Years ago I had a boss who was fond of saying “numbers don’t lie.”
Numbers are important. They define targets and goals, highlight areas for attention, create accountability, and show profitability. Our workplace progress and value often end up being measured by them.
“I don’t care how you do it, just increase your sales this month by 25% or else.”
“My klout score is 72.”
“We’ll do whatever it takes since we’ve committed to Wall Street to deliver double-digit revenue growth this year.”
“Don’t you just love my $2200 new purse?”
“To save costs, all budgets will be reduced 10% across-the-board.”
“Your customer calls average out to seven minutes long. The performance target is four minutes. Do what you need to do to get back in compliance.”
That former boss was right, of course, but only partially so. (Sorry, Chris. I wasn’t brave or confident enough way back then to challenge you.)
I believe we go astray when we focus only on the numbers. They’re an output, a measurement, and an indicator, but that’s only part of the equation, which sometimes mean they do lie. Part of the story doesn’t get told.
Some people disagree with that, and that’s OK.
I believe looking at the numbers is the easy part, the soft skill. Complexity comes into play when we look beyond the numbers to discern meaning, identify hidden drivers, establish context, and understand unintended consequences.
Leaders have to figure out if they’re looking at the right metrics for the right reason. The folks at CEB call this being an informed skeptic.
One of hard parts of being a character-based leader is being self-aware enough to step back from the number frenzy (the cliff where some of our colleagues are standing and shouting how wrong we are) and remember to evaluate the whole picture.
Is life about the numbers or not?
Are you seeking numbers or meaning, or both?
The best solutions is getting to the both/and position: of seeking not just numbers but numbers and meaning, seeing numbers not as the be-all-and-end-all but rather as clues.
Examples of what I mean:
- Is our company’s competitive-you’re-only-as-good-as-your-last-set-of-numbers culture contributing to unethical behavior?
- Could our low customer satisfaction rate be linked to our call length requirements?
- Might there be problems with the local small business economy that’s negatively impacting our sales?
Effective leadership is about both numbers and meaning. Sometimes we have to dig past accepted beliefs, status definitions, and stereotypes to find the meaning.
- Does it really matter if you have a high klout score?
- It’s great to be able to afford a $2200 purse, and do you support some local charities, too?
- Is a 10% across-the-board budget cut really the right answer, or would a thorough and thoughtful analysis of all expenses yield a more effective outcome?
Albert Einstein put it best,
“Not everything that counts can be counted. And not everything that can be counted counts.”
What say you?
Image credit before quote: Pixabay
