How to Measure Your Success

Being able to measure success is key to getting things done. Humans love to keep score. Walk into any manufacturing facility in the world and one of the first things you will see is some kind of scoreboard. The scoreboard will show things like: “last lost time injury,” or “daily production numbers from the previous shift.”

Often though leaders will stand in front of their team and tell them that they are going on a journey. It will be hard. It will be rewarding though.

What they forget to say is…

1. The Purpose. Everyone wants to know why they need to do something. In the absence of a clear purpose, people will naturally assume that the purpose is to make the company a shit-load of money. Yes, that may be true, however, there needs to be a clear purpose in it for the team too.
2. The ‘Big Picture’. What does good look like for success? What mountain are we trying to climb?
3. The Plan. What is the simple 3-step plan for how we are going to get there?
4. Each Individual Role. Every team member wants to know how they contribute to the success of the plan.
5. Leading Vs Lagging Measures. Every plan has an end goal. The problem is that the end goal may seem impossible to accomplish. Too big. Argh! Leading measures are the baby-step things that need to be done in order to achieve the lagging measure or end goal. In order to climb Mount Everest, climbing teams focus on getting to the next camp (Leading Measure) versus the Lagging Goal of getting to the top of the mountain.

Oh… and don’t forget the scoreboard. If people don’t know what the score is, they will lose interest. Make it visible. Update it often. Talk about the score whenever you can.

Keep it simple and uncomplicated. Winning is all you have to lose.

Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, #1 Best Selling Author, and International Keynote Speaker. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

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