“If you don’t measure what you’re doing, you won’t be able to get your great idea to give you the results you desire.” John Maxwell
I had the wonderful privilege of facilitating our annual planning meeting for Quality Craftsmen Remodeling Company based out of Atlanta. It is so awesome and inspiring to spend time with a leadership team that is focused on growing an amazing organizations. As we unpacked results from 2022 we realized that we did not have a lot of our metrics we needed for the meeting. As with most entrepreneurial led companies, we have not put in place the processes we need to consistently capture the results, or lack of results, we are having on a weekly or monthly basis and consistently reviewing those metrics.
As John Maxwell reminds us, we will not get the results we desire if we are mot measuring what we are doing. I’m not sure if you have realized that conversation can not be held accountable. If we talk a lot about how things are going, those conversations do not move the needle. Conversation always feels better than the actual facts. You have probably heard me say, “It is not real, if it is not written!” I find that many organizations talk a lot. They do have meetings but they just talk. If that is the way your organization and your meetings are currently be managed, it is time to change.
Start measuring and documenting the 7 to 15 most important metrics that tell you how the organization and your team is doing. Sales, lead conversion rate, contract conversion rate, profit margin, profit %, cycle time, customer satisfaction, marketing leads, budget vs. actuals, P&L, cash flow. ROI, etc. To change behavior and maximize the impact and results we must measure and we must review what we measure. There are no stories in the black and white numbers of results or lack of results.
If you find yourself talking about results way more than reviewing documented metric results, 2023 is your year to maximize your impact, improve accountability, urgency and profitability. Start tracking, reviewing and asking questions and watch the improvement week over week and month over month.