Page 148 - HBR Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level

Focusing on Results 137

been useful in driving consistent data definitions so that things
can be added and compared, they don’t automatically create the
story. Instead, you should consider in advance what data you need
to convey the story you need to tell—whether to your team, exec-
utives, shareholders, or customers—and give your team some di-
rection about how to pull it together. Make sure, however, that you
don’t start with a preconceived story (or conclusion) and then look
for data to support it, but rather let the data paint the picture.

• Does our data help us look ahead rather than behind? Most of the
metrics that leaders review are retrospective. They tell you about
performance in the past, but are less effective in predicting future
performance. Therefore, it is important to ask what data, at what
time frames, will help you and your people get ahead of the curve
instead of just reacting.

• Do we have a good mix of quantitative and qualitative data? Nei-
ther quantitative nor qualitative data tells the whole story. For
example, to make good product and pricing decisions, you need
to know not only what is being sold to whom, but also why some
products are selling more than others.

Clearly, business data and its analysis are critical for your department
or organization to succeed, which is underscored by the fact that the busi-
ness intelligence and analytics space is becoming a billion-dollar industry.
But even the best-automated tools won’t be effective unless you are clear
about these four questions.
The challenge of establishing the right metrics applies not only to C-
suite leaders, of course, but also to leaders of divisions, units, and teams,
because without the right measures, it’s like trying to fly a plane in the dark
without an instrument panel. For example, the leader of ad sales for a
digital marketing company was concerned that sales numbers had pla-
teaued, despite the fact that her salespeople were still as busy as ever mak-
ing calls. When she began to get some qualitative data from her team and
customers, she found that most client companies were just experimenting