Being the Marie Kondo of Performance Measures
One of our local government clients recently told us that we were the "Marie Kondo of performance measures." We took this as a huge compliment - like Marie Kondo, we believe that getting rid of your excess stuff (performance measures) will make your life easier, but we also know it is a hard process and it's important to be gentle.
Here are the top 5 reasons we (and maybe Marie Kondo) hear from cities that it's hard to let go:
"It meant something to me once." Just like that faded t-shirt from that camp you don't even remember, you're never going to use the performance measure that was created for the project that ended five years ago. If the goal isn't relevant to you anymore, neither is the measure.
"Yes, but I got it from someone in the past." People always mean more than things. Whether it's a decorative box from your grandma or performance measures developed by your old boss and mentor, it's hard to separate out the item from the person who handed it over to you. But if it's not helping you, it's not helping anyone.
"But there's a chance I might need it in the future." You know you don't want to dress as a clown for Halloween again, and you don't need to know the number of monthly community meeting hours - but is there a possibility that "future you" will need these things? Guess what - if she does, she always can acquire them again.
"I should keep it just in case - it's not taking up that much space, it doesn't hurt to hold onto it for now." Your huge basement or spreadsheet with more than a million rows tells you that storage isn't a meaningful constraint. But those boxes that might seem out of sight and out of mind are weighing on your consciousness. With performance measures, they are also weighing on the consciousness of everyone who is involved in collecting them.
"I know I should downsize - but I don't have the time or energy to dedicate to that process." Downsizing takes real effort, but it can also gain you time and efficiency. Think about how an uncrowded drawer will save you time looking for socks, and a shorter list of measures will reduce the follow-ups needed to collect data. And while we aren't available for your closets, PorchLight Insights CAN help with your performance measures - reach out here.
The things we own should "spark joy." The performance measures we track should motivate us to manage our progress and make improvements along the way. Hoarding things makes them less special; hoarding measures makes them less meaningful.
It's time to stop your performance measurement hoarding: thank them for what they did for you and let them go.