Today I learned to be a race timer.  On August 1, I’m helping with a 5K to benefit the Union County Humane Society.  So today I helped out at another local 5K to learn the ropes.  The guys from the Columbus Running Company are awesome – so willing to help organizations doing fundraising races – and very gracious to let me tag along with them.

Helping with the race today made me think about measurements.  The runners, both experienced and novice had a time they were working toward achieving.  They had a goal.  They had a way to measure their progress.  They assessed their performance along the race course and adjusted.   If you’re a runner, about now you’re saying “duh”.  Why would it be any other way?  That’s the challenge of running….setting goals and working to achieve them.

What is really amazing is that many businesses have measurement systems in place that don’t give the people running the race the information they need to adjust their performance mid-race.  They get financial results long after the end of the month.  And that’s all they measure.  Everything they know about their performance is from the past – like driving while looking in the rear-view mirror. 

Let’s go back the running analogy.  How do you know what to measure when running?  To run a 5K in less than 30 minutes, you need to run a 10-minute mile.  While training, on a treadmill or on the road, you must know how long you have run and how far you have gone.  Knowing this allows you to measure your progress, pushing a little harder until your goal is achieved.  So you need to measure distance and time and have a system in place to do so.  I know – “duh”.

So what’s your long-term goal?  How can that be measured?  What short-term measurements will help you know how you’re doing and adjust your approach?  In business these short-term measurements are called Key Process Indicators or Process Metrics.  Every process owner needs some.  Get yours today and watch how much easier it is to win your race.