By Chris DallaVilla
There's important information in this video and here's another take on the topic at hand:
Quantify Your Work's IO To Achieve Transformation, Be Truly Data-Informed, & Unlock Another Level Of Authenticity
At some point in my career, I realized that my to-do list is eternal. Maybe you have had that same realization too. No matter what we achieve today tomorrow starts it all over again. There's a comfort in that - I mean at least it's reliable. As sure as the sun will rise in the east, so to will my to-dos. But how do you know what to do and where to focus?
The answer is that you have to quantify what is important. In this post, I'll show you how to do that.
I call this your IO. The I stands for INPUT. Each item on that eternal to-do list requires your input to get the job done. The O stands for OUTCOME. These are the results you generate by performing these tasks.
So those are the basic building blocks that you need to clarify what to focus on. This is fundamental for achieving transformation - be it digital transformation, data transformation, agile transformation, marketing transformation, customer experience transformation, (etc.).
This helps to enable The New Playbook in three ways. One, it provides the foundation you need to make decisions about what to prioritize. Two, it provides the backdrop you need to assess some things that can be difficult to measure such as vision and values. And, three, it provides the context you need to clarify on your Strategy.
So where does this fit in? When I was a kid I collected baseball cards. My favorite player was Eddie Murray - one of the greatest switch-hitters of all time. Every baseball card has a front and a back. The front has the photograph of the player and the back has their stats. That's what this is giving you. Your stats. This helps you to know what's valid.
Lets take an example you can use. Any project or program in your business can follow this same approach. Here's one scenario. You have an automated email campaign that you send out from your CRM. To create this campaign required strategy, copywriting, graphic design, project management, and channel management. Let's assume the one-time 'cost' was $6,120. The goal of this campaign is to convert prospective customers into new customers. Let's establish some metrics. Let's assume we have 324 of those on a monthly basis and that 5% convert. And, that our average order is ~$1200. So over a year this program's IO is a positive $224,280.
Here's the formula:
* Program and/or project name: _____
* x = Program and/or project cost: _____
* y = Program and/or project return: _____
* y - x = benchmark either positive or negative
There are other things we can do with this information at this stage to establish ROI or ROAS or a similar metric meaningful for finance but for the sake of this post and for the sake of understanding this concept you can simply call this positive or negative number the IO score of this program or project.
So what you're working with here is a primary model for your TMTMTMs - or the metrics that matter the most to you.
If you do this with enough of your work - either individually, or as a team, or throughout your organization - you will begin to see other benefits too. I often refer to these as 'the biggest little farm' effect care of a Netflix documentary by the same name. That's because you will gain a new level of clarity around what works and what doesn't work because you'll have context. In other words you'll be able to compare and contrast one project and program against another with greater clarity. And, as things become more clear things also become more organized and the net effect of that higher level of organization is that each project and program has an opportunity to then strengthen the other projects and programs that are working.
This is a great tool for the new normal where hybrid teams are working in more distributed ways via remote work and synchronous/asynchronous models. That's because it empowers autonomous decision making, effective collaboration, and - again - clarity for both individuals and managers.
Ultimately on one level what you will find you are doing is funding outcomes vs just project and programs. If you're already in a zero-based budgeting environment this will feel familiar.
The other thing that happens here is that you surface facets of your work that can otherwise be invisible. By quantifying the impact of your work it provides an opportunity to optimize your value streams.
And, you might wonder - are there exceptions - I mean just because everything can be measured doesn't mean everything should. I would agree with that but to a point. What I mean is that it makes sense to make room for values and mission-led work that gets to bypass this level of scrutiny. But be mindful of what percentage you are assigning those types of initiatives and consider holding them accountable by other measures such as quality or time.
I'm an advocate for authenticity and this approach will help you to be authentic to how you are making an impact on your work, in your business, and for your team(s).
With this sort of information, you can make better, more informed decisions and strengthen your impact. You can lower your cost channels and become more clear on what to scale.
Valid provides business transformation coaching and support services for individuals and teams to accelerate performance, growth, and results including data analytics and growth marketing.
The New Playbook is a methodology that everyone can learn and use to simplify and achieve transformation - individually and at scale.
For other skills and mental models that help enable THE NEW PLAYBOOK, see our video training library here. To simplify transformation and learn THE NEW PLAYBOOK for yourself or your team, click here.
LEARN MORE