Show the Value of What You Do summary

Say a new police chief takes over a department struggling with frequent citizen complaints against officers. Each complaint costs the city tens of thousands in legal payouts. The chief makes reducing these complaints a top priority. This specific, measurable goal provides clarity on the desired impact.

When starting any new program or initiative, it’s crucial to begin with the end in mind – what do you want to achieve? Clearly defining your goals upfront leads to greater chances of success.

All right – let’s say you’ve nailed down the impact you want to have with a new program, like reducing homelessness. Now comes the intriguing bit: figuring out how to actually achieve that goal.

First, identify the specific performance that needs change. Do staff skills need improving? Are new systems or processes required? Pinpoint the gaps blocking progress. Brainstorm solutions that fill those gaps. Some you may handle internally, while outside experts may be needed for others. Prioritize solutions for greatest impact.

Martin Burt wants to end poverty in Paraguay. A worthy goal – but what are the indicators that he’s making progress? Through his Poverty Stoplight program he’s developed 50 indicators with objectives like getting participants to buy in, creating a plan and budget, and helping them access credit.

Setting clear, measurable objectives is crucial for program success, whether you’re launching a new mentoring initiative or imparting new skills. Objectives provide guidance, motivation, and a means to demonstrate value.

Your value will ultimately depend on evidence – so how do you collect your data?

Start by leveraging predefined objectives to shape what data you need, who will provide it, and timeframes for gathering info. This keeps the focus on key metrics instead of going off-track haphazardly collecting data.

Remember the police chief trying to reduce the cost of citizen complaints? How does he analyze his data to prove that it’s his initiative that’s saving his station money and not another program?

To find out your initiative’s impact, the first thing to do is isolate it from other influences. One way to do this is to use an experimental group that receives your solution and compare it against a control group that doesn’t.

Success is sweet, but life goes on, and new challenges come. How do you leverage your success and the lessons you learn from failure to continue to achieve value?

First, evaluate results thoroughly. Then set communication objectives, like how audiences should react to results and what they should learn and do next. Choose communication methods suited to each audience.