How to read the results or why not to trust only the numbers

Numbers are а great instrument to express what have been already done. They help us understand the results and trends. I can not imagine we can close the financial year with a “Very well done!” or to announce that last year we sold “so many cars”. That`s why people for centuries have been using the numbers to be more precise showing the results. Don`t get me wrong – I like the numbers (otherwise I`m not sure how I will read my paychecks). But what I don`t like is when I see more and more people checking only the numbers and nothing else. Let me share with you my thoughts about the topic:

I truly believe that at the end of the day the results are presented best by numbers but not only. The result can`t be measured only by numbers. An example that I gave to some colleagues will bring some more clarity what is my point: long time ago people used ships to transfer goods around the world (I know we use ships even now but wait until the end). When the ship arrived on time, the goods were in the ports` stores and money for the service were paid, people considered this as a successful business trip. The results were great for centuries (the numbers). But who asked the slaves that have been treated like animals if they have the same feeling about the results or the families of the people involved in these expeditions? Now I have your attention, right? These were the practices and the habits back in the days. I`m happy we have developed and nowadays we have better structured mindset about the trading, the business and what is standing behind the numbers.

As I have pointed in the beginning, I see people/companies focused on the results only, forgetting they must read not just the final numbers. Achieved KPIs/targets measures ONLY part of the performance of the company. Now you will say maybe “They achieved their sales target, so the result is great. Why must we go deeper?”. And usually, the answer can be provided by the HRs “Because people are leaving the company and don`t care about the results.” And it`s true. Have you ever lost your top performer, or do you have friend that changed the company even the great results provided? All of us have such examples in place. Every leader must go deeper every time they check the monthly statistic, or the sales results, or the price of the shares. Otherwise, we will collect more and more examples from the above.

Measure the feelings/ask for a feedback

There are tools and techniques that can help leaders go deeper and not trust only the numbers. eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) is a great way organization to measure the employees’ feelings. A set of questions can be built but not only the most important “Would you recommend this company to a friend?”. I have seen negative results linked to this question (below 0) but at the same time the employees were still working and the company presented great results. Or with other words: “I don`t like the company and I will not promote it to any of my friends, but at the same time I`m paid well so let me do this until I find another better offer.” I doubt this is what the leader are trying to achieve but sometimes they do it not on purpose but when they are too focused on the results only (the numbers). The feeling of the people is that the company doesn`t care about them and everyone knows how it ends when we start thinking in a negative way about a company. People must be asked and answers – reviewed carefully. Follow up actions must be discussed and completed (some of them may take 1 year, some of them can be achieved in one Q only). Great numbers combined with bad employee mood is showing me the ancient ship example in my head. We must prevent this.

Discuss the plans/results

Once I spoke with a colleague that have just started working in my team: “Have you participated on meetings where the company results/goals have been presented and discussed? Where the future plans have been shared, so you to have a clear picture about the company mission and vision?”. The answer was: “This is a topic tabu in [the other company]. No one is brave enough to ask but if you are – no one will give you an answer because it has been tried in the past.” The previous company treated the employees as slaves – no questions, just work and you will be paid. The company is big enough to survive without 1 employee, even without more and for sure another will be hired. But this is the difference between “I care” and “Just work”. “Just work” is focused on the numbers only. And I`m still working with that colleague.

I`m a great fan of the results discussions. Of course, I don`t mean every daily KPI to be a topic before we go home. Every leader can find the best way to make a general retro of what have been done/achieved by the team. Or even better – to explain in details what are the plans and how they plan to monitor the performance. When the leader is following this idea every team member will manage their daily tasks with the clear vision what is expected to be the result or even more – why they must push more these days. Every team member must be engaged otherwise they will be just “member” (without “team”). Setting correct expectations may bring back better results. ?

At the end, the basic formula is in front of us:

Discuss the plans + Check the results/number + measure the feelings/take actions

Of course, tones of books have been written for every of these 3 parts of the formula and even every part can be split by thousands of sub-topics. There is no unified formula how to achieve the success. I will really enjoy if you share your thoughts or your formula (for sure I will test it ??). ??????????