The KPIs that really matter - Arthur’s 3 daily touch points

Some bits of wisdom you hear just seem to stick, mostly because of their sheer simplicity and their statement of what should be bleeding obvious. But also, I think, because of the sincerity and humility with which you hear them imparted. I'll never forget one especially sage piece from my old mate Arthur Neely, which went, as best I can recall it, like this:

"When I'm driving home from work, or at the end of the day, I like to check on 3 things. Have I done:

• Something I have to do?
  


• Something I want to do?
  


• Something for someone else?"
  

I like Arthur's review process because it makes me look across 3 different areas, and it doesn't set the bar unrealistically high. It doesn't ask, for instance: "Did I do EVERYTHING I had to do today?" It doesn't require me to be up there with St Mary McKillop; it just asks for one altruistic action. And it validates a criterion which I might not otherwise net feel entitled to rank – it's okay to do something for myself.

Basically, Arthur's 3 criteria are all eminently achievable on any given day, without any superhuman, above-and-beyond effort. I know that I don't tick all 3 boxes every day, but what do you reckon it would be like if most of us could insert those 3 ticks, even 50 per cent of the time?

Before committing his wisdom to the blogosphere, I checked in with Arthur, and he said this:

"To put some context around it, I had found that when I had reached a management/leadership position in my career there were no daily measures available to check yourself against. In my earlier career there were always some daily KPIs or deliverables that tended to keep me focused and provide some sense of achievement.

"I needed something simple to check into on a daily basis; " Improving Shareholder Value" just didn't do it for me.

"So those three little touch points worked for me, and still do.

"As a by-product I also found that they grounded me as a leader, particularly when the shit was hitting the fan as it always does from time to time."

So if you want to spend a few minutes at the end of your day in a high pay-off activity, try Arthur's 3 touch points.

(I snapped this while doing something I wanted to do - walking through the bush early one morning.)