Almost every report or process in any business measures something. We document and review our financial performance through P & L statements, balance sheets, and annual reports. We set sales goals, track customer conversion rates, keep tabs on customer satisfaction, evaluate the performance of programs and employees… and all of this is meant to keep our business on track. Yet far too often we fail to ensure that the track our business is on leads us to the place we want to end up at.
To create successful change you have to do much more than measure the same things every other business measures. You first have to create a yardstick that measures how close you are to achieving the dreams you have for your business and report your findings in those terms.
Once you have a clear dream or vision for your business, and have begun the continuous process of communicating the vision to each and every stakeholder you are ready to create scorecards for your business that track the activities that get you closer to achieving that dream.
The key to creating a scorecard that measures how close you are to achieving your goal comes from focusing on the “what” before you begin to even think about the “how.” For example, when you know how much income you want from your business five years from now, you can begin to establish financial goals that will get you there. With that accomplished you can now create a report that instantly informs you how close you are to your overall goal and can track how far you have come in your journey.
Financial goals, however important, are only one facet of your business. The real power in taking this approach to measurement is that it allows you to create outcome metrics for every aspect of your business.
Consider your dream business. Now ask some deeper questions about this business.
• What is it like to work for your company?
• What is it like to do business with your company?
• What is your role in the business? How do you spend your day?
• How do the employees behave?
• When your business accomplishes its mission how will everyone know?
Once you have answered these you have the yardstick you will use to measure performance in your business. Design a performance review that measures how your employee’s behavior matches up with the behavior of your dream employees. Create an internal review tool that tracks employee sentiment to ensure that you and your team are providing the type of work environment you dream of creating for others. Track customer satisfaction through surveys and follow up calls and ask them questions that uncover whether or not the experience of doing business with you aligns with your dreams.
Ok, now it is your turn. Get your brain going by answering these empowering measurement questions.