Three Myths about Measuring Success

If I can put it on an infographic, I’m measuring success just fine, right? 

Wrong.  

Infographics are incredibly helpful tools to define your success metrics. Use them, for sure. They are better than a bullet-point fact sheet. But if you’re starting there, trying to fill a page, you’re starting at the wrong end.  

Instead, start your success measuring with your problem in mind. With a clearly defined problem, you can start to identify the measurements that truly show your ability to “move the needle” on that problem. Catalogue measures that demonstrate success, not just activity, since problems aren’t just solved with activity. They are solved with tangible change of habits, attitudes, life paths, and other measures.  If you can’t find these kinds of metrics, perhaps you need to revisit your problem and/or solution.

Great.  So if I can measure how many people come to our programs and graduate, I am showing success, right?  

Wrong again.  

The next step is to go beyond measuring the inputs and outputs - that “you get out of something what you spend on it” equation - and define what measurements would demonstrate your outcomes and impact. Remember: outcomes and impact are a little more out of your control than your outputs.  But these are the measures that show transformation, not just attendance or engagement, and get your donors engaged as partners. A graduation from a program is an output; a job achieved based on an graduation is an outcome; an independent life thanks to a steady income is an impact. Follow that trail all the way to the end, and you find your impact.

Perfect.  These are defined.  Now I can just check in every once in a while for a new story, right?

Sorry. One more big red “X”.  

Measurement takes a system. You need to create a regular, predictable process to gather real-time info in a predictable way, store it in an organized way, and be able to access it in a “slice and dice the data” way.  For some, this is a spreadsheet. For others, it’s something much more complex. But it always takes the work of the entire team to collect. If you only put an administrative person in charge, but your in-the-field leader is not taking attendance or asking for stories, then the link is broken. Lay out what you need on the front end, and keep everyone accountable. 

Now it’s time to build that infographic! Only this time, it will show transformation and not just activity. It will include multidimensional measures that motivate more than activity. And you’ll be able to update it quickly for that big donor meeting or grant proposal, because your team is committed to tracking. That just leaves it in the hands of the graphic designer to make it pretty!