Tis the season for reflection on the year behind and hoping and dreaming for the year ahead. 💭

When you’re planning ahead, working out what to focus on, zero in on what really matters to you – and in what proportions.

Obviously, you need 💰 sales, or your business will fold.

What else is important?

🤔 Are you trying to solve a problem?

👥 Help people?

🤝 Connect others?

⚙ Provide employment?

💡 Develop better solutions in your industry?

😁 Improve wellbeing in your community?

Once you think through these big picture ideas, you can think about good ways to measure progress.

💡 If you’re trying to develop better solutions, perhaps keep count of new patents obtained.

⚙ If you’re trying to provide employment, keep count of the number of jobs you’ve created.

🤝 If you’re trying to connect others, keep count of the number of introductions and signposting you’ve helped with.

Even with the existentially important revenue, are you more concerned at present with:

💰 Increasing sales?

📈 Increasing profit margins?

You’ll need both at various times in your business. They require two very different strategies, so it’s vital to be clear which you need at any given time.

The world abounds with examples of the wrong thing being measured.

❌ The managing director of Jaguar said, “We’ve certainly gathered an awful lot of attention over the last few weeks.” Seth Godin observes that “Clicks are not purchase intent. Awareness is not desire.”

It’s easy to get caught up in the wrong metrics when you don’t really know what change you want to see.

So, use this reflective time to step back and think about the big picture – in words – before diving down into the nitty gritty of the numbers.

And if you need a hand translating between the two, that’s what I’m here for.

Using your numbers to help make your business better

Do you wish you understood how to use your data to make decisions more confidently?

That's what I'm here to help with.