“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”

–Helen Keller

There is a famous saying, often attributed (erroneously) to the legendary management consultant Peter Drucker, that “What gets measured gets managed.” (It also seems, after some extraordinarily cursory online research on my part, so please do not take my word for it, that the idea was employed by Drucker at various times but has been taken somewhat out of context.) While I believe that there is a place for metrics, I believe that we human beings, especially in the West, have tended to measure that which is most easily quantified rather than finding ways to measure those things that matter most to us.

Did you get that? This is really important. We can easily get obsessed with measuring the things that are easiest to measure. This is akin to the man searching for his keys underneath the lamp post, not because that’s where he dropped his keys, but because the light makes the search more convenient in that particular spot.

This type of metrics chasing is not only pointless; it’s dangerous! This is how we get ourselves into a situation where we prioritize the robust bottom line on our quarterly report (So tidy! So clean! So easy to measure! It looks so good!) over the health and vitality of the ecosystems that underpin that bottom line. (Measuring the health and vitality of ecosystems is complicated—where do we even start? There are so many interrelated factors. Ugh! I’m getting a headache! Where’s that clean and tidy figure from my quarterly report?? I want to focus on that!)

It is a clear-cut case to measure the number of dollars spent or earned on a project; the number of ‘likes’ one receives on a post; the number of grant dollars earned; the number of numbers (and commas!) in one’s annual salary; the dollar amount in one’s IRA; the number of subscribers or opt-ins on one’s email list; the number of connections on LinkedIn one has…

However, these are, (at best), second-order reflections of more important metrics that are harder to quantify, but—I would (vehemently) argue–matter far more to our overall state of being.

(Side note: Can you tell that I really like italics?)

After having grappled and griped about this to myself, my dog, my family, my friends, I finally decided to develop my own set of personal and professional metrics. These are a work-in-progress (and my performance in relation to these various metrics is variable—there’s still room for improvement). However, what these metrics have provided is a focus for my attention that I have chosen so that I don’t get sucked down the sinkhole of “someone unsubscribed from my email list!”-induced despair.

My Personal Metrics:

• I experience a steady, overall sense of well-being.
• I am physically healthy and strong, and I enjoy moving my body daily.
• I sleep soundly for 8-9 hours/night, 7 days/week.
• I honor 100% of commitments made to myself and others.
• I protect time (at least 5 hours/week) for creative expression and art.
• I laugh frequently with friends and family (like, I don’t know, at least once/day? 5-7 times/week?)
• My carbon footprint is negative

My Professional Metrics:

• My business is sustainable: my revenue > expenses, and I reinvest my earnings in developing and releasing new coaching offerings each quarter.
• I receive positive feedback from clients who are benefiting from my work.
• I am able to support myself as well as give back generously to my community.
• I am part of a thriving professional network, and I connect regularly (weekly, monthly, annually) with colleagues around the globe whom I like, respect, and trust.
• My business’s carbon footprint is 0 or negative each quarter.

I’ve shared my metrics-in-progress here. What are YOUR Metrics that Matter?