Free courses that teach decisions, not definitions.
Certification courses in goal-setting and OKRs for managers of small teams: taught on a realistic company, exercised on your own, and closed with a certificate that is earned.
Celorly Academy is a set of free, public certification courses for people who run small teams. Lessons teach by decision: you manage a realistic company through its quarters and live with the consequences, and every exercise runs on your own goals, so a course ends with artefacts you can use on Monday. Certificates are free, verifiable at a public URL, and earned through an exam: there is no certificate for watching.
From Zero to Goals
Goal-setting for small teams, taught on decisions: one realistic company, a full year of its quarters, a certificate that is earned.
17 lessons · 4 modules · 8–10 hours · exam 15 scenarios, pass at 12
Three rules every course follows
The academy exists because most goal problems are method problems, and reading definitions has never fixed one. So the teaching follows the way the skill is actually used:
You make the calls, then see the consequences
Every course runs on a realistic company across a full year of quarters. You decide (cut, swap, push, kill) and each choice answers back with what it costs. Definitions are the footnote, not the lesson.
Exercises run on your own company
Each lesson ends with a task on your real goals: a mission that vetoes work, a goal rebuilt from X to Y, a booked check-in slot. You finish a course with artefacts, not notes.
No certificate for watching
The certificate needs every decision in the case, your own artefacts, and a scenario exam with a real pass bar. One path for everyone, no fast track, so a Celorly certificate always means the same thing.
The academy is run by Celorly
Celorly is a goal-setting tool for small teams of 5–49 people: OKR or SMART per goal, a cascade from mission down to the quarter, ten-minute weekly check-ins and honest scoring at the close. The academy exists because most goal problems are method problems, and no tool can fix what nobody taught.
So the courses are free and tool-agnostic: every lesson works with a spreadsheet and a calendar, and the reference library they draw on is public too: 31 guides on goals, OKRs and SMART. If a course leaves you wanting the rhythm without the busywork, that is what the product is for, but no lesson requires it, and no certificate ever will.
Questions people ask before starting
How much does Celorly Academy cost?+
Nothing, and there is no paid tier waiting behind that sentence. Lessons, exams and certificates are all free. The academy exists because we make Celorly, a goal-setting tool for small teams, and most goal problems are method problems: teaching the method well is the best introduction we could make. The courses stay tool-agnostic even so.
Do the courses teach OKRs or SMART goals?+
Both. That is the point. Frameworks are chosen per goal, not per company: commitments live naturally as SMART sentences, ambitious bets fit OKR's stretch scoring, and the courses teach when each one earns its place. You also get what neither acronym covers: mission as a filter, cascading, weekly check-ins and honest scoring.
Who makes the course material?+
The team behind Celorly, drawing on the site's public library of 31 guides on goals, OKRs and SMART. Every course is built the same way: a realistic small company, decisions with consequences, and exercises that run on your own goals. No video talking heads, no guest lecturers, no filler to stretch the hours.
Do I need an account to learn?+
No. Every lesson is public: no email wall, no sign-up to read or do the exercises. A free account does one thing: it saves your progress and results so they survive a change of device. Exams and certificates require one, because the results have to be stored somewhere.
How do the certificates work?+
They are earned, free, and never expire. Earning one takes the decisions in the course case, your own artefacts (like a mission that passed the veto test), and a scenario exam with a real pass bar. Each certificate has a public verification page you can link from LinkedIn, which also makes this a rare thing: a free OKR and goal-setting certification that anyone can check.
Is the certificate recognized?+
It is verifiable, which matters more: the verification page states exactly what was done (the case decisions, the artefacts, the exam threshold). There is no accreditation body behind it, same as almost every industry certificate; its value is that anyone can check what it took to earn.
Will there be more courses?+
Yes: the academy is built as a home for a catalogue, and From Zero to Goals is the first entry, not the last. New courses ship when they clear the same bar: case-taught, exercised on your own material, and closed with a certificate that is worth something because it is hard to get.