How are you measuring Success? Are you using the right Metrics?
Let’s talk about metrics. They’re crucial for measuring success. There are two main types: input metrics and output metrics. Understanding both helps you see the full picture.
Input metrics track the effort you put in. Think about a fitness goal. How many workouts do you do? That’s an input metric. How many hours do you spend at the gym? Another input metric. What about the calories you eat? You guessed it — input metric. These measure your actions.
Output metrics show your results. In fitness, this could be pounds lost. Or inches off your waist. Maybe it’s how much stronger you’ve gotten. These tell you if your efforts are working.
Why do we need both? Input metrics focus on what you control. You decide how often to exercise. You choose what to eat. Tracking these keeps you accountable. Output metrics reveal if your work pays off. They signal when to change your approach.
Let’s switch gears to business. Input metrics might count sales calls made. Or marketing emails sent. They could measure your ad spending. These show your business activities.
Business output metrics include sales revenue. They track customer happiness. They measure your slice of the market pie. These reveal your business success.
Using both types gives you the whole story. You see which actions lead to results. You learn what works and what doesn’t. This helps you make smarter choices.
Remember, input metrics track your actions. Output metrics track your results. Use both to reach your goals.
Now, let’s switch to our Professional world of metrics. Have you heard of OKRs? It stands for Objectives and Key Results. Many companies use them, so likely you know them very well. Or do you? Using them well is tricky.
OKRs need three parts: an input metric, an output metric, and a project.
Objectives should be clear and inspiring. Anyone should understand them at a glance. But objectives need more than just intent. “Increase revenue” isn’t enough. How will you measure success? What’s your target? Add an output result. For example, “Increase revenue by 20%.” Then only it is complete. Now you have an Objective with Key Results.
However, now our challenge is we can’t directly control these results. You can’t force people to buy more. So what can you do? If you want to reduce your talent attrition rate from 15% to 10%, you cannot just lock up people to meet that result.
Let’s use a simple example: good air quality in your home. Your objective might be to “Improve indoor air quality index from 80 to 50.” That’s clear and measurable. But you can’t magically change the air. You control input metrics. Change your AC filter regularly. Clean air ducts yearly. Use cooking vents. Add indoor plants. These are actions you can take.
Now let’s go back to business. If your goal is to increase revenue by 20%, you need actionable initiatives with measurable input metrics. Reduce checkout steps by 30%. Speed up search by 50%. Increase direct marketing in a specific channel by 40%.
Usually for a business revenue goal, the next best key results are more customers, more sale transactions, higher dollar size of the transactions, higher frequency of sales, etc. However, you can see these are again objectives with results that you do not control either. Now, you start to build a hierarchy from your top objective and result, breaking it down to the next set of objectives and results, and so on. At the end you must get to an objective where you now have a list of input-level initiatives — these must be directly actionable and measurable. Each layer in the chain is still an input level metric for the output result of the step above the layer. Some of these are objectives with results that are output. However, at the bottom of the chain, there must be initiatives that you directly control and can measure.
This concept seems simple. Yet many teams struggle. Some focus only on output results. Others only on initiatives for input actions. Both approaches miss the mark.
A good leader asks, “So what?” So what if you wrote more LinkedIn articles? How did that affect your goals? Connect input actions to output results. More articles should lead to more subscribers or likes.
When creating team goals, start with a “so what” objective and output result. Then break it down. You may need to create a chain of objectives. At the final level, they must be directly actionable with measurable initiatives with metrics. They should all connect.
This approach brings many benefits. You can focus on reviews at any level and drill down when needed. You can see if input metrics impact output results. If not, you can adjust. You’ll spot which inputs matter most. You can focus on those and drop the rest. Every team member can see how their work affects company results.
Life isn’t perfect. There will be gaps with this approach. But understanding these concepts is a win. Connecting even some goals end-to-end is a win. Showing your team how their actions impact results for even a partial set of actions is a win. Take the win.
So, are you ready to try? Pick a goal. Define your metrics. Start tracking. You might be surprised at what you learn. And remember, every step forward is progress. Keep going!
Until next time, Cheers,
Amit
