Is anyone accountable for a certain result in your organization?  Who is really on the line to make something happen on that number? 

We can easily take it for granted, particularly in a business setting.  However, it is not always the case.

A question to ask is the key driver even measured.  It could be that the most key number in your organization is something that is not captured at all in your financial statements.

You might see an example of this every day in a way that affects you in your most precious resource – time.

What is the measure?  Traffic.

You might see it getting worse over the years.  It can be taking you longer to get to your work and back.  You could be losing time.  Lose money and you can make it back, but time lost is gone forever.

I don’t know much about government agencies, especially here, even though my very first assignment at Arthur Andersen many years ago was to do a one day inventory with the tollway authority.  I had to count the cars going by an automatic toll booth lane and then reconcile the receipts.  I am dating myself, but this was before the days of the cheater gates or the I-pass collection devices.  People could drive by without paying.  It was funny to see the number of people who clearly had no intentions of paying then changed their minds when they saw me.  You also would be amazed at the things that were dumped into the coin collection baskets.

Anyway, back to the point.  Is anybody really accountable for traffic?  Does someone get a bonus for reducing traffic or have their job on the line if it gets worse?  There might be, but it could be hard to imagine.  If there is, it is pretty hidden from the public view.

At a health products client of mine three numbers in particular come to mind.  A pair of numbers is the number of new subscribers and conversions to buyers.  A third key number is the lifetime purchases per buyer.  None of these are numbers that show in the financials, but they are very key drivers.

So what might be a key number that really drives your organization’s performance?  Is it in the financials or is there a number outside that really makes or breaks your results?  Who is responsible for that number?