“30-under-30” — what does it really mean?

30 under 30 sounds pretty damn cool. But what does it really mean? On the surface it screams status, success and greatness. But what is the secret sauce that propels people to the “Top 30” of their respective fields? I became curious what defines “30-under-30” and discovered it is a popularized subjective rating of success…

• “After many months of research, reporting and interviews, we bring short lists to our A-list and expert judges. Each category’s judging panel weighs in on who they think deserves the honor.”

Objective Metrics Matter…

Imagine the NBA basketball league decided to stop keeping score during games and instead determined the winner by just asking some of the crowd who they thought won. Sounds ridiculous right? Sporting success is no different then business or personal performance — growth, success, and accomplishment is graded not by popular opinions but quantifiable and objective markers.

If we are looking to carve out performance and appraise individual success — should we judge based on a select few popular “expert” opinions? Or should we rely on sound measurable markers of success?

The Details Matter!

Below is a simple example of how changing the metric criteria significantly alters the top 5 companies.