You Manage What You Measure
Mark Suster is a guy I’ve followed over the years, someone who writes thoughtfully and eloquently about entrepreneurship and venture capital. Back when I was practicing law at a boutique law firm for start-ups, his keen focus on things like cap tables and financial analysis was highly useful. My line of work has changed, but Suster’s work has only increased in relevance. (Keep reading for real client stories!)
I was recently reminded of Suster’s series of blog posts from last year addressing how he applied his data analysis lens to personal quests, specifically his weight loss regimen. Long story short: he was chronically overweight, a self-proclaimed victim of indulging himself with real gourmand-level wining and dining. His experience was a common tale: he tried to achieve his goal, had some success, hit a wall, told himself he couldn’t break through it, quit, and defeated himself and the limited success he had already achieved by going back to previous habits. In his words, he went back to “flying blind” – that in-between stage we sometimes fall into, where he knew exactly what his goal was and yet he did very little about it except worry.
Luckily for all of us, this isn’t a post about weight loss. But the way Suster finally achieved success is both enormously valuable and immediately applicable to a myriad of plights. His method is clear, concrete, and empowering (in a stick it to yourself kind of way): You manage what you measure.
What did that mean for him? Increasing his awareness every step of the way. More rigorous check-ins, tallying calories, weighing himself more often. Generating data, in other words, was the way he could see the whole map – the road behind as well as ahead of him. He took charge by taking stock, upping the measurable information, and using the data to determine his next move — what was working and what wasn’t.
Many people come to me feeling stuck, feeling like they have tried a lot of different approaches to getting themselves unstuck. An early discussion becomes: tell me about what you have tried. Frequently, the answer is worry, wonder, agonize and worry some more. (And believe me, there’s no shame in that…I’m no stranger to wasting minutes on worry myself.)
But what that discussion often offers is the tremendous opportunity to make the change you didn’t think was possible. The parting clouds reveal those rays of sunlight — the stuff you haven’t yet tried, the data you haven’t yet collected. Because we manage what we measure.
We all move through phases of our lives when we realize we’ve fallen into a rut and it’s time to dig out. When that time comes for you, zero in on the change you actually want to make and then start collecting the data that will light the way.
The client who wants to spend less hours working and more hours with family? He now tracks how many hours he actually spends on each dimension, and makes adjustments each week as he aims to find his most ideal balance.
The client who wants to understand how successful she is at delegating tasks? She tracks delivery timelines and measures how closely the product is to a client-ready deliverable.
The client who wants to figure out how to structure her day to maximize efficiency? She tracked data on your output over the course of a few weeks to zero in on what timeframe worked best for her. Now, she blocks time each morning for focused work rather than letting her calendar get overrun with meetings.
The client who tells herself she has been unsuccessful at a job search, but realizes she’s only applied to two jobs? She started tracking her searching, her networking, and her application submissions. Within weeks: new job.
We manage what we measure.
So if something is eating away at you, ask yourself: what have I really done so far? Consider what data would be most useful to you, and start measuring.
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