Measuring, Managing & Mattering

Friend and frequent story idea contributor Brendan recently asked me about a quote attributed to Peter Drucker concerning measurement and management. I thought it would make an excellent piece because the topic is indicative of a broader phenomenon. So, my 43rd Year III Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights piece is on: Measuring, Managing & Mattering: Don’t Let Your Strategy be Guided by Fictions. You can find the previous 153 PTW/PI <a href="https://rogerlmartin.com/archive/medium-posts/-in-thoughtpillars/thought-pillars/strategy" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. The Quote in Question The quote Brendan asked about was: If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. This is, of course, a very strong assertion on measurement in the world of business. It is not at all ambiguous. It is not nuanced. If you can’t measure something, there is no way, no chance of managing it. Just throw up your hands in resignation. Focus on the things you can measure. The presumed veracity of this nostrum, this management rule, is a huge boon to all the aficionados of Objectives & Key Results (OKRs — about which I have <a href="https://rogermartin.medium.com/stop-letting-okrs-masquerade-as-strategy-a57fc2cea915" rel="noopener">written previously</a>) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They want to spend all their waking moments measuring measurable stuff and giddily ignoring everything else. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it has ensconced itself as a part of modern business theology. It would certainly be handy if it was truly valid. And it would be a bit of a shame if it was just plain wrong, given that we have organized modern management around the concept. <a href="https://rogermartin.medium.com/measuring-managing-mattering-6cda8a80f924">Learn More</a>