The gap between the measurable and the tangible

When numbers guide and when they deceive

After a point, numbers multiply in business. Dashboards are created. Weekly reports, monthly charts, comparisons, arrows, percentages. Everything is measured. It seems that the more we measure, the more confident we are.

But often it is the other way around. As the numbers increase, clarity decreases.

Because numbers can calm you or numb you. Especially when you are tired. There is a problem inside, but you open it and see: CTR is normal, conversion has not dropped, traffic is increasing. You convince yourself that there is no problem. However, the problem is not the numbers. in behavior. And behavior is not always measured immediately.

The numbers tell you what's going on. But it does not say why it happened. To understand "why", it is not enough to look, to stop need Very few people stay in business. Everyone measures, but few think.

There is also such an illusion: numbers are objective. A person can make a mistake, a feeling can deceive, but not a number. This is half true. The numbers don't lie. But he doesn't tell you everything. He says which part he shows. What he does not show, he hides by being silent.

For example, sales increase. Everyone is happy. But no one asks which customer the sale came from, for what reason, whether that customer will return. The number is good, but half the story. And half the story is very dangerous.

The numbers guide you when you don't read them one by one. them you talk to each other. A single indicator almost never tells the truth. The truth is in the relationship. How one number changes with another number.

But when we're in a hurry, we stick to single digits. Because it's simple. And what is simple is comforting. Comfort is sometimes the enemy of development.

There is also the problem of KPI. KPIs are initially created to guide the way. Then it slowly becomes a goal. People start making decisions not to grow the business, but to make their KPI look good. At this point, numbers are no longer a compass, it's a mask.

And this is the strangest thing: everything seems "right", but something is not working. The team is tired. The client is silent. There is a feeling of emptiness inside. But the numbers are silent. Because this type of problems can be measured only if it is delayed.

Numbers are deceiving when you use them as an argument against feelings. When you answer "but look at the data" to someone who says "I think there is something wrong here". However, the job of data is not to silence the feeling, but to silence it is to check.

True balance comes when a feeling creates a question for you, and a number helps you find the answer to that question. Otherwise, insensible data makes you mechanical. Feeling without data blinds you.

Numbers show the way when you have already set the direction. Even the most accurate measurements won't get you there if you don't know where you're going. It will just lead you in the wrong direction faster.

Perhaps this is the most difficult thing: working with numbers and not mastering them. Listen to them and do not give in to them. Don't take them seriously and blindly believe them.

Because there are certain turning points in business that are first felt and then measured. If you only accept what is measured, you are late.

And sometimes the best decision is not yet visible on the dashboard.