“Measurement is to an organization as Language is to a society”

Language communicates what is most important in a society and how we as individuals fit into it. Measurement does the exact same thing.

Like language, measurement has infinite dialects and subtext. When one realizes this, the act of measurement becomes an art. Just like mastering a new language, mastering the art of measurement becomes one of (if not the most powerful) of all the assets in your toolbox.

Generally when I am working with clients and we start talking about measurement, almost inevitably one of the “right brain” types pipes up and insists "numbers don’t lie" and that the "measurement is in the bottom line profit". I fully recognize this has validity but I view the bottom line profit as the result and not the measure. If organizations wait until they get their results to determine what needs to be done next, then that organization is in big trouble.

In general I have found most often that measurement is viewed as a discipline. It is quite often something that is imposed or insisted upon by management and shareholders. I rarely have seen a company be sustainable when measurement is enforced. Enforcement of measurement is usually done out of desperation. When I refer to desperation I mean the organization is in trouble and management is looking to increase “productivity” or “output”. Most often I see this as a case of managers and shareholders/investors confusing measurement with results.

Next post we will run through an exercise that can be used to build daily measurement into every position in an organization.