Why Measurable Objectives Matter

In Formula 1, we don’t guess if our car is fast or if our strategy is working - we look at the outcome. 🏎️🏆 Lap times. Reliability. Race results. All our metrics are tangible and enable us to measure whether we have succeeded in achieving our objectives. Our internal communications should be no different. Last week, I had the privilege of judging the Institute of Internal Communication Awards - and there were some incredibly strong entries.👏 But one of the biggest gaps across many submissions was a lack of clearly defined, measurable objectives and outcomes. Beautifully creative campaigns, clear intent, strong execution… but all too often, little evidence of what changed as a result. Or whether the result was what was intended… ✨ Did it shift behaviour? How do we know? 📈 Did it help deliver an organisational objective? How? 🎯 What impact did it have? We can’t keep equating output with impact. A video, a campaign or an employee app isn’t the win. ‘Raising awareness’ isn’t the outcome. The difference it makes to the organisation is. As strategic communicators, we need to get more comfortable with measurement - even if it's not perfect. Something is better than nothing. Internal Comms can absolutely drive performance and culture. But just like in motorsport, we need the results to prove it. #InternalComms #InternalCommunication #F1Mindset

If you don’t understand the metrics needed to achieve your goal, you’re just throwing darts blindfolded. For example, if you want to do $1M in gross commissions: Take $1M and divide it by your historical average commission per deal. Now you know how many deals you need to close. Next question: How many listings do you need to close that many deals? You don’t close every listing. Do you know your listing-to-close conversion rate? Once you know how many listings you need, ask this: How many BOVs do you need to generate to secure that number of listings? That requires knowing your BOV-to-listing conversion rate. And before a BOV ever happens: How many actual owner conversations do you need? Not outbound calls. Real conversations. Then work one step further back. How many phone calls does it take to reach that many owners? Tracking these metrics matters because it tells you the actual activity required to hit a target, instead of guessing and hoping next year will be better.

📐 Why Metrics and KPIs Are Essential📐 🔸Accountability: KPIs ensure you can demonstrate adherence to ethical and regulatory standards, showing stakeholders and regulators that governance efforts are not just performative but impactful. 🔸Improvement: Well-chosen metrics provide actionable insights that allow you to refine governance frameworks and align them with emerging challenges. 🔸Transparency: Metrics make governance efforts visible, fostering trust among customers, partners, and regulators by demonstrating measurable progress. ⚠️ Without clear metrics, organizations risk misaligned priorities, operational inefficiencies, and reputational damage from poorly governed AI systems.⚠️ ➡️ Hubbard-Inspired Framework for AI Governance Metrics Doug Hubbard’s approach emphasizes that “anything can be measured” if we start by addressing uncertainty systematically. In the context of AI governance, this involves five key steps: 1️⃣ Define Objectives ▪️Establish clear, measurable governance outcomes. For example, reducing algorithmic bias, ensuring regulatory compliance, or improving environmental sustainability. Defining objectives ensures that measurement efforts are targeted and aligned with strategic priorities, avoiding wasted resources on irrelevant data. 2️⃣ Model the Problem ▪️Map the governance ecosystem, including AI producers, developers, and users, and identify their interactions with key systems. This helps uncover where governance challenges may arise, such as gaps in ethical oversight or inefficiencies in risk mitigation processes. Modeling ensures that metrics are tied to real-world dynamics within the organization. 3️⃣ Prioritize Uncertainty ▪️Identify areas where decisions hinge on unclear information. If there’s uncertainty about how bias in an algorithm impacts different demographics, focus on measuring this first. Prioritizing uncertainty ensures resources are allocated to metrics that will provide the most actionable insights. 4️⃣ Select Metrics ▪️Develop KPIs that address high-priority uncertainties and align with governance objectives. Examples include the Bias Detection Rate, which tracks corrections to identified biases, or the Explainability Index, which measures how well AI decisions can be understood by stakeholders. Selecting metrics rooted in clear objectives ensures they are relevant and meaningful. 5️⃣ Iterate and Validate ▪️Test metrics in real-world scenarios to ensure they provide accurate, actionable information. For example, an organization might refine its Bias Detection Rate to include specific demographic impacts. Iterative validation ensures that metrics remain relevant as the organization and regulatory landscape evolve. ➡️ The Value of a Scientific Approach Hubbard’s methodology provides a systematic way to reduce uncertainty and ensure metrics are actionable. By focusing on calibration, empirical testing, and iterative refinement, you can build confidence in your governance measurements.

Year after year, our articles on goal-setting are among our most read. And yet, despite the interest, the reality is stark: over 70% of assistants still don’t set goals or have a personal development plan. This year, more than ever, setting clear goals and objectives isn’t just a ‘nice to have’; it’s an imperative. Why? Because the goalposts have moved. As we approach 2025, the administrative profession is at a crossroads. Shifts in technology, evolving workplace dynamics, and increasing demands for strategic thinking have fundamentally changed what it means to be an EA. Many of you will have felt the change. The integration of generative AI into our workflows, the increasing focus on business strategy, and the blurred lines between administrative and operational roles have redefined expectations. What was once seen as a supportive role is now starting to be recognised as a pivotal one. Yet, with this recognition comes responsibility. The demands on EAs are no longer solely task-driven; they are outcome-focused. Executives need more than support; they need strategic partners. But here’s the catch: how can you deliver value as a strategic partner if you don’t have a strategy of your own? For some, setting professional goals may feel unnecessary or even daunting. After all, your work is inherently tied to the objectives of your executive. But here’s the truth: aligning with their objectives doesn’t mean neglecting your own. In fact, the most effective EAs are those who approach their work with the same strategic mindset their executives employ. Goals give you a clear roadmap. They help you prioritise your workload, identify opportunities for growth, and manage your time effectively. When you set measurable objectives, you can better demonstrate your value. Tracking your contributions in tangible ways is key to earning recognition and advocating for better compensation or career progression. The pace of change in business isn’t slowing down. By setting goals, you create a framework that helps you adapt to new challenges, whether they’re technological, organisational, or personal. If you’ve never set formal goals before, it’s tempting to continue as you always have. But ask yourself: is that approach still serving you? Without goals, you risk stagnation. The world increasingly demands agility, innovation, and strategic foresight. EAs who fail to set objectives will find themselves left behind. Worse still, they may miss the opportunity to shape their own narrative within their organisation. In 2025, the most successful EAs won’t be those who simply ‘get things done’.They’ll be the ones who approach their roles with intention, clarity, and a strategic mindset. Take the time to set your objectives. Align them with your executive’s goals, but don’t stop there. Make space for your growth, your aspirations, and your potential. The goalposts have moved. Are you ready to meet them?

As a donor, 90% of the grant proposals I read fail to include strong, measurable goals. If a proposal lacks strong goals, why should a donor approve it? Many organizations focus on their activities such as how many papers they’ll write, how many events they’ll host, or how many social media posts they'll create. But while important, these numbers alone don't create impact. Activities only create impact when they contribute to a clear and measurable goal. Foundations may call them outcomes, deliverables, or something else, but the real question is: Are your goals focused on the impact of your work, and are they both measurable and meaningful to your mission? Your goals should reflect what you hope to accomplish because of your work, not just the work itself, and they may vary depending on what you're trying to accomplish. For example, if your project involves writing research reports, the goal isn’t just to produce a certain number of reports. The real question is what impact will those reports have? Are you hoping to educate the public? Then tracking reads or media mentions might be the right measure. A goal here might be 10 media mentions in the next 6 months. Are you aiming for policy change? Then citations in legislative or academic discussions might be more relevant than raw readership numbers. In this case, a better goal might be 6 citations in the 3 months following the report's release. In your personal life, you might set a goal to go to the gym 3 times a week (an activity), but that doesn't tell you how long to go, what exercises to do, or why 3 times a week is effective. But if your goal is to gain 5 lbs of muscle in 6 months (the impact), you can start answering those questions with clarity. Start with your big-picture goal, then ask yourself: What would need to happen for this to become a reality? 🤔 How can we track progress toward that outcome? 📈 Don’t just set goals to satisfy a donor’s requirements. Make them meaningful to your mission. When your goals align with the change you want to see, measuring progress becomes not just a reporting requirement, but a powerful tool for driving impact.

⏹️ Stop Measuring Learning by Completion Rates ⏹️ ⏭️ If someone clicks through all your slides, passes the quiz, and closes the window… did they really learn anything? In L&D, we love data, but too often, we measure what’s easiest instead of what matters. Completion rates tell you who clicked “Next.” They don’t tell you who/what changed. Here’s what matters more: 📈 Did the training improve a behavior or skill? 💬 Are people communicating, leading, or performing differently? 🔁 Did the business outcome move in the right direction? ☑️ Learning isn’t about checking boxes; it’s about building capability/behavior that lasts. One brick 🧱 (lesson/course) at a time. That’s why I design learning programs that go beyond attendance metrics. I connect learning objectives directly to business goals/needs, build in measurable outcomes, and use feedback loops to see what’s really working (and what’s not). When I look at results, I’m not just asking, “Did they finish?” I’m asking, “Did it make a difference?” "Was there a change in _________ because of the learning?" That’s how you know learning is working, when it shows up in performance, confidence, and real results across the organization. If your company is ready to move from completion to capability—that’s where I (and other IDs) come in. Let’s build learning that doesn’t just check boxes… it changes behavior.

Good intentions don’t create impact. Good data does. Every company says it wants to make a difference. But without measurement, even the most heartfelt initiatives can lose direction. Real impact demands accountability. It asks: - What changed because of this investment? - Who benefited. And how do we know? - Where can we learn and improve? Organizations that track the social return on their programs are 3x more likely to scale high-performing initiatives (McKinsey). This isn’t about bureaucracy. It’s about learning fast and allocating wisely. When we treat community investments like we treat product strategy—testing, evaluating, iterating—we turn generosity into growth. Measurement doesn’t limit compassion; it sharpens it. Because when we can see the impact clearly, we can amplify it boldly. Measure what matters. Because progress deserves proof.

🔹 Can you achieve a goal if you don’t measure your progress? 🤔📊 Imagine setting a goal to lose 10 kilos. You start eating healthier and exercising more—but you never weigh yourself. Chances are, you won’t know if you’re making progress—or if you’re even on the right track. 🚶♂️⚖️ I once worked with the CEO of a bank that had just rolled out a new customer service strategy. When I asked how he was tracking success, his answer? He wasn’t. ❌ No metrics, no benchmarks, no way of knowing if the strategy was working. If you don’t measure, you can’t manage. The odds of successfully implementing a strategy without tracking progress? Slim to none. So how do you translate strategy into measurable objectives? ✅ Set clear, actionable KPIs – Define what success looks like 🎯 ✅ Track progress consistently – Regularly measure, review, and adapt 📊 ✅ Align objectives with teams – Everyone should know what they’re working toward 🤝 ✅ Use data to make decisions – Rely on insights, not guesswork 🔍 Strategy isn’t just about big ideas—it’s about execution and measurement. If you’re not tracking, you’re not progressing. 🚀 💡 What’s your go-to method for tracking performance? Let’s discuss! 👇 #Strategy #PerformanceTracking #Leadership #KPIs #BusinessSuccess #ProjectManagement 🚀