The Problem with Living Your Life Based on Numbers Alone
This week’s video is about the fallacy of living your life based solely on figures or numbers; for example, counting the money, or counting your golf score.
Visible figures are important, of course. There are bills to pay, and so on. But, the most important figures of all are unknown and unknowable.
Some of the most important figures in life are unknown and unknowable. So what are you to do?
Peter Drucker, one of the greatest management gurus of all time said: “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”?
However, management guru W. Edwards Deming said that “it is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
So, according to Deming, the following things must be considered:
First of all, people should understand that the process of achieving numeric results is more important than the numbers themselves.
Secondly, people who feel they look good only through numbers (did I get my desired minutes to run 10 miles today?) must realize that they need to learn methods to get better numbers; not beat themselves up for poor numbers. This leads to unhappiness.
Unfortunately, not all people want to spend the time to improve the problematic processes in their life.
Hopefully, one day, people will realize that some numbers never tell what’s happening to a person.
Sometimes you must manage your life based on your mission, and values and beliefs.
Use It or Lose It
(1) Remember the most important numbers are unknown and unknowable.
(2) People who feel they look good only through numbers must realize that they need to learn methods to get better numbers, not beat themselves up for poor numbers.
When to Use It:
Whenever you are making decisions in your life based on numbers.
What Do You Think?
Do you use numbers to guide your actions without looking at the methods involved? If yes, please share your thoughts in the space below.
Until next time, behave and as always…Prime Your Pump!
–Howie
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Very interesting – coincidental or planned? Yesterday’s post by Rick focused on Drucker, which I must admit seemed odd, being that you are of the Deming school of thought. Drucker approached management with a numerical result-driven approach. How many people were optimal to perform the job? How can those workers be motivated? How can end results, both tangible (number of items produced) and intangible (employee morale), be increased? Deming’s approach focused on the process itself, and if the process itself can be improved, then improvement in results will naturally follow. I know I am oversimplifying here – both had the same goals, but different approaches and methods on achieving them.
You knew Deming personally, and your father must have been on a first name basis with Drucker at NYU downtown. So were they rivals or friendly competitors? Or is this subject taboo?
“Remember the most important numbers are unknown and unknowable.”
Very true. So what is that most important number? To me the answer seems blatantly obvious – – my life span. I don’t know what the end number will be, but am focusing on stretching out that unknown number as far as possible by controlling the relevant factors – weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, stress and anxiety. Two+ years ago I quit smoking, just one day stopped – it was a struggle. The patch irritated my skin, and I do not like to chew gum. I told Joan I needed something else to satisfy my oral cravings, and she willingly obliged. I feel the results now with easier breathing, although I still carry a pocket inhaler with me.
Hi Dave, I’m not sure if Howie emailed you but I’ll chime in. You have had a lot of great comments over the past year but this one may be my favorite! You totally nailed it in terms of the differences between Drucker and Deming – I could not have said it better myself. As for your question – the back to back blog posts were not planned. While I do disagree with some of Drucker’s methods such as MBO, for the reasons you specify, I do still believe there are a ton of amazing things we can learn from him. One of those things is the concept of Managing Oneself, another being his 5 questions model that he used when meeting w/ organizations. BTW, I also LOVE your important number, there may be no better or more important example. Thanks as always for reading, thinking, and sharing. Be good, Rick