Finding the right KPIs to track is wisdom vs noise. Having an accessible dashboard (even before getting to exposure) is actually a challenge because as you probably know, data is rarely clean out of box. it takes someone to massage it into accurate/readable form for the broader team. Great read — agree with it all but I believe distilling it down to execution vs ideal remains a challenge
I will try to cover that a bit in my next article. There’s a whole hodge podge of things you can refer to but I will try and consolidate it into a cohesive view.
This is on point! "The gap between having metrics and using them is psychological" says it all for me. I personally see metrics as a form of awareness that sits between a system and its drivers and further shapes itself thanks to its natural feedback loop. The first sign is that a metric representing wisdom could be noise, depending on the surrounding context or who is interpreting it, as it is inherently neutral unless distilled down, just like Jenni mentioned. It's so interesting that I'm reading this now, as I recently spent some time putting some metrics together, and it was really eye-opening! Aligning with your writing, we should not treat them as mere data used to express uncertainty through digital interfaces. They're a workflow, a culture ,a story — they're many things really. And in a world where we can now interface with uncertainty through AI, it changes everything.
Recently read a post that pointed out the fact that "Not all metrics are KPIs but all KPIs are metrics". Like you highlighted, if we can have metrics speak in human terms (defining what success looks like), team members would be more proactive than reactive because they can see and feel their impact - which could be a great motivator.
Now that I have some time, let me share some experience of how we worked on this model, albeit without putting a tag to it. We did this still leveraging dashboards, except that our business model was designed in such a way that you, as a growth person for instance, would have no choice than to check and keep track of important KPIs. Your customer journey depends on it. Your performance bonus depends on that too. lol!.
And this is a typical traditional business environment btw. We deployed a variant of SAP that allows business teams have access to relevant KPIs staring at you as you sign into the platform with one click (one click sign-in solves accessibility concerns, I guess?🤔). You can see status of your sales leads; you can see the impact of your sales decisions on margins. This kinda allows you to course-correct if the quest for quick sales is drowning your team sales margin. And your bonus partly depends on that metric.
The truth is, businesses need committed people to get things done. Great people, which sadly are in short supply in this clime, make great systems work.
Love the idea of metrics finding you instead of digging through dashboards. When data meets people at the right moment, small tweaks can drive big change. Excited to see how you balance helpful nudges vs. making people feel watched in the next article.
Finding the right KPIs to track is wisdom vs noise. Having an accessible dashboard (even before getting to exposure) is actually a challenge because as you probably know, data is rarely clean out of box. it takes someone to massage it into accurate/readable form for the broader team. Great read — agree with it all but I believe distilling it down to execution vs ideal remains a challenge
that last part - execution vs ideal - is the hard part....metrics design is an important skill....
Adia, this was insightful! Do you have some relevant material on metric design especially for product teams that you can point me to ?
I will try to cover that a bit in my next article. There’s a whole hodge podge of things you can refer to but I will try and consolidate it into a cohesive view.
This is on point! "The gap between having metrics and using them is psychological" says it all for me. I personally see metrics as a form of awareness that sits between a system and its drivers and further shapes itself thanks to its natural feedback loop. The first sign is that a metric representing wisdom could be noise, depending on the surrounding context or who is interpreting it, as it is inherently neutral unless distilled down, just like Jenni mentioned. It's so interesting that I'm reading this now, as I recently spent some time putting some metrics together, and it was really eye-opening! Aligning with your writing, we should not treat them as mere data used to express uncertainty through digital interfaces. They're a workflow, a culture ,a story — they're many things really. And in a world where we can now interface with uncertainty through AI, it changes everything.
Enjoyed reading this.
Recently read a post that pointed out the fact that "Not all metrics are KPIs but all KPIs are metrics". Like you highlighted, if we can have metrics speak in human terms (defining what success looks like), team members would be more proactive than reactive because they can see and feel their impact - which could be a great motivator.
Thank you ma 🙃
🫡
Now that I have some time, let me share some experience of how we worked on this model, albeit without putting a tag to it. We did this still leveraging dashboards, except that our business model was designed in such a way that you, as a growth person for instance, would have no choice than to check and keep track of important KPIs. Your customer journey depends on it. Your performance bonus depends on that too. lol!.
And this is a typical traditional business environment btw. We deployed a variant of SAP that allows business teams have access to relevant KPIs staring at you as you sign into the platform with one click (one click sign-in solves accessibility concerns, I guess?🤔). You can see status of your sales leads; you can see the impact of your sales decisions on margins. This kinda allows you to course-correct if the quest for quick sales is drowning your team sales margin. And your bonus partly depends on that metric.
The truth is, businesses need committed people to get things done. Great people, which sadly are in short supply in this clime, make great systems work.
Well done.
Adia 👏👏
This one had me giving a real life standing ovation because it literally spoke my mind about how I feel about the use of data.
Vanity Metrics are tempting but do nothing for your business.
Patiently waiting for the next drop!🚀🚀🚀
Thank you Adia, the Operator🥳
Ha ha. Thanks so much. After the next one you can apply it!
Love the idea of metrics finding you instead of digging through dashboards. When data meets people at the right moment, small tweaks can drive big change. Excited to see how you balance helpful nudges vs. making people feel watched in the next article.