Measuring how good life is
“If we measure the wrong thing, we will do the wrong thing. If our measures tell us everything is fine when they really aren’t, we won’t make the right decisions” ― Joseph Stiglitz
When what isn’t is
I had an Orwellian experience this week. My office is beautiful, as it’s in a 140-year-old building. But it’s also frustrating, as it’s in a 140-year-old building — as my NBN installer discovered. He spent 3 hours ferreting around in wall cavities, climbing into the ceilings of my neighbours, attempting to connect me.
He finally announced, “I can’t do it. You’ve got no upstream signal. There’s a break in your cable somewhere in the building. But I’ll hook up the box and you’ll have to get someone else in to do it”. He left a black box with four lights plugged in and, after he’d left, I noticed all four lights were green, including the one that said “Internet On”.
So, I thought, “What the hell”, and connected my modem, and set up a wifi network. Bingo! I had fast internet (for the first time ever). I texted him to tell him, and he responded immediately, “No, you can’t have”. Next day, I texted his boss. She responded, “No, you’re definitely not connected”. Two days later, I contacted my provider. They responded: “No, you’re mistaken. Definitely no signal. We’ll send someone out ASAP. So sorry”.
I wondered whether to just keep using the non-existent connection, but thought otherwise. They sent out a guy yesterday who arrived saying, “You don’t have a connection, do you?” I said, “No, I don’t. But maybe you can work your magic”. He did. And now I do.
Question: In your business, do you ever have false negatives (signals that something isn’t working, when it actually is)?
Commenting on how bad life is
In the past 24 hours, I’ve received two faintly disturbing missives. They’re both authored by (white, middle-aged) males. Both I know personally, both called Stephen, but from opposite sides of the world: one is South, one is North; one is East, one is West. Both Steves speak out at their deep disaffection with the lives of men like them.
Both are expressive, eloquent even; both are highly qualified, bordering on the intellectual. One works as a coach (and I quote his marketing) “to help men find dignity in bullshit jobs”. This Steve attracts men who “live in collusion with their economic environment”, where they are working like hamsters in (well paid) corporate jobs, but escaping is not an option. And, yes, he has customers.
The other Steve has used lockdown to write a private manifesto about the eight “disenchantments” that alienate him and prevent him from returning to the West. He’s asked me to destroy it upon reading (which I will) but he comments lucidly on the impact of societal ills such as political correctness, how large-scale systems of media and law create perverse outcomes, and the superficiality of education.
I agree with some of what each Steve says, disagree wholeheartedly with much of it, but agree with their desire to express their dismay.
Question: What “unpopular” beliefs do you hold? What’s your channel for getting it out?
Measuring how good life is
I’ve quoted Joseph Stiglitz above, as he’s a Nobel laureate in economics who’s long been an influential champion for large-scale reform of economic systems. He’s noted the decline of middle-class prosperity (both Steves above would agree) and he concludes that our accepted measures of prosperity (like GDP and household income) are entirely measuring the wrong thing.
As an economist himself, Stiglitz ironically proposes measuring not economic output, but wellbeing. He and his colleagues suggests 11 variables that advanced economic societies (like Australia) should use as signals of shared prosperity.
Only three are material (income & wealth, jobs and earnings, housing), while eight are quality of life related (health, work-life balance, education and skills, social connectedness, civic engagement, environment, personal security, and subjective wellbeing).
Question: What do you measure in your business that is “the wrong thing”?