Is There A Number for Everything?

“We must consider the possibility that if we can’t measure something , it might be the very most important aspect of the problem.”

That from a blog post by Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School at the University of Toronto and one of today’s preeminent business thinkers.

It does raise an interesting question which I think is relevant in the FM domain. Have we become so focused on measuring, metrics and quantitative analysis that we have lost sight of the “soft” side of our business? And, exactly what are the elements we cannot measure but which are important never the less?

Is emotion an important business value? What about motivation, caring, empathy, mentoring, experience, and instinct? I would argue that all are important values and that we too often do a poor job of balancing them against the hard numbers we measure our performance by every day. SLA’s and KPI’s are fine but they do not present a whole picture of your performance or business health.

Take a look at your own organization and ask yourself, “Are we emotionally healthy around here? Which is correct most often, the spreadsheet projections or my gut?” You might be surprised at what you learn.