRs in large organizations.
17:42 How to use OKRs to prioritize and align daily operations
19:42 Setting goals and getting results with OKRs
21:21 Getting OKR Buy-In
23:52 Accountability in Government with OKRs
24:33 How OKRs are helping the U.S. Government
29:59 OKR Culture in Government
33:36 Closing