How to Avoid Vanity Metrics and Efficiently Measure the Growth of your Business

In this episode of the Process Breakdown Podcast Mark Graban, a consultant, author, and speaker with an international following shares the ways many companies misinterpret the data captured for representing their growth and improvement. 

Mr. Graban talks broadly on the methods you can use to avoid measuring vanity metrics, and how to efficiently measure and represent your business’s growth using effective problem-solving methods. He gives examples from his work in the health sector on how he used his methodologies to improve the overall quality of care, ER wait time, and patient safety, while also reducing costs and improving the workplace experience.

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Key Resource List:

* LeanBlog.org* Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More* MarkGraban.com

Show Notes:

0:10 – Introduction

0:53 – Dr. Jeremy Weisz shares the best solution for documenting standard operating procedures (SOPs), making it easy and efficient with SweetProcess and their 14-day free trial.

1:47 – Introduces the guest speaker, Mark Graban, who is a successful consultant, published author, professional speaker, and blogger. 

3:22 – The guest speaker tells a real-life story about the worst way companies react to their growth metrics when they start measuring it.

5:58 – Mr. Graban shares a simple but effective method that will help you get off the rollercoaster that comes with measuring business success.

10:37 – Mr. Graban shares what you shouldn’t be doing when it comes to calculating data and metrics.

12:37 – The guest speaker tells you the best thing to think about when measuring success.

14:36 – An example of an organization Mr. Graban has worked with using his methods and the results they got.

19:29 – How the guest helps organizations to identify inefficiencies using various problem-solving methods.

17:20 – Here the guest shares, as another example, his thoughts on ER wait times and how to really measure and improve it.

31:59 – One thing you should always have in mind when you start measuring data to help represent your business’s growth.

35:29 – Outro

Guest profile:

Mark Graban specializes in working with executives and frontline employees to help them improve their company’s problem-solving methods and skills. He is also a best-selling author and co-author of several management books.