Way back in 1978 I worked for the British Bata Shoe Company as a Factory Manager running a footwear manufacturing operation which employed almost 2,000 people and had a business turnover of around £14Million (Approximately $20M at today's exchange rate).
My boss and mentor, Roland Hockney, was the Manufacturing Director and he taught me a number of very important lessons. One of those lessons was to pay attention to what was important through measurement.
My performance was judged on a number of factors, or Key Performance Indicators (KPI's).
I made damned sure I had all the up to date numbers at hand at all times because I could guarantee that Roland's questions would always be about the stuff that I should be paying attention to. Yes, I was accountable for meeting profit targets, quality standards, keeping costs within budget and all the usual financial measurements. But Roland also made sure that I was also aware of health and safety, absenteeism, discipline and grievance statistics because he knew that they were an excellent indicator of morale.
The real lesson for me was that I was totally focused on the things that really mattered to the business. I paid attention to the things that I knew were measured and I had very clear objectives and priorities.
Roland was a great boss and mentor and I owe much of my success today to what he taught me over 30 years ago; because I continue to measure what's important.
Let me share with you the Key Performance Indicators that I pay attention to.....{+}
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