We live in a world of numbers, calculations, and statistics. As Warren Buffett said, “We seem to know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.”
I have long believed that the thing we measure is the thing we will improve, so it’s critical we are looking at the right numbers among the myriad of statistics with which we are confronted. I find in business and in life there are too many people looking at the wrong number and striving to improve an irrelevant statistic.
The sports world, as usual, gives us some great examples. In baseball for many decades, players were judged based upon their batting average. The higher the batting average, the more valuable and successful the player. Recently, some astute coaches and statisticians determined that “on-base percentage” is a much more valid number. Many players who have a lower batting average have a higher on-base percentage because they get a lot of walks. Baseball games are won by the team with the most runs. The only way to get runs is to get on base though it doesn’t really matter how you got there. A walk is just as valuable as a single.
In football, announcers and commentators often refer to the time of possession statistic. This refers to the number of minutes in the game that one team has the ball as opposed to the other team. Football games are won by scoring touchdowns or field goals. A team that scores a touchdown in one play and takes eight seconds to score gets just as many points as a team that scores a touchdown in 18 plays and takes six minutes to drive down the field. You can win the time of possession statistic and lose the game.
In basketball, many people emphasize the offensive rebound statistic as critical to having a winning team. In reality, if your team is shooting 25 percent from the field, they are missing the basket 75 percent of the time, creating many opportunities for offensive rebounds, but not necessarily winning the game. On the other hand, if your team is shooting 70 percent from the field, they will not get many offensive rebounds, simply because there aren’t many to get, but they will quite likely win the game.
In your personal or professional life, if you are striving for milestones that you measure based on numbers or statistics, be sure you are looking at the right things.
When I hired my current attorney, I interviewed a number of lawyers and had eliminated everyone except my top two selections. I was just about to pick a lawyer who told me he won 90 percent of his court cases when the man who became my current attorney showed me that his clients rarely, if ever, had to go to court at all.
As you go through your day today, look for the statistics that result in you getting to where you want to go, and eliminate all the others.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. He may be reached at 5840 South Memorial Drive, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74145-9082; by e-mail at Jim@JimStovall.com; or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jimstovallauthor.
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