Measuring success

I was particularly affected by the following two points in Bob Parsons’ 16 rules for living:

9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

Tony Manning also wrote in MarketingWeb:

But how should you measure success? What number – or ratio – should you use as the target for your team? Is one better than another? Should you worry about return on investment (ROI)… return on equity (ROE)… return on assets (ROA)… ?

Simple answer: it really doesn’t matter. Pick one. Pick any one. All you need is a target to challenge your team, and against which you can track performance over time.

Focus on it like a laser. And explain to your people that no matter which overall number you choose, there are just four things they can do to change your fortunes:

1. Sell more (units of whatever you sell);
2. Increase prices;
3. Speed up your stock turnover;
4. Cut costs.

Now, set specific goals for each of these. Suddenly, what needs to be done becomes very clear. With the numbers demystified, everyone can get down to work. And you can be sure they’re busy with the right things.

I used to measure everything that was im For a few months last year I measuredthe things that were inportant to me. I kept a budget, a set a target bodyweight goals, I set a schedule for myself, and I set measurable targets with gym.

I made INCREDIBLE progress in the areas of finance, health and fitness and time management.

The time has now arrived to get back to that!