At the end or beginning of the last several years, I posted ways people can effectively set goals and devise plans to achieve them. New Years is a time when people think about making changes in their lives. Goal setting is an effective method to achieve those changes. Learning to measure performance and effectiveness provides objective quantification of your progress and success. Measures of process and effectiveness also provides the data necessary, so you know when and how to adjust your plan.

There are two types of measurements to understand. The first is a measure of performance. The second in a measure of effectiveness. Often leaders confuse these measures and draw incorrect conclusions about the situation.

When setting a goal, identify task steps required to accomplish the goal. Task steps are the processes required to complete your state objective. For example, you set a New Year’s Resolution to become more physically fit. One of your task steps is to run two miles, four days per week. The acts of running, four days each week for two miles are three different processes that can be measures. The first process is the act of running. You can measure your run.

The next process is the distance you run. Your goal is two miles each run. It is possible to measure the distance with a variety of tools. Measuring a two mile distance means you are completing the distance requirement.

The third process is frequency. In this case, the task is repeated four times over each week. At the end of any given week, the number of days in which you ran two miles can be measured. This measurement lets you know if you are meeting your frequency process.

Each of these processes can be measured against specific criteria established in the goal. Likewise, a leader in the work place can establish a goal or a requirement for each member of her sales team to contact four customers every hour and accumulate $2,000 worth of sales each week. There are processes for each of these tasks that can be enumerated, counted, and measured.

Often, process measurements are created as part of the M in developing a SMART Goal. Many people fail to understand the difference between measures of process and effectiveness. If we go back to the getting fitter goal, the goal is to be more fit. Running is a process of achieving that goal. There are other elements of fitness such as body mass, blood pressure, mental well-being, and similar measures. The big goal is not to be able to run eight miles per week. The goal is to become more fit. With that in mind, you have to decide how to measure the level of improved fitness desired. This measures effectiveness.

Measures of effectiveness are those things that determine if the processes are having the desired outcome. For example, you run two miles, four days a week for four weeks but find you added five pounds, your resting heart rate has increased by five beats for minute, and your blood pressure is up ten points, you are not being effective. Measures of effectiveness tell leaders if the right processes, performed correctly, are having the desired results.

If you find you are not having the desired results, you need to reevaluate your processes. Recently I heard Tim Ferriss quote Arthur Jones of Nautilus as having said, “If you cannot measure it, you do not understand it. Do you and your people really understand what you are trying to achieve? Are you or your people really doing the right things? Have those activities shown the ability to achieve the results you seek? Are those processes being done correctly as indicated in the measures of performance? Are there interactions between the processes canceling out each other? Correct your processes or your measures of performance and repeat.

Making quality measurements of processes and results improves your understanding of the situation. As you collect more data, refine your processes to determine the impact on your results. People frequently neglect to reflect on the meaning of measured results. No goal or project goes as planned. Circumstances change. Leaders need to understand the effects of those changes on goals. Measuring and monitoring both performance and effectiveness provides data enabling improved adjustments which enhance effectiveness of performance. As you tweak a process, you should be able to observe a change in effectiveness.

A police officer struggled to pass the annual fitness test. His weakest event was the run. After several months of trying different running plans, he found it did not matter how far he ran any given day. What mattered was running at least six miles each week for at least four days. He learned that if he was not able to run one day due to court appearances and shift work, it was not a big deal. He could schedule runs around that day, so he had four days. Some days he ran three miles. Other days he would only run ½ mile. By the end of the week, the total had to equal six miles. At the next fitness test, his run was his strongest event, and he easily passed the test.

A team I worked with struggled with a trust after two members clashed over how to handle a case. Morale declined over months. We do an annual survey of the team as a regular course of business. The year of this event, there were significant decreases on measures of trust and teamwork. We worked to bring in some trainers and coached the individuals over several weeks. We conducted the survey a few months after these interventions to determine if our efforts were effective. The measures of trust and sense of teamwork improved. The end of year survey showed even more improvement as we continued processes determined to be the most effective for improving trust and teamwork.

As you plan your resolutions for the New Year, keep in mind the importance of measures of success. If you do not understand how to measure your processes and effectiveness, you lack complete understanding of the goal. Learn to measure both performance and effectiveness. Collect good data so you and your people know they are doing the right things, the right way, for the right reason. Measures of performance and effectiveness allow you to see how different processes interact. As you make changes in processes, you should observe changes in effectiveness. Take time to carefully consider measures of performance and effectiveness as you prepare your goals and resolutions for the New Year.

References

Ferriss, Tim (Sep 15, 2021) The Tim Ferriss show; # 532. Overcast Podcast App

National Resource Council (2013) Making the soldier decisive on the future battlefield. The National Academies Press. Washington, DC

St. Cyr, Christopher (Dec 2014) Time to reflect, plan, & act. Saint Cyr Training & Consulting. Lancaster, NH. Retrieved from https://saintcyrtraining.com/2014/01/01/time-to-reflect-plan-act/ on 12/27/2021

(c) 2021. Christopher St. Cyr