Outcomes is where "ITS" at! Or is it?

Metrics and outcomes are all the rage! 

Big data, improved systems, infographics, return on investment, grant reporting and more trends have pushed us to focus on the outcomes and metrics. Which as a Finance major, I love!

However, this weekend I was with my son at a swim clinic at the Y with Rebecca Soni and she got me thinking. She said something like (not an exact quote, paraphrased):

Know the outcome you want. But in the moment, focus on what you are doing, not the outcome.

This really made me appreciate my work at The Cara Program even more. We have an intense focus on outcomes and metrics. The numbers surround us each day. They are posted, they are talked about, they are emailed and everyone knows their part to make the number goals.

But at the same time, we are consistently living in the moment. Each morning we have motivations with our students, in which we celebrate the small achievements. 

I could ramble on with this thought, but I will just leave you to finish the thoughts in your own way on this one. 

The metrics of fishing

How much did you catch? That is the first question people ask when you go fishing. And they expect you to have counted. But you cant just say how many you caught, you also are expected to know their weight, length, type and what bait you used. That is all so obvious and straight forward, but let me tell you a short story.

I am in my late 30's, ok fine really close to 40. And my two oldest sons are 17 and 18. These are years of big change for them. I dont seem to get enough time with them. All I have enough time to do is talk to them about being responsible, making the right choices and what did they do now...  I talked to Grandpa and we arranged to stay out fishing with just the older boys. We had the gear, the weather was great (a lot dark though, which doesn't mix well with sharp hooks), we had our bait and we had a fishing plan.  When the fishing trip was all over, everyone asked the obvious questions stated above.

Now if you hadnt heard that very short synopsis of my story, you would think that the measure of success is how many fish we caught, right? But I hope you see that my measurement of success in this scenario was me spending time with my sons and whether we connected. Did they see that I am more than a mean face that says "no" and pushes them to be who they could be?

Dont you think we should be measuring our social media activity with this type of lens? Yes, you need to be able to report on where you fished, number caught, size, type and what bait you used. However, maybe it is time to stop focusing on the fish and look at what made the trip special and the connections you made while fishing?