Be a Great Boss: The Hill Collection (4 Items)

184 Manage Your Team

standards. Also, some goals in your plan may lack numbers

because they’re still too general, half-baked, or far out in the

future. In these cases, judgment is the only yardstick. Don’t

hesitate to apply it and ask for others’ opinions.

Measure the right things. Many metrics—such as sales and

costs—only measure current activity and usually refl ect the result

of steps taken in the past. They don’t let you see what’s coming in

the future. Find other measures—leading indicators—that let you

look ahead. For example, if you track customer satisfaction or

competitive pricing, a drop might foretell a coming decline in your

sales if you don’t respond. Identify such measures that are appro-

priate for your group and track them ...