Comments on: Want Different Results? Change Your Definition of Success and Don’t Forget to Align the Measurements http://artpetty.com/2009/07/23/want-different-results-change-your-definition-of-success-and-dont-forget-to-align-the-measurements/ Art Petty on Leadership, Management and Professional Development Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:08:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Art Petty http://artpetty.com/2009/07/23/want-different-results-change-your-definition-of-success-and-dont-forget-to-align-the-measurements/comment-page-1/#comment-6776 Art Petty Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:08:56 +0000 http://artpetty.com/?p=2188#comment-6776 Stephen, I don't disagree with you. I suspect the sound-byte on this that he provided in the interview was intended to communicate the policy shift...and the over-arching theme. Nonetheless, I find the shift profound and a great starting point for redefining success. Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts! -Art Stephen, I don’t disagree with you. I suspect the sound-byte on this that he provided in the interview was intended to communicate the policy shift…and the over-arching theme. Nonetheless, I find the shift profound and a great starting point for redefining success. Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts! -Art

]]> By: Steven M. Smith http://artpetty.com/2009/07/23/want-different-results-change-your-definition-of-success-and-dont-forget-to-align-the-measurements/comment-page-1/#comment-6774 Steven M. Smith Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:43:12 +0000 http://artpetty.com/?p=2188#comment-6774 Art, Despite liking the change in strategy, I'm puzzled by General Stanley McChrystal's statement -- "My metric is not the enemy killed, not ground taken: it’s how much governance we’ve got." My puzzle has to do with ambiguity, which is at the core of many measurement problems. The first two of General McChrystal's measurements contain little ambiguity. They are clear and certain. His last measurement, which is the most important and powerful, is ambiguous. It's unclear and uncertain. So is "how much governance we’ve got" a measurement? Sure, it is. But it's a conceptual rather than an actual measurement. I imagine there are some people on General McChrystal's staff who are racking their brains trying to create operational measures to support it. What's my point? Organizational energy moves to operational measures. That's what drives behavior. But the real test of success is through testing whether conceptual measurement were realized. And that measurement is rarely ever neat and clean. Art, Despite liking the change in strategy, I’m puzzled by General Stanley McChrystal’s statement — “My metric is not the enemy killed, not ground taken: it’s how much governance we’ve got.”

My puzzle has to do with ambiguity, which is at the core of many measurement problems. The first two of General McChrystal’s measurements contain little ambiguity. They are clear and certain. His last measurement, which is the most important and powerful, is ambiguous. It’s unclear and uncertain.

So is “how much governance we’ve got” a measurement? Sure, it is. But it’s a conceptual rather than an actual measurement. I imagine there are some people on General McChrystal’s staff who are racking their brains trying to create operational measures to support it.

What’s my point? Organizational energy moves to operational measures. That’s what drives behavior. But the real test of success is through testing whether conceptual measurement were realized. And that measurement is rarely ever neat and clean.

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