LFTL: Goal Planning & OKRs for Restaurants
Little known fact about Harmony, our President Matt was an English major in college. So we thought this was a good time to whip out a quote from a book that was a staple on Wall Street raiders’ shelves in the 1980s (and millennial excess is a dining trend for 2026).
"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." – Sun Tzu
Restaurant owners aren’t short on ambition; they’re short on time and focus. The step-and-repeat of covers, vendors, staffing, repairs, and “one quick thing” makes even small goals feel impossible.
That’s where OKRs (which stands for “Objectives and Key Results”) can be a game changer for hospitality businesses. OKRs help you turn the chaotic list in your head into a short, clear set of priorities the whole team can rally behind. Goals and priorities are the underpinnings of a strategy – which is just a holistic approach to figuring out where you want your business to be and how to go there.
This month, we’re making the case for a yearly goal-setting ritual that’s practical for restaurants. Our very own Director of Business Development, three time James Beard semifinalist pastry chef, and former owner of Buttercream Bakeshop in DC, Tiffany MacIsaac is here to talk you through the process. She’ll share what projects to pick (and what to ignore… for now), how to involve your managers, and how to keep score so people know that they’re winning.
The goal is fewer panics that things are getting done and more momentum. Let’s start 2026 with a plan your team can actually execute - onward to our Q&A with Tiffany.
Okay, first things first… What exactly are OKRs, and why should a restaurant owner care?
OKRs stand for Objectives and Key Results. It’s a fancy way of saying “goal setting." Think of it as a simple way to move from “100 things swirling in my head that I’ve never written down” to “three things everyone is actually doing.”
The Objective is the big, inspiring outcome (like “Make Tuesday and Wednesday dinner service profitable again”).
The Key Results are the measurable ways you’ll know you’re working toward the goal (like “Raise average Tuesday check size by 10%” or “Cut labor by 3%”).
Why twice a year? Why not just set annual goals and call it a day?
In restaurants, a 12-month plan is a lifetime. Seasonality, staff turnover, menu changes, and local events can derail a rigid annual roadmap fast. For many operators, a biannual cadence (January - June, July - December) creates enough runway to make real progress without locking you into goals that no longer fit by spring.
That said, goal cadence should match your capacity. Larger, more structured teams absolutely benefit from setting big-picture objectives annually, then using quarterly check-ins or updates to keep projects moving. Smaller or less systematized operators often don’t have the infrastructure for that level of planning yet, and that’s okay. The most important thing is to start and to have the capacity to actively track your objectives and see them through to completion!
Quarterly or biannual OKRs are easier to administer, easier to understand, and far better than doing nothing at all. You can always evolve your process as your team grows and gains clarity.
Practically speaking, multiple planning sessions also act as built-in resets: one to launch with intention, and another to revive initiatives that quietly fell off the list. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s momentum, clarity, and follow-through in whatever format actually works for you and your team.
What exactly should owners focus on in those sessions?
Pick two to three Objectives that are short term goals (1-3 months) and 1-2 that are long term goals (4-6 months). That’s it! Think outcomes, not tasks: “Increase weekday profitability,” “Reduce manager burnout,” or “Grow cross-location consistency.”
I personally love the “brain dump” method. Call out everything that needs improvement and make a huge list. Then ruthlessly cut until you are left with the 2-3 short term and 1-2 long term items you want to attack first.
For each Objective, define 2–4 Key Results that are specific and measurable (e.g., “Reduce Monday-Wednesday hourly labor by 3%,” “Cut average manager weekly hours from 58 to 52 without sales decline,” etc.
Then park everything you didn’t choose to work on in a “Later List.” If it’s not tied to these OKRs, it’s not a priority. To effectively accomplish your goals you need to say no to everything that dilutes the items you are focusing on here and now.
How do we involve the management team so this doesn’t live only in the owner’s head?
That’s a great question because this is an absolutely critical piece. The power of goal setting isn’t just strategy; it’s about creating alignment within your team!
Start with a 90-minute workshop that includes your GM, chef, and key managers. Everyone comes ready with a to-do list of what’s been sitting half-finished or needs attention. As a group, you’ll talk through what actually moves the needle, cut the noise, and vote on 2-3 short-term goals and 1-2 longer-term ones to commit to as a team. The point isn’t a perfect list. It’s shared ownership of what matters most right now.
Afterward, keep the results where everyone can see them. A simple shared spreadsheet or dashboard with Objectives up top, Key Results and owners underneath, and a quick color-coded progress column you update bi-weekly. If something’s yellow for two weeks straight, it’s not a failure… It’s a flag. The business owner’s job is to help clear roadblocks, not lecture. Visibility and follow-through turn “good ideas” into actual results.
Any examples of OKRs that fit real restaurants?
I'm glad you asked!
Objective 1: Reduce hourly labor costs by 3% on slower days (Mon-Wed) without impacting guest experience.
Key Results:
Cut average clocked-in labor hours during Mon-Wed service from 280 to 270 per week. Start with watching clock in/out times and shaving off 15 minutes to each end of each employee's shift.
Revisit manager roles to see if any hourly positions can be significantly reduced or removed Mon-Wed (i.e. maybe you can forgo having a hostess on Mondays).
Rethink the flow of reservations and seating as well as the set of menu offerings to reduce the FOH labor by 1 FOH and 1 BOH staff member on the two slowest days.
This is a classic “tighten up without cutting corners” play. The focus isn’t just trimming payroll - it’s teaching flexibility and scheduling with intention.
Objective 2: Successfully launch weekend brunch service within 8 weeks.
Key Results:
Finalize brunch menu, pricing, and vendor sourcing by end of week 3.
Alert staff and distribute the new schedule at the end of week 5.
Create prep lists and train BOH staff on menu by end of week 6
Complete full staff training and soft-launch F&F by week 7.
Hit a minimum of 80 covers and 26% food cost on opening weekend.
This OKR keeps an expansion project moving without endless “we should do brunch someday” talk. The deadlines create healthy pressure, and the Key Results give clear finish lines so you’re not “almost ready” forever.
Objective 3: Stabilize staffing and reduce turnover among hourly employees within 6 months.
Key Results:
Conduct “stay” interviews with 100% of current staff by week 4.
Review schedule policies by end of week 8 and adjust as needed
Implement new two-tier shift leader pay structure and launch by week 12.
This one focuses on retention as a strategy rather than an accident. Instead of just hiring harder, you build systems that make people want to stay like predictable schedules, growth paths, and better feedback loops.
How do we prevent OKRs from becoming another report no one reads?
Bake follow up into existing meetings instead of inventing new ones. Add a 7-minute “OKR check” to your weekly or bi-weekly manager meeting: each owner gives a quick color (G/Y/R), one sentence on why, and one concrete next step. No monologues, no death-by-spreadsheet. 15-20 minutes tops to get up to date.
What common mistakes should owners avoid when setting OKRs?
Here's a few to look out for:
Setting too many goals. If everything is “critical,” nothing is.
Writing tasks as results (“Train hosts on quote times”)—that’s a to-do, not a Key Result. The Key Results is the effect (“Seating Quote accuracy ±8 minutes 90% of the time”).
Not utilizing baseline data. If you don’t know today’s COGS %, seat times, or turnover, your first Key Result is “Collect data for two weeks,” not “Improve it.”
Forgetting the owner of the item. Every Key Result needs a directly responsible manager and a backup. If “everyone” owns it, then no one owns it. Clear owners. Clear outcomes. Less panic.
What’s a simple agenda for the actual goal-setting session?
Reality check (10 min): Current metrics, what’s working/what’s hurting.
Brain Dump (5 min): Spend just 5 minutes writing down everyone’s to-do-list they’ve been keeping in their brains but have yet to put on paper.
Ruthlessly Cut (15 min): Cut away the items that are not in need of immediate focus until you get down to 4-5 short term objectives and 2-3 long term objectives (keep the list of items you don’t choose for the next session).
Select 2–3 (10 min): Vote to reduce to 2-3 short term(1-3 months) and 1-2 long term (4-6 months).
Write Key Results (30 min): Each Objective gets 3-4 measurable Key Results with owners and reasonable deadlines.
Resources (15 min): What tools, budget, or training are required?
Share (10 min): Create a spread sheet, dashboard owner, and a weekly or bi-weeky ritual slot to follow up on progress.
You’ll leave with a finished, visible plan and no “We’ll circle back”.
Any last word for owners who feel too underwater to start?
Start small. One Objective. Two Key Results. Six weeks. Prove the loop works: choose, measure, adjust, repeat. The win you need right now isn’t a perfect plan that will save the world. You just need to show a clear and reasonable path to success. Once your team feels that, you won’t have to sell OKRs again. They’ll ask for the next round!
If you work with Harmony we can help you set OKRs that are geared toward improving margins. Just speak to your accounting team and we’ll help get financial goals set and 2026 started on the right foot! And if you don’t work with Harmony but this is the kind of advisory you are looking for we have good news - here at Harmony we roll this type of advisory into every client package. All they need to do is ask! Sound interesting? Just click below to start the conversation about working together if you're not already a client.