Keep the Score, Know the Score, and the Score Will Improve
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Keep the score, know the score, and the score will improve!
This is what my first mentor, Ray Johnson, used to say to me all the time. It was about this time back in the mid-90's that I was put through a full week of training on "metrics." Can you imagine, a full week with a consultant and a dozen other mid-level managers from around the country stuck in a hotel conference room doing simulations to learn management by numbers? (Fortunately for me, Denver was the host city and I could at least go home at night.)
Now we use terms like "scorecard" and "dashboard." No matter what you call it, if you are in business to make money, you need to have one.
Ask yourself this question. If you went on a year long vacation from your business and planned to return early only if you had to, would you be comfortable relying on the subjective verbal reports of those left behind? Or would you prefer to see a weekly report of five to fifteen measurements from which you could objectively determine whether or not things were running well?
Of course we prefer the hard data!
So... why do so many businesses operate without it? You tell me. What "scorecard" experiences (or lack thereof) have you had? Do they make a difference?
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