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This may be true but a basic tenant of objective management of any type is:

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

I’m regularly having to remind those around me (programmers and managers alike) of this basic rule.

Why is this so hard to internalize?

I’ve always mapped that quote to Gregory Bateson’s definition of information as “a difference which makes a difference.”

Detecting a difference is a technical challenge, while determining which differences matter is, well, different.

That’s been a personal favorite of mine for a while, along with “If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called Research.”

Brian, it depends what is meant by ‘manage’. Sometimes leadership matters as much (probably more) than management. One of the great paradoxes of business life, to me, is that even though the “what you can measure, you can manage” axiom is profound and useful, the aspects that matter most in an organisation are not able to be easily measured: strategic vision, team morale, client service ethos, interpersonal relationships, effectiveness of communication, etc. This isn’t to say that “the numbers” don’t matter; they clearly do. Life- including business life -isn’t just about the numbers, however. This is an AND scenario, not an EITHER /OR decision. In my experience, I’ve noticed that effectively growing a business requires a focus on both the ‘measurables’ and the ‘unmeasurables’. I think Einstein’s quote is spot on in that regard.

1. “Measurement” is not the same as “counting”.

2. Anything can be measured if you put the time and effort into figuring out how to do so. (Admittedly, determining metrics for abstract concepts like e.g. “respect” or “annoyance” is not a skill set most managers – or most people – have, but there are those who can do that and they write books.)

3. The adage I try to hammer home to my people is, “You get what you measure.” So in order to do good management, you’d better be measuring the right things.