From Doerr’s Book to Your Dashboard: Where Do Initiatives Actually Belong in OKRs?

TL;DR

John Doerr’s OKR framework consists of Objectives, Key Results, and Initiatives. In Profit.co, you track measurable outcomes with KPI-based Key Results and substantial work with Initiative-based Key Results (or tasks for smaller activities). This flexibility lets you see both “are we achieving the outcome?” and “are we completing the work?” without losing sight of either.

You’ve read Measure What Matters. You’ve watched the training videos. You understand the theory: Objectives set direction, Key Results measure progress, and Initiatives drive the work.

If you’re new to OKRs and Profit.co, you might be wondering, “Where do John Doerr’s ‘Initiatives’ fit in Profit.co’s system?”

You’re not alone. Doerr’s classic framework distinguishes Objectives (the “what”), Key Results (the measurable outcomes), and Initiatives (the activities to achieve those outcomes).

Profit.co takes the same foundational theory and adapts it for a modern, flexible OKR platform. In this blog, we’ll break down exactly how you can map initiatives into Profit.co so you can track both results and the work that drives them.

Key Takeaways

• KPI-based KRs = Outcomes: Track whether you’re achieving your objective.
• Initiative-based KRs = Work: Track whether substantial initiatives are being completed.
• Tasks = Supporting Activities: Track small actions without affecting metrics.
• Profit.co allows flexible implementation of initiatives depending on size, scope, and impact.

In short, Profit.co doesn’t change the theory behind Doerr’s OKRs; it enhances it, making it easier to track both results and the work driving them.

Feature	Focus	Impact on Progress
KPI-based KR	Outcomes	Moves the Objective % based on numbers.
Initiative-based KR	Execution	Moves the Objective % based on completion.
Tasks	Activity	Zero impact on % (Visibility only).

The Classic OKR Hierarchy According to Doerr

John Doerr’s OKR model is elegantly simple:

Objectives → The qualitative goal you want to achieve
Key Results → The measurable outcomes that prove you’ve achieved the objective
Initiatives → The projects and activities that drive those outcomes

In this model, Initiatives sit below Key Results. They’re the “how”, the work streams that move the needle on your metrics.

Example:

• Objective: Improve customer retention
  • Key Result: Increase 90-day retention rate from 65% to 80%
    • Initiative: Launch onboarding video series
    • Initiative: Implement weekly check-in emails
    • Initiative: Create customer success playbook

Clean. Linear. Easy to explain in a book.

“Ideas are easy. Execution is everything. It takes a team to win.”

John Doerr

 

What Happens When You Implement This in Software

Here’s where theory meets reality.

In Profit.co, Key Results can be tracked in two fundamentally different ways:

1. KPI-based Key Results: Quantitative metrics with numerical targets (e.g., “Increase retention from 70% to 80%”)
2. Initiative-based Key Results: Tracked via tasks, milestones, or project completion (e.g., “Launch onboarding video series”)

At first glance, this might feel like the platform is blurring the lines. But it’s actually solving a problem that Doerr’s linear model doesn’t fully address: What do you do when the work itself is substantial enough to warrant dedicated tracking and ownership?

Not all initiatives are lightweight tasks you can casually nest under a metric. Some are complex, multi-month projects with their own milestones, dependencies, and deliverables. Treating them as sub-items under a KPI-based Key Result can make them invisible to leadership and difficult to manage.

How to Structure Initiatives in Profit.co

The flexibility in Profit.co reflects the complexity of real execution. Here’s how to think about it:

For Substantial Initiatives: Create Them as Parallel Key Results

When an initiative involves multiple activities, requires significant time, or requires dedicated resources, treat it as its own Key Result at the same level as your measurable KPIs.

Why this works:

• Leadership can see both “are we achieving the outcome?” (KPI-based KR) and “are we completing the critical work?” (initiative-based KR).
• Initiatives get the visibility and accountability they deserve.
• You avoid the trap of treating important projects as footnotes under a metric.

Example:

• Objective: Improve customer retention
  • Key Result (KPI-based): Increase 90-day retention rate from 65% to 80%
  • Key Result (Initiative-based): Launch comprehensive onboarding program (Task Tracked or Milestone Tracked)

Both sit at the same level. The first measures the outcome. The second tracks the execution that’s supposed to drive it.

For Nested Hierarchies: Use Sub-Level Key Results

If you want to create a tighter connection between an initiative and a specific metric, you can nest an initiative-based Key Result beneath a KPI-based one.

Why this works:

• It explicitly shows which initiatives are intended to move which metrics.
• It maintains the logical flow of Doerr’s model: Objective to Measurable Outcome to Supporting Work.
• Teams can drill down from high-level metrics to the tactical work driving them.

Example:

• Objective: Improve customer retention
  • Key Result (KPI-based): Increase 90-day retention rate from 65% to 80%
    • Sub-Key Result (Initiative): Complete onboarding video series by Q2
    • Sub-Key Result (Initiative): Implement automated check-in sequence

This structure works best when you’re managing a portfolio of initiatives all aimed at moving the same metric.

For Lightweight Activities: Use Tasks Within KPI-Based Key Results

Not every piece of supporting work needs to be a full-fledged Key Result. For smaller, ad-hoc activities that don’t require their own progress tracking, simply add them as tasks within your KPI-based Key Result.

Why this works:

• You document the work without inflating your OKR structure.
• Tasks don’t affect the KR’s numerical progress calculation; they’re just visibility into what’s happening.
• It keeps your OKR clean and focused on outcomes.

Example:

• Key Result: Increase 90-day retention rate from 65% to 80%
  • Task: Analyze drop-off points in user journey
  • Task: Draft customer success email templates
  • Task: Schedule quarterly business reviews with top accounts

These are supporting activities, not outcomes. They belong in the background, not center stage.

The Key Distinction: Outcome vs. Execution

Here’s the mental model that makes this all click:

• KPI-based Key Results help you track “Are we achieving the outcome?”
• Initiative-based Key Results help you track “Are we completing the work?”

Both matter. Both deserve visibility. The mistake teams make is trying to force everything into one or the other.

If you only use KPI-based Key Results, you risk losing sight of critical projects that haven’t moved the metrics yet but are essential to long-term success. Product launches, infrastructure upgrades, and organizational changes often fall into this category.

If you only use Initiative-based Key Results, you end up with a task list masquerading as strategy. You’re busy, but you’re not necessarily improving outcomes.

The power of Profit.co’s flexibility is that you don’t have to choose. You can track both and make the relationship between them explicit.

Which Structure Should You Use?

Here’s a quick decision tree:

1. Is the initiative a large, multi-phase project with its own deliverables and timeline? Create it as a parallel initiative-based Key Result (Task Tracked, Milestone Tracked, or Project Tracked).
2. Is the initiative tightly coupled to a specific metric and you want to show that connection? Nest it as a sub-level Key Result beneath the relevant KPI-based Key Result.
3. Is it a small, supporting activity that doesn’t need dedicated tracking? Add it as a task within the KPI-based Key Result.
4. Are you unsure? Default to parallel structure. It’s easier to nest later than to elevate a buried initiative that turns out to be critical.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Let’s say your company’s objective is to “become the preferred platform for enterprise sales teams.”

Your Key Results might include:

1. KPI-based KR: Increase enterprise deal close rate from 22% to 35%
2. Initiative-based KR: Launch enterprise-tier feature set (Milestone Tracked)
   • Milestone: Complete security audit
   • Milestone: Ship SSO integration
   • Milestone: Launch advanced reporting module
3. KPI-based KR: Improve enterprise NPS from 45 to 60
   • Task: Conduct 20 enterprise customer interviews
   • Task: Build customer advisory board
   • Sub-KR (Initiative): Implement dedicated enterprise support tier (Task Tracked)

See what’s happening here?

You’ve got measurable outcomes (close rate, NPS), major initiatives that warrant their own tracking (feature launches, support tier), and lightweight activities that support the metrics without needing their own spotlight.

Leadership gets a clear view of both execution and results. Teams know what they’re accountable for. And nothing gets lost in the structure.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1: Treating every task as a Key Result
Not everything deserves KR status. If it’s a one-off activity or a quick task, keep it in the task list. Reserve Key Results for outcomes and substantial initiatives.

2: Burying critical projects under KPIs
If a project is make-or-break for the quarter, don’t hide it three levels deep. Give it visibility as its own Key Result so leadership can track progress and allocate resources.

3: Creating Initiative-based KRs without linking them to outcomes
Initiatives should always connect to a desired result. If you can’t explain which metric or objective an initiative is supposed to move, question whether it belongs in your OKRs at all.

4: Using completion % as a proxy for impact
An initiative being “100% complete” doesn’t mean you achieved the outcome. Always pair Initiative-based Key Results with KPI-based ones so you can see both execution and results.

How Profit.co Helps

Profit.co’s flexible system ensures your OKRs are:

• Aligned: Clear hierarchy linking initiatives to KPIs
• Measurable: Track both outcomes and completion of work
• Transparent: Everyone sees how daily tasks contribute to organizational goals

With Profit.co, you can finally implement Doerr’s OKR theory in a way that works for modern organizations, without losing clarity on either outcomes or work.

The Bottom Line

John Doerr’s OKR framework is brilliant for understanding the logic of goal-setting. But real organizations run on messy, interconnected work streams that need structure without rigidity.

Profit.co’s approach recognizes this. By allowing both KPI-based and Initiative-based Key Results, it gives you the flexibility to match your OKR structure to the complexity of your execution—not the simplicity of a diagram in a book.

The key is knowing when to use which structure. Track outcomes with KPI-based Key Results. Track substantial work with Initiative-based Key Results. Use tasks for everything else. And always make the connection between effort and impact explicit.

When you do this well, your OKRs become more than a planning exercise. They become a live system that shows leadership, what’s being built, what’s being measured, and whether the two are actually connected.