“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.
