The old adage of “you get what you measure” is an old adage for a reason.  It’s generally true.

There was the sales manager who implored his team members to focus on finding new customers. The compensation plans were based on a single revenue number, and naturally the sales reps focused on the path of least resistance by selling mostly to pre-existing customers.

Another sales manager measured activity to the smallest level of detail and paid her sales reps in part according to activities, not results. The theory was that if people are working hard day in and day out on the “right” activities, the sales will follow. This one actually worked OK until the market shifted and the rigid activity and compensation structure failed to change with the new dynamics in the market. The definition of “right” had changed.

And then there’s the CEO who wonders why his sales and marketing executives don’t seem to work with each other. Of course, they have no shared measures or accountabilities, in spite of the true need for collaboration in certain areas.

LIfe and Death Definitions and Measurements:

In a much more serious perspective and true life and death view on success and measurement, the new U.S. leader in the Afghan conflict, General Stanley McChrystal recently redefined the goals for security and success for the increasing number of troops in the region: “The point of security,” he says, “is to enable governance … My metric is not the enemy killed, not ground taken: it’s how much governance we’ve got.”

Without context and without understanding the actions being taken to support the new measurement, McChrystal’s words might ring hollow. However, the change in emphasis from defeating the enemy the old-fashioned way takes into account the reality that the people we’ve been trying to help have flocked to the other side as our traditional tactics have killed both enemy combatants and innocent civilians. The cultural reality is that regardless of prior political leanings, the son of a peaceful civilian killed by a U.S. airstrike quickly becomes the enemy combatant out to avenge his father’s death. And so on.

In support of the new definition of success, operations are being executed to avoid civilian casualties, with emphasis on providing the security needed for governance to take root and spread. Whether the strategy will work or not remains to be seen, but the shift in the measure of success is driving a profound shift in activities and approaches.

The Bottom Line for Now:

Measurement is a powerful leadership tool for driving behavior and change. Success should be clearly defined and the measures employed must reinforce the behaviors needed to drive success.

In the sales example above where the manager was concerned about achieving a healthier proportion of new sales from new customers, his definition of success was right, but his measurement system told the reps that it didn’t really matter where the sales numbers came from as long as they showed up. The simple addition of a “new sales from new customers” target in the total quota formula helped the team orient to new customer capture—a strategy that ultimately strengthened the firm’s market position versus competitors and enlarged the pool of total customers to cultivate over time.

If your results aren’t matching up to your definition of success, take a look at both your definition and your measurements. It may be time for one or both to change.