“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

Albert Einstein

This week we continue our look at the knowing-doing gap and how it relates to our personal lives and not just to businesses.

Measures need to be about developing knowledge and turning knowledge into action. Measures by their nature focus attention.   There is an old saying that what gets measured gets done and what is not measured gets ignored.  We have to be very careful therefore what we measure. For example in business if there is a quarterly focus on results then this will divert the focus away from long term results to short tern actions.  Another problem with measurements is that they can become too complicated.   Remember to Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS).  If you are trying to measure too many things at once (e.g. performance indicators) then people cannot focus and are likely to give up.  Measurement systems need to be simple enough to focus attention on key elements and also be objective.   Attention also needs to focus on in-process measurements and not on outcomes.  If I am sitting for exams I should not focus on the final results but focus on how many hours of study I did today (that is an in-process measurement).   Focusing on in-process measures of performance is much less stressful.   Measures should also not be fixed in stone – they need to evolve and be refined depending on the needs of the business.

So what can we learn?

What can we learn to apply in your own life?  How do you measure your own performance?  Choose carefully what you measure because that is where your attention will be.   Keep it simple – if its too complicated you will likely give up.   An example is writing three key things to get done today and doing them.  That is simple and actionable.  Focus on what you can do today because you can only live in today.  Make each day great and you will have a great life!  These are your in-process measurements of performance – your inputs today.  If you are writing a book don’t focus on having the book written by X date.  Focus on how many pages you will write everyday.  Don’t focus on the outcomes (the book).  Finally is what you are measuring serving you?  If not change what you are measuring.  Your weekly AAR (After Action Review) is a good time to reflect on that question.

Next Week:  When internal competition turns friends into enemies.

Ref: ‘The Knowing-Doing Gap – How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton. Harvard Business School Press, 2000

In the business world most companies know or can know the same things.  They can spend millions on consultants, training programmes and executive education.  They all have access to knowledge.  However there is a major difference between having knowledge and transforming that knowledge into action.  This is what is called the knowing-doing gap.

The knowing-doing gap is something which interests me a lot.  Not only does this gap apply to companies but I believe it also applies to individuals.  Have you ever come across people who appear to know everything and who talk very wisely but at the same time their  their lives are a mess?  Their knowledge does not translate into action and positive results.  In many ways I believe that we all suffer from the knowing-doing gap to a different degree and I do recognise it in my own life as well.  That is why I believe that we need to look at the knowing-doing gap, what causes it and how do we can bridge that gap.  In this and follow-on articles I am going to examine this issue based on the research work of Pfeffer and Sutton who looked at how successful companies turn knowledge into action.  Let’s see what lessons that we can take from the business world and  apply to our personal lives.

The first lesson that we can learn is that there is the tendency to treat talking about something the same as doing something.  We can talk and we can research and make plans for action.  We need to talk and plan, they are important.  However they are only first steps – something has to get done and somebody has to do it.  The problem comes when talk becomes a substitute for action.  I can see this in my own life where I have so many plans.  I have long lists of plans.  And I spend a lot of time planning and maintaining and reviewing those lists.  The problem is that I spend too much time on the plans and too little time making them happen!  The solution is simplicity.  Focus on only three goals at any time and get them done.  Each day focus on three things that you will get done that day and make sure that you do them.  Don’t get trapped at the level of smart talk and planning.

“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.”

Vance Havner

In the coming weeks I will be sharing more lessons on how smart companies overcame the knowing-doing gap and how we can apply these lesson in our own lives.

Ref: ‘The Knowing-Doing Gap – How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton. Harvard Business School Press, 2000