How Long Would It Take You To Earn £1,000?

I was just reading today's The Sunday Times and the front page lead "Fat cat row over public sector pay."

While concern is expressed that the top 300 bosses in the public sector saw their pay jump 12.8% to an average of over £237,000, one man stands out.

Take a bow Adam Crozier, group chief executive of Royal Mail.

His total salary and benefits package leaped ahead by 21% to £1.25 million.

The Sunday Times has worked out that he can earn £1,000 in just one hour and 27 minutes of sitting at his desk.

I like this performance measure.

It strikes me that it's a bit like the Tax Free Day - the date in the year when we have earned the governments 40% tax take and we are now working for ourselves.

Perhaps we should all know our own Household bills free day - the date when we finally start earning money to pay for all those nice little luxuries.

There is an important message here.

I like different ways of looking at performance. I like new ways of recording performance measurement.

Numbers expressed in one way can seem dull, but turn them around and suddenly their true impact can be revealed.

Now I don't know the true percentages but suppose (since I was talking about Royal Mail) that it was reported that 92% of first class letters reached their correct destination within one day.

It sounds impressive doesn't it.

Most of us haven't experienced many 92% marks in school exams.

But turn it around.

The 92% statistic that sounds great would mean that 8% of first class letters failed to do what the customer has paid the Royal Mail a high premium to do.

Suddenly the issue comes into focus, and any complacency can be shaken out.

Are you expressing your key measures in the right way or could you benefit by looking at them in a new way?

Remember the old saying "There are lies, damned lies and statistics."

Performance measurement is one of my favourite topics for improving a business. It is the very first area that I cover in my Eight Pillars of Business Prosperity business coaching.

Performance measurement tells you where you are. It tells you whether you are getting better or worse.

It is the starting point for asking why and what.

• Why is performance this good or bad?
   
• What can we do to improve performance.