KISS

KISS. We’ve all heard it – keep it simple, stupid. Easily said, not so easily done. A team in a recent practice got far more simple on their expectations for the leaders of their teams. In the past they’d tried to come to a consensus on what metrics to hold up for the standard. Not surprisingly, everyone had favorites, it turned into 30 different things we should track, and ended up with tracking nothing, with no clear standards. Problem.

What are the few metrics that really drive success, as we define it? Based on their vision, they decided on the most important categories, and then the couple of metrics in each that best measured success in those categories. Good, they’re getting clearer. This may not be perfect data, but its good data and directionally aligned with where they’re headed (the big dream).

Ruthlessly cull out the noise, find the signal, or at least as close as you can to the signal and implement your learning. Go DO, then learn, apply, adjust as needed.