How to Run an OKR Framework Session on a Whiteboard
OKRs work when every level of the hierarchy is visible and connected: one objective drives a small set of key results, each key result gets a measurable number, and each measure maps to specific initiatives. The breakdown is logical on paper, but in practice teams often lose the thread between what they're doing and why. When the full structure lives on a wall, objective at the top, initiatives at the base, the alignment becomes something a team can see, question, and adjust in real time.
Watch how a single OKR session builds from an empty pyramid all the way through color-coded initiatives. Each block is placed deliberately, each layer connected to the one above it.
Switch-Its makes the hierarchy physical
Switch-Its magnetic dry-erase blocks stick directly to magnetic surfaces, so each layer of the OKR pyramid can be written, placed, swapped, and rewritten as the conversation develops. The structure stays visible while the content stays flexible.
Set the structure before the content
The four levels go up first as labeled blocks on the pyramid: Objective, Key Results, Measure, and Initiatives. The framework is visible before a single real goal is written, which keeps the session from collapsing into a flat list.
Fill each layer with specifics
The objective gets one block, a high-converting storefront. Key results break into three: acquisition, conversion, performance. Each gets a number: 10K unique visitors, 3.5% lead conversion, 90+ Lighthouse score. Color connects each measure back to its key result.
Ground the strategy in initiatives
The base fills in last: email blasts, A/B testing, social videos, paid ads, and CRM integration. Each one is traceable back up through a measure to a key result to the objective. The whole plan is on the wall, and every block earns its place.
The OKR framework is one of the clearest examples of why planning benefits from a physical surface. When the hierarchy lives on the wall, gaps and misalignments become visible before they become expensive. For a deeper look at how visible structure changes the way teams plan, Put the Plan on the Wall makes the case in full.