One of the most important choices you’ll ever make in business is surprisingly simple:
What yardstick do you use to measure success?
Because the way you measure success determines the conscious and subconscious actions you take.
The goals you set. The plans you make. In short, it determines the destiny of your business.
Let’s take an example.
Recently, we stayed near a charming little bakery that always seemed to have a line stretching out the door.
Morning, noon, afternoon. Always a line.
At first glance, you might assume this is a sign of extraordinary success.
“These products must be irresistible,” we thought.
So naturally, we joined the queue.
As we waited, something caught our attention.
The line moved slowly. Very slowly.
Customers weren’t being served with any particular urgency. When our turn finally arrived, the owner smiled politely and informed us that she did have the item we wanted… but needed to go into the back room to fetch it.
Another minute passed.
Then another.
And suddenly, we realized something less obvious:
This entrepreneur was measuring success by the length of the line, not the quality and efficiency of the customer experience.
Now, a long line can certainly be flattering.
It can create the appearance of popularity.
But appearances and realities are often distant cousins.
Because customers eventually grow impatient.
And the day another bakery opens nearby, offering equally good products without the wait, many people will vote with their feet.
Likewise, the customer who stands in line for ten minutes only to discover their favorite item is sold out may decide not to repeat the experience.
Which brings us to a larger lesson.
Many entrepreneurs measure success by revenue. That’s what matters to their subconscious mind. That’s the equation their subconscious mind has learned: bigger business = success.
Others measure success by the size of their team.
Others by the number of locations they operate.
Others by the followers and likes they collect online.
Yet these measurements can be dangerously deceptive.
A business can generate millions in sales and still leave its owner with little money, little freedom, and endless stress.
A social media account can attract hundreds of thousands of followers while producing very few paying customers.
In business, there is a name for these seductive but misleading measurements:
Vanity metrics.
Numbers that make us feel successful without necessarily making us successful.
The challenge, therefore, is to identify the handful of measurements that genuinely matter.
The measurements that improve your life, your customers’ experience, and, equally important, the amount of money you actually take home.
Because once you choose the right yardstick, many other decisions become easier.
Your goals become clearer.
Your plans become sharper.
Your priorities become obvious.
And if you work with a coach, here’s a valuable question to explore at your next session:
How am I measuring success?
Because the answer influences almost everything else.
Love and Wisdom,
Monica and Stefan
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