Metrics_ How to Improve Key Business Results - Martin Klubeck [132]
Using metrics to control people. There is group of professionals who make a living developing, analyzing, and reporting “performance metrics” specifically designed to measure how well people perform. You can also use performance metrics to evaluate processes, systems, and even hardware. From the discussions in online community sites, it is a widely held belief that performance metrics are a good tool for manipulating people's behavior. This is unacceptable. The words “control” or “manipulate” may not be expressly used, but by saying “you can and should drive performance using metrics,” this is what is meant.
Using metrics to make decisions. I understand that management wants metrics (they call it data) to base their decisions on so that they are making “informed” decisions. I am not saying this is bad. It only becomes bad when leadership believes that the metrics are facts. It becomes an issue when decisions are made as a result of the metric. Metrics can be used to inform decisions, but only after they've been investigated and validated. It's not enough to know the what (the metric), if you're going to make decisions based on them; you have to also get to the why. When my gas gauge shows near empty, I make the decision to get gas right away or wait a little while. This decision isn't a critical to anyone. If the gauge shows near empty, it shouldn't hurt if I don't get gas immediately. I know the gas gauge is an indicator and not a fact (depending if I'm going up or down hill, the reading changes). I also know it can potentially be incorrect; if it shows empty when I've just filled the tank, there is something else wrong. Bottom line? I use data, measures, information, and metrics to inform my decisions, not to make them.
Using metrics to win an argument or sway opinion. This is probably the most common misuse of metrics. We see it in politics. We see it in debates. We see it in funding battles across the conference room table. The problem isn't that you use metrics to prove your point, it's that you only use the data that helps your case—and ignore the rest. This is a grievous misuse.
You may have noticed that most of these “bad” misuses are based on “how” they are used—the intention behind the report. If your intentions are bad (selfish, manipulative, controlling, or lazy), you will end up misusing the information. Negative intentions drive you to misuse metrics in the worst ways.
The Ugly
If the good is a result of non-malicious intention, then the “ugly” is a direct result of malicious intent. I won't spend a lot of time on this, because those who have the intent to misuse metrics probably aren't reading this book.
The reason I'm discussing this at all is just to remind you that there are those who would intentionally use metrics to cause harm.
So, you have to respect the power of metrics. Not only must you ensure you are careful with how you use them, but you have to protect others from the dangers. This is part of the trust you need to build with those who provide the data. Just because you would never purposefully use metrics to hurt others, it doesn't mean others won't. When you take on the responsibility of collecting, analyzing, and reporting metrics, you also have to protect others.
Constant diligence is required to ensure metrics are used properly.
The Art of the Unintended Consequence
Besides the danger of telling the wrong story and all the unintended consequences of that (wrong decisions, improving the wrong things, not improving things that need to be improved, etc.), misuses lead to other dangerous consequences.
We've already discussed the damage to morale caused by showing only the bad metrics. Besides demoralization of the workforce, you also run the risk of creating, continuing, or increasing the following:
Fear of metrics being abused
Anger