The Soft White Underbelly of Metrics

I believe in metrics. Metrics and management go together.  You really can’t manage without them. But damn, don’t you hate them sometimes?

By metrics I mean measurement: sales dollars, costs per unit of sales, expenses, profits, cash … calls, leads, conversions, page views, presentations, trips, clicks, and all of that. You establish specific metrics, then track results, and manage the difference between plan and actual. For me, that’s critical to business planning, which is critical to business management.

But still, damn! Metrics are a hard master. Take a day off, and metrics go down. I went through December holidays worried that if I didn’t keep up my twitter activity, then my Klout score would go down. Or if I let a day go without a blog post, then my blog grade goes down. There’s no letting up.

And it’s all so visible, too. Every post on this blog has that tweet button on the top right, so when a post is boring, you can tell. And I put my Klout score and blog grade right there on the sidebar, too, where not only I see them, but you too … very stressful. (ok, you’re right, I could take them off, but then what would you think?)

Thank goodness I’ve got a good ego and a strong self image.

Comments

  • Charles Robinson says:

    I don’t know what Klout or Bloggrade do. I don’t care, either. Your content keeps me coming back. Whatever metrics you attach to that are for your own information. They have nothing at all to do with the value I assign.

  • Tweets that mention The Soft White Underbelly of Metrics -- Topsy.com says:

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tony Mack, bundleofstartup. bundleofstartup said: The Soft White Underbelly of Metrics: TweetI believe in metrics. Metrics and management go together.  You rea… http://digfoc.us/fmNLFu […]

Leave a Reply to Tweets that mention The Soft White Underbelly of Metrics -- Topsy.com Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *