Are you Paying Attention to the Right Metrics?

My new article for HBR, just published yesterday, Are You Paying Attention to the Right Sales Metrics?, is focused on how CEOs and other senior leaders can better understand the health of their company’s revenue stream. Most leaders have a cursory understanding at best, and it’s not too difficult to develop a richer and more meaningful approach.

The article begins with an important realization. “When I discuss sales organization metrics with CEOs, two things regularly come up. First, I’m surprised at how narrow the metrics are that they are measuring. Second, CEOs are surprised at how little they actually know about what’s happening in their revenue pipeline."

Executives are responsible for the future value of any business. So, having a useful dashboard of leading indicators that are predictive of the overall health of the revenue stream is a valuable asset. Rather than “measuring to prove” with the typical data found in forecasts, take a rigorous, in-depth look at what could be improved within your sales process. There are likely specific measures of progress that are particularly meaningful to your business, where a healthy revenue stream can be shored up with the right interventions at the right time.

Read the article here.

Want to dig deeper? Join me on Tuesday, July 13th for a LinkedIn Live to discuss how you as a leader can take a pragmatic and data driven approach to understanding the health of your revenue stream.

How are You Getting (or Bringing) Your Team Back Together?

As companies consider how to bring people back together in the post-Pandemic era, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. When it comes to getting people together for team meetings, the right model will depend on your company, industry, geography, mindset, and the objectives. As a leader, you will need to experiment with your team to figure out what model works best in any given situation. Because your team is made up of a variety of personalities, work styles, and interpersonal dynamics, you may need to try out a few different meeting models to identify what is most effective.

Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before choosing a meeting model:

1. What format will be most pragmatic for your team? Where is your team located? Decide whether virtual meetings, in-person meetings, or a hybrid model best fits your priorities and the needs of your team. We all learned a lot can be accomplished over videoconference. We also learned that videoconferencing has limits and isn’t optimal for everything.
2. What logistics must be considered for your team? Consider the number of people, the frequency and duration of team meetings, the structure of the discussion, and other elements that go into effective planning. This is a good chance to re-evaluate who must be involved in which meetings. As the number of participants increases, interaction and collaboration decreases.
3. What is the purpose, or desired outcome, of the meeting? Consider whether the purpose of the meeting is to share information and provide updates or formulate strategy. Determine the scope and impact you want to have. The purpose of the meeting should drive the structure.

Different teams work better in different settings. If your current meeting model is not producing the outcomes you want, it’s time to try something new. 

Beware of the Correlation vs. Causation Trap

Many people confuse correlation (things happening together or in a sequence) for causation (that one thing causes the other to happen.) Frequently, correlation is coincidental, or it may be attributable to a common cause. I notice this a lot – from claims about supplements to identifying problems in companies, to reporting on politics and world news. As it relates to the latter, I believe that, at least in part, the effort is intentional to conflate correlation and causation. It makes blaming a group or individual a lot easier.

It is important to be aware of this concept. If you pay attention to this, you will notice people focus a considerable amount of unproductive energy and effort on attacking ideas they believe are causal when they may not be. You rarely see others take a step back to consider the idea that things can be multiply determined, or how our biases may affect the causal conclusions that are drawn. Take this as a reminder to consider all factors of a situation before attributing causation to things that may simply be correlated. It will help you to maintain a logical perspective when others don’t.

Current Read

Why Now Is The Perfect Time For A Post-Pandemic Career Check-In (forbes.com)

Half of 2021 has come and gone. Milestones like this are often opportunities for us to reflect on our careers, where we have been and where we want to go. But this year, for many people, the pandemic threw a wrench into that process. In many cases, COVID actually accelerated our desire to assess our careers. 

The article cites Prudential’s latest Pulse of the American Worker survey, saying that half of all workers feel that the pandemic has made them reevaluate their career goals. The survey also suggests that most people believe the pandemic has given them more control over the direction of their careers. With post-pandemic life upon us, it’s a great time to do a career check in. The article gives three tips for how to evaluate your current state and identify what’s next. 

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