Be Careful What You Measure
Mike Simmons started the year attempting a 10k steps a day objective. Four to five days into the test he decided it would only be a 28-day experiment. This week we will discuss how this test applies in business and in life. We discuss the importance of choosing the right things to measure, choosing the right goals, and choosing the right tools to capture the data. We also talk about goal setting, and include a request at the end of the show notes.
Questions Addressed
- Why did you do it?
- What did you learn?
- Jody is well over 700 days, over 8M steps - what do you think about someone who has accomplished that - or chosen that goal?
- How does this apply to business?
Key Takeaways
- 10K steps is not a lot of steps, unless you choose the wrong measurement device
- Be Careful what you measure & How you measure those things
- Imagine how many times you get in your own way
- The tool I was using was not capturing an accurate measurement
- Be careful on how you decide to measure success
- Ask questions - i.e. are there other ways to measure success?
- Don't be so rigid - that you have to measure in a certain way
- You can hack the tool to get the data you want to, but is this the right thing to do. Be careful about manipulating data.
- When you make a commitment - execute against that commitment.
- Quite often, we see what others have accomplished, and compare ourselves to them, this creates challenges including a skewed perspective.
- Dr. Jordan Peterson - Don’t measure yourself against others, measure yourself against how you improve yourself each day.
- The 28 days forced behavior change, and required making some trades on other things.
- You have to do the reps up front, do the work early.
- If you know what your desired outcome is, know you why, it becomes easier to give certain things up.
- Within our careers - if we have planned what we want, what our values are, why we are doing something - prioritization becomes easier. If we do not, we may be driven by the noise, or things we come across, and lose direction.
- Give yourself time to determine if it is the right fit, don't fall into the trap of a perpetual pivot.
- Stay the course for a period of time, but set timelines & evaluate if you are moving in the right direction.
- If you are not measuring anything today - start measuring something.
- If you are not measuring - how do you know if you are making progress?
- Be careful about what you measure
- Be careful how you measure
- Adapt, iterate, be ready to make changes as you go along
We are actively increasing our engagement on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and look forward to hearing from you. Please share your questions, comments, and recommendations with us via twitter at @catalystsale or @simmons_m
Show Links
Action Requested
Help us and others by rating and reviewing the podcast. At the end of this episode - we ask the audience a question, and look forward to your response. Please share some of the things you measure and challenges you have run into with the tools or methods you have used to measure these things.
We would love to hear from you at hello@catalystsale.com or @catalystsale on twitter
Thank you
Thank you for rating and reviewing the podcast via iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast platform. Ratings & reviews help others discover the podcast - thank you for helping us get our message out to the community.
Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn.
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In every business, in every opportunity, there is someone who can help you navigate the internal challenges and close the deal. There is a Catalyst. We integrate process (Catalyst Sale Process), technology and people, with the purpose of accelerating revenue. Our thoughtful approach minimizes false starts that are common in emerging markets and high-growth environments. We continue to evolve our practice based on customer needs and emerging technology. We care about a thinking process that enables results versus a process that tells people what to do.
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