If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Improve It
I’ve always heard the term “measure twice, cut once” to refer to precision. However, the main character in the New York Times Best Seller, “The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees)” by Patrick Lencioni, that I am reading decides to measure things differently.
The main character, Brian Bailey, becomes part owner in a dive italian restaurant. After identifying issues with his new staff - like coming in late, unmotivated, careless, and uncaring when orders were wrong and refunds were given, Brian worked with his staff to identify things they could measure.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”
It may be natural to measure nightly receipts, incorrect orders, complaints, etc., but in the dive little italian restaurant Brian Bailey asks his staff to help him think of positive things they could measure. For example, he asks the drive-through guy to determine how many people he makes smile that day - and a laugh counts as 4 smiles. He has the wait staff measure how many compliments they received on service. In a matter of weeks the employees begin showing up on-time (or even early), taking pride in their work, and striving to measure their positive successes.
Job Search Measurement
One thing most job seekers measure is how many resumes they’ve sent out — or more accurately, how many they’ve sent out without a response. I’ve seen local news stories of job seekers who have sent out thousands of resumes. Of course, that is one type of measurement you can keep - how many resumes you send, but instead consider measuring how many relationships you build. Or, how many personal connections you make. Or, how many interviews you nail! These are positive measurements, and will actually shift your mind away from focusing on the potentially negative measurements of your job search. You may actually see your success increase when you start measuring the positive!
Are you measuring the positive things in your job search? Or, are you focusing on how many calls you have not received on your resume, how many interviews you’ve messed up, or how many months you’ve been out of work? Change your focus, and measure the positive results so you can improve them!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jay Markunas is the co-hosts of The Job Search Boot Camp Show which is available on iTunes. He & partner, Angela Loëb are the co-creators of The Job Search Boot Camp webcast – 3 evenings to career success. Visit our website for more information at http://www.JobSearchBootCamp.net.
Related Posts:
Tags: "If you can't measure it, Career, cover letter, interview, Job, job search, Lencioni, positive, purpose, Resume, retirement, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees), you can't improve upon it"
