The Metrics That Measure You
I look in the mirror every day. More than once.
If I were to live tweet what’s running through my mind, it would rarely be pretty.
Stop! You say. I think I will!  And I have a plan.
In his book Moneyball, author Michael Lewis chronicles how despite being one of the poorest teams, the A’s became one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball because the cash-strapped Beane reframed the game by recasting how he measured performance.
For example, when the A’s acquired MLB relief pitcher Chad Bradford from the White Sox, Bradford’s standard pitching metrics were respectable, but his fastball came in at 81-85 mph, and he looked funny when he threw — the scouts made fun of him. But because the A’s thought about measurement more comprehensively than the other teams, Beane knew Bradford was a steal.
According to Lewis, “Chad Bradford gave up his share of hits per balls in play, but, more than any pitcher in baseball, they were ground ball hits. His minor league ground ball to fly ball ratio was 5:1. The big league average was more like 1.1: 1. Ground balls were not only hard to hit over the wall; they were hard to hit for doubles and triples.” Bradford eventually signed a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles.
Measuring Tape: Ben Falcifer
I often refer to this story to encourage finding the metrics that best gauge our performance as it applies to business and our careers, but why not how we look, too? Â In Lauren Friedman‘s Psychology Today column I Feel Pretty? she offers two helpful suggestions:
1) Make a list of three things you most like about yourself.  How many are about your appearance? Personality, she writes, is at the core of our self-esteem, not physical features.
2) Choose one or two things that you l like about your looks. “We tend to equate beauty with a particular set of physical features. Fall short in one department and your whole self image can be deflated”, Friedman writes. Why not redefine what beauty is. Write down what is beautiful about you? Rather than dismissing those features, train your eye to focus on them.
I just wrote mine down. A bit of a mind game, but the good kind. It’s a much prettier picture.
And a standard I can meet.
Because it’s mine.
***
What metrics do you use to measure you?
I like that I am _________, and _________, __________.
I love my ________, __________, and __________.
Why are finding the right metrics important both as you identify and do your dreams?
There is a parenting system called Love and Logic that holds at its core that esteem is built when children learn to make good choices and feel the positive consequences for their actions. They learn that they have control over their life and their destiny.
The above fill-in gives me pause and time to think. Maybe a third metric would say, “I’m proud of the following choices: ______, ________,______.” Don’t our actions become the sum total of who we are?
Whitney, I remember you talking once about shifting your career metrics from financials (salary, benefits, options, etc.) to more qualitative parameters: flexibility, autonomy and learning, as I recall. I really loved this shift, and have thought of it often in my own decision making process. Thanks for the reminder that we don’t have to go by everyone’s measure of success. We can set our own standard. And we’ll likely be much happier when we do. Keep writing! Erik
Hey Whitney:
Great post. Metrics do a great job adding clarity, and they can drive behavior too. They also keeps us honest, because very often, what we happen to think and believe just isn’t born out by the numbers.
When it comes to what you write about here, i.e. “how I look” – I’ll be brutally honest. I do not feel pretty when my percentage of body fat is too high. When it is, my clothes feel tight, my energy level drops, and I don’t feel nearly as good about myself as when it’s where it should be.
There’s much talk about “liking the body you have,” and I do, but not when my body is any old way. I like it when my body fat is in the single digits. No, I don’t have an eating disorder or body image issues. I’ve taken the trouble to self-experiment with metrics, comparing how I feel when it’s too high, when it’s too low, and when it’s just right – for me and my needs (vs. someone else’s idea of where it should be).
I prioritize nutrion and exercise in my life because they make me feel good, physically and emotionally. And they make me feel good about me. I realize that not everyone feels this way, and I’m not out to convert everyone. All I’m doing here is writing about how I feel about how I look – because that’s what this post is about.
In my own experience, I’ve found that Henry Rollins is dead on in his now famous piece entitled, “The Iron” – “When the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts.”
Great post, Whitney, as always. Thank you.
Susan
I really like the idea of a third metric. I’m proud of the following choices. For example, I’m proud of the decision I made to marry my husband. That was a good choice.
Erik –
And yet it is so hard, isn’t it? To measure ourselves by our own metrics!
Thanks Erik for the encouragement.
Susan –
I love the Rollin quote which I wasn’t familiar with. And for you, a metric of success is a strong body. Period. But that’s not imposed by someone else. It’s by you. And having just gone on a 4-mile run/walk, I definitely am feeling good. Our bodies do matter. They are to be cherished. Thanks for helping to make sure the pendulum didn’t swing too far the “other way.”
And thanks as always, for your thoughtful comments.
‘
Whitney this is my first visit to your site. Excellent post and discussion. True happiness and success only comes when we are self-defined. Personal metrics are critical to that self-definition.
However, one caveat I would add is this: We should carefully define not only the metric but how frequently we measure it. An obsession with measuring our metrics has the potential to steal energy and time from the pursuit of our ultimate goals. Imagine if Tom Brady calculated his quarterback rating after every pass instead of after the game, where he could analyze the measurement more critically using a win or a loss for context.
I also like Susan’s use of the Henry Rollins quote. Rollins a legendary and ground breaking heavy metal musician, actor, poet, TV Host, and body builder is also an example of the concept”… if you can transform your body you can definitely transform your mind…” It is a symbiotic process.
Phil
Thank you Phil! Great observation about Tom Brady…. measuring progress too frequently… can be debilitating. Sort of like an author checking their Amazon ranking every hour
Innovation Measurements | Spring2 Innovation - June 25, 2012
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