In Defense of “What gets measured gets managed.”

I will admit that I didn’t set out to write a defense of a management mantra. I frequently set goals with the mindset, “That which gets tracked, improves.”. So when I decided to write about it, I found that the original quote is, “What gets measured, gets managed.”

And boy, is the internet up in arms over this quote.

Why the internet hates it

I learned that the quote is frequently attributed to management consultant and educator Peter Drucker. In fact, it originated in a 1956 paper by V. F. Ridgeway called, “Dysfunctional consequences of performance measurements.” The quote in full is:

What gets measured gets managed – even when it’s pointless to measure and manage it, and even if it harms the purpose of the organisation to do so.

The internet hates it because execs quote the first half and disregard the warning in the latter half. Often, looking to evaluate success, management will choose a metric not directly related to the desired outcome. Or focus on a metric has unintended consequences. For example, emphasizing sales growth may lead to the detriment of margin.

In defense of “what gets measured gets managed”

While I agree with all the blog posts out there decrying the overuse – and misuse – of “what gets measured gets managed,” well… I use it. And I stand by that.

See, if you take the mantra out of a corporate setting, where the goal-setters are distantly removed from the goal-seekers, you can have consistent, healthy growth. When you pay enough attention to a goal or habit by measuring it, it’s hard to forget about it for days at a time. And when something stays top of mind, you’ll naturally work to improve it.

Of course, as in the original (complete) quote, there are caveats:

Useless without a clear, SMART goal

Simply measuring something doesn’t necessarily change anything. In fact, in the absence of a goal to match the measurement, all that you have left is a lot of data. And as much as I love data, I know that having it isn’t useful – knowing how to USE data is useful.

Which is where SMART goal-setting comes in. If you’re familiar with the process, you know that the M stands for Measurable. And most people usually think of measuring things in numbers, but I want to be very clear: data doesn’t have to be quantitative.

Especially for personal goals, simply having a routine of recording something can improve your life. Keeping a gratitude journal is correlated with feeling happier with life.

Personally, I keep track of the books that I’ve finished. Originally, it started as an attempt to estimate how many books I’ve read in my life. But over time, I realized that (1) I’m never going to find that number and (2) just recording the books is healthy for me. See, reading is the strongest form of self-care for me. 20 minutes of reading will fix almost any bad day or mood. So when I finish a book and log it, it gives me an opportunity to evaluate if I’ve been doing enough of it. I have a goal of reading 24 books per year, based on my self-knowledge of how much reading reflects a balanced life.

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You should continually examine your measurements

Even after you’ve set your goals, you must be careful that what you’re measuring reflects those goals. This is one of those situations where using this mindset makes more sense for personal goals than for professional. It’s hard to imagine setting a goal for yourself and measuring the wrong thing. But when your goals veer into self-improvement, goals around reducing stress and increasing happiness can be hard to measure.

In those scenarios – and in scenarios where you aren’t the only stakeholder setting the goals (whether that be personal or professional) – you need a system! Create a system to periodically check in with your goals, track progress, and discuss if you’re tracking the right thing. If you do, you’ll reach your goal much faster – because you’ll have an opportunity to pivot if you’re getting off-track!

To go back to my book example, I read 52 books in 2016. I set that goal – I wanted to know if I could do it. And I can! But I learned that I don’t enjoy cramming as much reading into my life as possible. I ended up calculating how many pages per week I needed to read in order to reach my goal. It turned my favorite pastime into work. So I adjusted how I measure my goal from “read XX books per year, then try and do more next year” to “track the books you’ve read, try and stay on track for 24 books per year.” It’s really worked for me.

The bottom line: focus!

If you’ve done the work to figure out your goals and aims – and this applies both to businesses and your personal life – then measuring your progress isn’t bad at all! But be sure that you’re measuring the right thing, and that you check in with your goals (and the aim behind them!) on a regular basis.

And if you still don’t like the original quote, here are a couple alternatives that might capture the spirit of the quote better than the original:

That which gets tracked, gets improved.

Or: