Business measurements for success define our future. Agree?
“What’s measured improves” ~ Peter Drucker
I think we all can agree, that without sheer luck on our side, the above quote is essential to improvement and resulting success. So let me ask you this… Do you measure in all the critical areas of your business, and frankly in your life too, that you would love to see improvement?
If you’re like most, it’s unlikely that you do. In fact – I’ve noticed while working with small to mid-size businesses, and it doesn’t seem to matter where they’re located in the world, that the failure to measure seems to be a consistent thing.
Ok, so let’s be clear here… We all know that measurement is key, yet most of us fail to do it consistently (or at all). This leads us to ask the simple question ~ WHY?
In this video, I discuss why I believe most people fail to measure and how to solve this issue in just 2 simple steps…
I hope this video helps, but I would love to hear from you in the comments below… what’s your tip for measuring more in your business?
Video Transcription
Do you measure your progress in your business? You know like the return on your invested time into say FaceBook Marketing, or maybe a Pay Per Click Advertising Campaign? How about Conversion Rates, or Traffic Improvement to your business?
In this video, I’ll share with you the #1 reason why most entrepreneurs fail to measure key metrics in their business and I’ll give you the solution on how to avoid this drastic mistake!
So, Let’s do this…
[intro-video]
Hey George Gill here, creator of the Measurement Doctor – thanks for joining me. Ok so before I tell you the #1 reason you’re not measuring as much as you should in your business, I think it’s important to be clear on why this is critical.
First of all, it’s a known business fact that we can’t improve what we don’t measure. The famous management consultant, educator and author Peter Drucker was quoted as saying “What’s measured improves”.
And it’s really that simple. By making measurement core to everything we do in business, changes our results forever. It’s only a matter of time.
Ok so let’s assume you now believe measurement is key to your success. So why aren’t you measuring everything you do in your business.
This really hit me the other day when I was working out. You see I have a treadmill and an elliptical in my gym. I normally use the treadmill for my cardio workouts. And that’s fine, it works great.
But out of, what let’s call it boredom, I decided I wanted to switch to the elliptical for a week. So I hopped on it and completed a rigorous 25-minute workout.
Well after my workout I always log my performance – huh measurement {smile}. This way I can keep track of my progress. What’s improving, what’s falling a little {laugh}, and probably the most important point; is it acts as a motivator for me to do better.
Well to my shock, when I went to enter the data in my phone app, I realized it required a distance total. No problem on the treadmill, but on the elliptical, my only metric even close to distance was revolutions. Essentially how many times the wheel went around in a circle.
I truly think what came over me next is what happens to many entrepreneurs who fear measurement, who fear numbers and calculations. I literally felt a mild anxiety attack, frozen, and sweat from inside me started to overcome me.
I thought, oh my god, I just worked out for nothing, I can’t measure it. Now, this may sound extreme, but seriously I take measurement as critical guiding step to my future in everything I do.
So after spinning my brain in a frantic search for a solution, I calmed down and thought, no problem, certainly this revolution thing can be calculated into miles, and all will be fine. So I went searching on the web.
I actually found a great post by someone who had this exact problem and came up with a grade 10 math calculation to figure it out. I was elated – until I read the comments. People were bashing his math!
Essentially the conclusion was the unknown variable in relating distance to revolutions was the resistance or the tension of the wheel that you’re pushing. I spent like 2 hours finding this, and it was gone.
Now here’s the thing, his calculation might not be 100% accurate, but I knew based on the treadmill performance, that his math was in the ballpark with my performance.
And here is the beauty, and it hit me like a brick wall in the face. It didn’t matter!! In didn’t matter whether the calculation was right or wrong. Because it was a base, a base metric to start from and a system for calculating going forward.
That’s when it dawned on me. So many people ask me when it comes to online measurement what are the averages. For example; what’s the average bounce rate of a website, or how many visits to my website should I have, or even what’s the average conversion rate, and on and on.
These questions paralyze us as entrepreneurs and business owners and managers from measurement and therefore from improvement. And much like my elliptical, it hit me, the averages, the competition, the industry, it just doesn’t matter!
What does matter is two things once you’ve decided to measure for improvement?
- What’s my base? In other words, where am I at right now, what’s the starting point?
and - What’s the calculation? So what metric needs to move to indicate improvement
And that’s it!
Once you’ve determined those things on anything you want to measure, you’re on your way to improvement.
Ok so to avoid the #1 reason why people don’t measure. Realize averages, industries, good/bad or otherwise doesn’t matter.
You simply need to implement and act on anything you want to improve with a 2 step simple plan.
Step 1. What’s my base? In other words, where am I at right now, what’s the starting point?
and Step 2. What’s the calculation? So what metric needs to move to indicate improvement
And start measuring your success.
For me and my workout, that’s what I now had. And whether it was exactly precise or not, it gave me the components I need to measure improvement.
Leave me your comments below, and please share or like this video to spread the word, that measurement matters!
And as my free gift to you for your online improvements, head over to webanalyticsmd.com and sign up for your free web analytics training, to make measurement a part of everything you do online.
Until next time, don’t do a thing in business or in life, unless you’re measuring it!
—- End transcription.
