Metrics and Measurement

As someone who can absorb a lot of information and process it well. I don’t do the best job of keeping my own KPIs and seeing what needs to happen in the business and sometimes my life. As the saying goes “what gets measured, get’s managed”.

This got me thinking about what should be measured and what I should manage. First, we have our personal goals. Our personal accomplishments. This could be how much you lift, how fast you run, how long you can run, body weight, and body fat percentage. ?The goal here could be to bench press, squat, and deadlift your body weight. To shed 15 pounds and be 15% body fat.

Another goal could be to have peace of mind. Where on a daily basis you are not anxious for more than 10 minutes. You could have a goal to deepen your connection to God.

With these goals, the question is how do you measure it? This is where some of these goals get interesting. Where you want to get better, but you aren’t necessarily where the bar should be set. Just like I have the goal of becoming a better pistol shooter for Action Pistol events. Which isn’t really a target.

That got me thinking about the process. What would I do to reach any of these goals and would it get me to where I wanted to be at the highest levels? On top of that, could I do it consistently?

Let’s take the shooting example. Can you tell, I am into becoming a better shooter? With this, I know I need to get better. Better consists of being fast and accurate. So what can I do on a daily basis to become faster and more consistent? And doing this without firing live rounds?

See, in this example, like a lot of examples we have constraints. Maybe you can’t get to the gym every day due to time restrictions, so how will you execute your goals at home? What CAN you do given the restraints you have?

If I’m to get faster, I have to practice drawing and getting a sight picture quickly. Repetition of the motion, to where it’s second nature. The only way to get here is to do thousands of reps. And let’s say that I only have 10 minutes to commit to it a day. Then I’ll do 50 draws with 1 laser shot. This improves out of the holster, sight picture, and fire. Then it’s getting more accurate. So it’s 100 shots on target. Then it’s acquiring a different target. So 2 shots on 1 target, and 2 shots on another target for 100 rounds. Then getting better at reloads. 2 shots here, reload, 2 shots for another 100.

By following this process, I will become more accurate. I will become faster. Then at the competition by looking at my scores, I will see what my improvement level is. Then I can adjust after each competition to see whether the training is paying off.

In every area of life, there is a goal. Then there is a process to follow on a regular basis to reach the goal. Then there is the check-in to see whether what you are doing is actually working.

Fitness it’s the scale, your times, and the weight lifted. In business, there are other KPIs both leading and lagging indicators. Leading indicators are how many people are engaging with your content online. How many inbound calls have you received? How many people have filled out a form?

Lagging indicators are how many clients you’ve onboarded. How much revenue have you booked this month? Because these are after the point of sale. Not prior to the point of sale.

If you want to change your sales volume then you’ll have to change your leading indicators. All of your outbound marketing to then see how many calls you get. To see how many people are reaching out to you.

This is what you need to look at on a regular basis to see where things are going for you. Then have a simple chart and growth map you can look at to understand the trajectory of your business or personal growth.

Doing this for any skill, anything you want to improve is possible.

To go quickly back to the faith example. Maybe there is no quantitative way to measure this, at least none that I can think of. What can be followed is a process. Do you pray daily? Do you clear your mind for 10 minutes a day and connect with God? If you do that for a sufficiently long period of time, I’m talking months, and you are intentional about it, there is no way you can’t get closer and feel more peace of mind by taking that action.

Everything is a thought first, followed by a plan and putting it into action.