May 31

How do you measure great work? Which metrics really matter?

Right now, I’m (obviously) in the midst of writing this book. As part of the process, I measure how many words I write in a given day, but that metric isn’t all that useful. Rather than just focusing on word count, I focus on the number of high-quality ideas I generate each day for entries and the number of entries I actually write. The former is a measurement of my “idea factory” and the latter a measurement of my creative output. Both are valuable and useful. Without measuring the number of ideas, I could quickly get to a place where my needed output outstrips the quan- tity of ideas in the pipeline. Without measuring output, I will fall woefully behind in my work and may miss my deadline. One metric is an input

metric and the other is an output metric.

Do you know both the input and output metrics for your work? How

are they measured? Measure what matters not only in terms of output but also upstream in your creative pipeline so that you always have the inputs and ideas necessary to do your work.

Make certain you are measuring both your creative inputs and your creative output.

QUESTION

What are the input and output metrics for your work?