I’ve worked with OKRs inside both big and small marketing teams. And I’ll be honest: they’re easy to overthink, misapply, or quietly ignore after Q1.

But when OKRs are done right, they change how your team works. They give direction, not just structure. They help you say no to noise. And most importantly, they turn strategy into action without adding overhead.

In this episode of Connecting the dots, I sat down with Sophie Hedestad, CEO of Noxit and former CMO at Netigate and Meltwater. She’s implemented OKRs across SaaS teams, built tools to simplify the process, and has strong opinions on what actually works.

Here’s what we covered and how you can use it to sharpen your 2026 planning.

‍OKRs ≠ KPIs (and the confusion is costing you)

Many CMOs treat KPIs as performance metrics and skip OKRs altogether… or worse, turn them into a bloated reporting exercise. But as Sophie puts it, “KPI tracking won’t guide what to focus on next quarter. OKRs will.”

The distinction matters:

  • KPIs are health metrics. They tell you if the machine is running.
  • OKRs are focus tools. They help you change direction, set ambition, and get aligned.

Precis’ own OKRs, for example, help teams align around growth bets, while KPIs track whether those bets are working.

‍The biggest mistake? Overloading the system

When OKRs try to do too much (cover all BAU, track every department, reflect every stakeholder wish) they stop being useful. Sophie sees this all the time.

“If your OKRs don’t change how your team spends time, they’re just extra admin.”

Her fix? The 3-3-3 model: 3 objectives → 3 key results each → 3 supporting initiatives. It’s just enough structure to guide action without getting in the way.

Precis applies the same logic internally: a few aligned goals, visible to all teams, with ownership distributed across people (not just managers).

Where OKRs fail: lack of alignment across functions

Even great marketing OKRs will collapse if product, sales, or leadership teams are working in silos. Both Stefania and Sophie have seen OKRs fail when they aren’t connected across departments.

What works instead:

  • Start from the company’s annual strategy
  • Define quarterly marketing OKRs that support it
  • Involve other teams early to get a shared handshake

This kind of “vertical and horizontal” alignment is what lets marketing teams push for budget and drive change, not just execution.

If you’re building your 2026 marketing plan…

Here’s a quick set of moves you can apply this week:

  • Strategic lens: Before you write objectives, ask: What do we want to change? Not everything needs to be in your OKRs. Only what requires focus.
  • Operational move: Use Sophie’s 3-3-3 model to avoid bloat and force clarity. 3 objectives. 3 measurable results. 3 initiatives. No more.
  • Leadership POV: Use OKRs to drive alignment, not control. The best CMOs don’t micromanage. They help teams aim at the same target.

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