Posted by I am a big believer in metrics. A bit too much sometimes. A bit too little other times. What do I mean by this? I have an unabated belief in establishing metrics in life and in business as a way to ensure we are following our course. A bit like coordinates to steer the ship. I also am a firm believer we need to track how we are doing and ensure we adjust as needed. And finally, I have confidence some metrics will get blown up and that is ok.
The problem with metrics is: that tracking is troublesome and, more importantly, reflecting on metrics takes time – our most luxurious asset.
Setting metrics
Like any regular over-achiever, I have been defining SMART goals yearly for a while now. Whilst I am not bogged down on the % of success I have achieved in each of my goals in the past, I am keen to be specific about what I will do and how I will measure it.
When establishing metrics, KPIs, OKRs, you name it, the first step is how to translate your vision into reality. That matters because goals are a bit useless without a plan. You might as well just call them dreams if that is all you intend to do. That approach may or may not work.
Metrics are a reflection of your priorities and what you consider will determine success at the end of the day. They are not always entirely measurable, but they are at least tangible.
Can everything be measured?
I will admit, that not all goals are obvious. When I worked on my goal of “strength in my family“, I struggled to define outcomes. What can I really measure?
Instead of a metric, I sought to identify what tangible outcomes would I consider to make my family strong. Here, it was easier to focus on specific activities and milestones to pursue along the way, like exploring new places together, developing family activities, or spending time with grandparents.
In non-profit land, you learn that you can’t always measure the impact but you start by quantifying the activity you are pursuing. Eventually, even if it requires a survey, every input that you pour into a project will contribute to an outcome.
Back to my family goal, maybe I will get to the end of the year and still feel like there is nothing to measure. But that is ok, as long as I live this goal fully along the way through the various inputs I have defined.
So if you are stuck in expressing specific KPIs – nothing is as easy as making X money or capturing 10 new clients – try expressing your goals in what they mean day-to-day. That will get you a step further inside your vision.
But tracking is so boring
A lot of people set themselves goals. A lot of businesses set themselves KPIs. And then, how often do they look at them? Having had to go through this process at the bank before, believe me I know how painful it can be to track KPIs. It’s so great to put them out on a page the first time around! But when the time comes to measure them, the conversation is very different. Often people just avoid the conversation.
Metrics need to be collected, data needs to be analysed, and by the time you are through with it you don’t want to look at the actual results anymore.
To improve this process, it is important to i) be specific in what you are defining upfront, ii) be realistic about how easily you can measure and track and iii) incorporate tracking into your day-to-day processes to ensure you don’t have to stop everything to track your goals.
Look, I recognise it, measuring is hard in business and life. There was a time when I was trying to increase my water consumption. I tried using my journal to track it, I tried water intake apps. Ultimately, as a good friend joked I “just had to open the bottle and drink water” to make it work. It is not that simple for me, some habits are easier to form than others, but indeed I started a few simple habits – like carrying a bottle of water or having a bottle of water by the bedside table. I gave up on setting up a goal tracker in my journal. It works for lots of people, but it did not work for me.
I have more important things to do
When running fast, do you really stop to look back at the obstacles and evaluate the speed on your watch? Most likely not. You just keep running. That is the way with a lot of growth businesses. Once you have set your north and how you think you will get there, you just run as fast as you can. You are executing a product, selling and most likely fundraising, all at the same time, and often within the same 24-hour period. The reality is, that you don’t often use metrics to run your business, because you are not running your business, you are just running.
You may not have to stop and look at the map if you are doing a 10k run. But if you are on the Paris-Dakar type of adventure, pausing and assessing is likely the difference between surviving and thriving. It is the same with metrics. No matter what important things to do right now you may have, taking a moment to understand what the numbers are telling you has to have space. Otherwise, goals really have no meaning. They are just a number on a page.
Importantly, the last thing you want is to look at the metrics for the first time when you are communicating them to your investors or shareholders. That may be a bit too late to really dig deep and understand them, ensuring you take action to change course as needed.
The power of metrics that are intentional and well-connected between the vision and the day-to-day is that they mean something. They will inform your decisions, help prioritize, and be a real traffic-light system to tell you when things go wrong.
They will allow you to look at your business, rather than drown on it.