Vanity Metrics: Do We Value What We Measure, or Do Measure What We ...

Those of you who work in agencies and large organisations know this. You are asked to keep score on stuff that doesn’t matter to you or your clients.

We call this KPIs (key performance indices).

 

Your performance appraisal gets measured by stuff like default rates, how many new cases you see, room utilisation, how many projects you take on, ON TOP of your clinical workload.

The fact is, when we place so much weight on stuff other than on client’s experience of value, we lose sight of what’s important. When this happens, you are inevitably asked to value what we measure, and not measure what we value.

The difference is profound. One burns you out, the other lights you up.

It’s actually easier to measure the stuff you, or your boss, or your boss’s boss, asked you to keep track of. Because it doesn’t require thought leadership.

It simply requires compliance.

Take the time to figure out, what is the ONE THING we value the most in our clinical service, requires greater clarity and perception.
“Don’t think of the market, think as the market,” says copywriter Michael Fishman.

It’s really easy to get caught up in Vanity Metrics.[1] Measuring and analysing stuff that can make you look good, but doesn’t really matter. We do it because we are told to do so, or it’s the easy thing to measure.“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect,” says Mark Twain.

Take pause. Reflect. Undo.

In the sage words of management guru Peter Drucker “What gets measured, gets managed.”

People behave differently when we are keeping score. There is a cost in measuring the wrong things; it flattens morale and triggers undesirable behavior.

You can give voice to those who have less voice in the decision making. Often, this refers to our clients. Measure what matters to them, and the rest will fall into place.

There can’t be priorities. Only a priority.

 

“Our highest priority is to protect our ability to prioritise.”

~ Greg Mckeown [2]

Footnotes:
[1] Ryan Holiday and others in this era of “growth hacker marketing” warns about losing sight of what really matters when we settle tracking the number of clicks, likes, and shares.

[2] Essentialism by Greg Mckeown is a great read.