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Show the Value of What You Do
Measuring and Achieving Success in Any Endeavor
Patricia Pulliam Phillips (Author) | Jack J. Phillips (Author) | Patricia Phillips (Author)
Publication date: 09/20/2022
Prove your effectiveness to anyone-and achieve professional success-by adopting the same ROI methods and metrics that leading companies use.
In an era of evidence-based inquiry, people need to be able to demonstrate the value of their projects credibly. But how do you do that when there isn't an obvious measure connected to the project, like increased sales?
In their new book Patti and Jack Phillips, the cofounders of ROI Institute, show how you can adopt the same methodology used by more than 6,000 organizations in seventy countries to evaluate large institutional initiatives. By following their six-step process, you can build a case for any project, process, or intervention, even so-called soft programs. For example, the first case study in the book involves successfully demonstrating the effectiveness of chaplaincy in an intensive care unit.
The authors explain how to link your project to a meaningful business outcome, make sure your project will actually influence that outcome, identify metrics that will show if you're making progress, collect and analyze data, and use the results to build support.
This book includes extensive examples from a wide range of organizations: businesses, nonprofits, schools, law enforcement, and more. It provides diagnostic tools and supportive practices and even offers advice on how to find a positive interpretation for results that don't conform to your anticipated outcome.
Answering the question Is it worth it? defines the ultimate value of any project. Using the methodology this book presents will keep your work relevant, your career on track, and your organization healthy.
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Prove your effectiveness to anyone-and achieve professional success-by adopting the same ROI methods and metrics that leading companies use.
In an era of evidence-based inquiry, people need to be able to demonstrate the value of their projects credibly. But how do you do that when there isn't an obvious measure connected to the project, like increased sales?
In their new book Patti and Jack Phillips, the cofounders of ROI Institute, show how you can adopt the same methodology used by more than 6,000 organizations in seventy countries to evaluate large institutional initiatives. By following their six-step process, you can build a case for any project, process, or intervention, even so-called soft programs. For example, the first case study in the book involves successfully demonstrating the effectiveness of chaplaincy in an intensive care unit.
The authors explain how to link your project to a meaningful business outcome, make sure your project will actually influence that outcome, identify metrics that will show if you're making progress, collect and analyze data, and use the results to build support.
This book includes extensive examples from a wide range of organizations: businesses, nonprofits, schools, law enforcement, and more. It provides diagnostic tools and supportive practices and even offers advice on how to find a positive interpretation for results that don't conform to your anticipated outcome.
Answering the question Is it worth it? defines the ultimate value of any project. Using the methodology this book presents will keep your work relevant, your career on track, and your organization healthy.
CHAPTER 1
Show the Value Process
MYTH: It is extremely difficult to show the value of the work that you do.
REALITY: Showing the value of what you do is a logical, easy process.
Reverend Bruce Fenner, director of endorsement for The United Methodist Church (UMC), knew there was a growing need for chaplains to demonstrate the value of their work. He recognized mere trust in spiritual care was no longer evidence enough; more tangible data was required if chaplaincy was to continue receiving funding, particularly in health care, the military, and even corporate settings. So, he and The UMC General Board of Higher Education and Ministry decided to host a workshop of approximately 57 chaplains. We facilitated that workshop. There we met Reverend Doug Stewart, chief chaplain at Memorial Hospital in Belleville, Illinois. Doug was one of many participants recognizing the need to show how chaplaincy contributes to organizational outcomes. He immediately saw the pertinence of our process to his work. He knew that failure to connect the work of chaplaincy to organizational outcomes would put funding for chaplaincy intervention at risk.
Many people argue that chaplaincy is a worthy investment that transcends the need for hardline accountability. It’s hard not to trust a chaplain, right? But our work with Doug and others in similar situations tells a different story. Creating and demonstrating value for investments in projects, processes, and interventions has never been more important. Options for spending on activities to improve organizational, societal, and environmental outcomes are wide open. Many options cost little and are often selected because of the minimal financial commitment. And while proponents of investing in more expensive solutions believe “you get what you pay for,” the important question is “Do you really?” This chapter introduces the Show the Value Process that helps Doug and thousands of others show the value of their work.
THE SEARCH FOR SUCCESS MEASURES
Why do you do the work you do? The specific work—the project you are working on now, in fact. How will you demonstrate the value of that project, or the system you are installing, or the new procedure you are implementing? Defining success in clear terms is the first step to demonstrate the value of what you do. But as they say, the first step is always the hardest. Too often we try to select one or two measures that, in the end, fail to communicate real value. That is because the measures may represent only one viewpoint or type of data. Here are some categories of measures that reflect different perspectives of value.
Happiness, commitment, and motivation. Reaction from the project team defines success. The perception of a project by team members is a vital measure of success. Are they happy with it? Are they committed to making it work? If answers to these questions are negative, there is a likelihood the project won’t get off dead center. And while important, these measures are not enough.
Learning and capability. Sometimes the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and credentials, as part of a project, may indicate success. Without a doubt, if you learn new knowledge and develop new skills to make a project work, there is opportunity to contribute additional value to the organization. But these measures of success are not enough. Knowledge is important, but it is only powerful when it is used.
Habits, behaviors, and actions. Routine and systematic actions are indicators of success. People are on the move; things are happening. So what? Action or behavior change without a purpose is just busywork. The consequence or impact of actions, behaviors, or habits is where real value resides.
Impact and consequences. Here is where the real value of work becomes apparent, particularly from the perspective of sponsors and supporters—those people funding projects. These are the measures in the system and organization records that reflect ultimate outcomes of work. You have likely heard them referred to as key performance indicators (KPIs). Measures of output, quality, and time are KPIs of importance to project funders. These measures are easily converted to money, making value evident or tangible. Other measures such as image, collaboration, and teamwork, are also important. These measures are more difficult to convert to money and represent intangible measures of success. Value may be inherently known, but much less obvious than the improvement in tangible measures. Tangible and intangible indicators of value are great—but they, too, are not always enough for some to describe the real value of your work.
It was worth it. Now, we are getting somewhere. Answering the question, “Is it worth it?” defines ultimate value. It answers the ROI question. Did we get more bang out of the buck than we put into it? How do benefits compare to costs? ROI informs our decisions daily. When we purchase an item, we ask ourselves, Is it worth it? Am I going to get more benefit (tangible or intangible) by spending my money this way, than I would by holding on to it or spending it another way? From a financial perspective, if benefits exceed costs, the project or activity is successful.
Defining success can be difficult if you are only looking through a single lens. Perspective is important. Demonstrating value from multiple perspectives will help prevent other people from undervaluing what you do.
FIVE LEVELS OF SUCCESS
Think about your projects. Without you, your team, their time, and financial resources, the project would never get off the ground. Therefore, value commences with the right people at the right time with the right amount of time available and the appropriate financial resources. From there, the project rolls out. To create and demonstrate your projects’ real value, measure their success along the five categories in the previous section. Let’s call them levels, recognizing the desire to take it to the next level. From the perspective of the funder or sponsor of the project, the next level is more valuable than the previous level. Here are the five levels of success, which define value for your project.
1. Reaction and Planned Action
Can you imagine working with a group of people who are uninterested, see no value in the project they are working on, and are uncommitted? The effort to get things moving would be tremendous. Creating value from a project requires that participants view the project as relevant to their situation, important to their success, and necessary to the success of others. Measuring reaction data will show you that the project is useful, helpful, and appropriate—with project participants committing to make the project successful. Perhaps they would even recommend it to others. Reaction data is an important first level of success.
2. Learning
People can only perform if they have the necessary information and know how to perform. Learning is the second level of success. But they must first buy in to the project. Learning can lead to buy-in. So, there is a connection between this second level of success and the previous. When people know what they need to know to make a project successful, their resistance will more than likely decrease, motivation will increase, and confidence to do the work will grow. To top it off, they can do the job! In most situations, projects include learning new knowledge and skills. Measuring learning for your project is essential, even if done informally.
3. Application and Implementation
But it’s not just about knowing; it’s also about doing. Applying new skills, testing new concepts, completing tasks, exploring options, and identifying possibilities represent the third level of success—application and implementation. Measures taken here are helpful because they indicate that people are making progress using newly acquired knowledge, skills, and information. Those who are successful deliver greater value than those who are not. Application and implementation measures consider all processes and procedures that are necessary to make a project successful, such as tasks, actions, behaviors, checklists, and policies. The information you garner from this third level of success is powerful. It will tell you what is working, what is not, and what reinforcement and support you and your team need to move progress along.
4. Impact
So what if people are applying what they learn? How is it helping you improve output, quality, cost, and time? Sound familiar? This mighty question, or something similar, is the question for which our clients most frequently seek our advice. We make the connection between what people are doing and the consequence of their doing it. This delivers the outcomes we define as impact, the fourth level of success. Impact is the most important level of success from the perspective of sponsors and project funders. Impact measures represent the consequence of application and implementation—they are the strategic and operational KPIs.
This level of success includes improvements in measures such as revenue, new customers, productivity, quality, incidents, waste, retention, and time, to name a few. Indicators of these measures are in organization records and databases. In governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and nonprofits, impact may include patient outcomes, employment, graduation rates, infant mortality rates, addictions, crime rates, and poverty reduction. In addition to these tangible measures, there are also intangible measures such as customer satisfaction, image, stress, patient satisfaction, teamwork, quality of life, and alliances.
When you demonstrate the value of what you do at Level 4 Impact, you are getting to the heart of the issue that led you to do the work you are doing. Delivering impact relies on success throughout the journey, making measurement at the previous levels even more important. You can only improve the all-important KPIs with your project if people see the project as an imperative, know what they need to know, and do what they need to do to make the project successful.
5. Return on Investment
Is it worth it? In the end, for many projects, this is the bottom-line question. The return on investment in a project is the fifth and ultimate level of success. While there are many measures that tell us the financial efficacy of an investment, the two most common measures (and the most adaptable) are the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) and return on investment (ROI) as a percentage.
First, the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is the monetary benefits from a project divided by the cost of the project. Benefit-cost analysis has been used for centuries and is meaningful to many executives, particularly those in nonprofits, governments, and NGOs.
The second measure is the ROI, expressed as a percentage. The formula compares the net benefits divided by the cost multiplied by 100. The net benefits are the monetary benefits minus the project costs. Derived from the finance and accounting field, the ROI formula is a common measure in businesses. Even consumers understand it, as they can clearly see ROI when they invest their money in a savings account with a financial institution. For most executives, it shows the efficient use of funds. Impact alone is one thing; knowing how the monetary value of your project compares to how much you spent on the project is another. The higher the ROI, the more efficient the use of the funds.
IF THESE LEVELS ARE SO LOGICAL, WHY DON’T WE ALWAYS FOLLOW THEM?
The five levels of success offer a logical, rational approach to showing value. It’s a classic logic model that dates to the 1800s. Most people agree, yet so few live it when planning projects, measuring success, and making adjustments.
Think about leadership. Probably no other subject has been the basis of so many books. People write about leadership again and again and again. Still, there is a big question, “What’s the value of leadership?”
It’s often said that a successful leader is someone who inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. People react to successful leaders in a positive way. They respect the leader, and they are excited to work with the leader. A successful leader is someone people learn from—or the leader at least inspires them to learn. More importantly, a successful leader influences people to act and do more. Finally, a successful leader inspires people to become more—to contribute more—to have an impact. And this leader-follower journey should be worth it for the leader to lead and the follower to follow. That’s the ROI. Do you see the logic in the levels? Table 2 profiles the concept.
Too often, we focus on one of these levels, stick with it, and that’s it. You are looking for a charismatic leader, and that’s all you want. Or maybe you’re like a sponge and want to learn from a leader who is a great teacher, but that’s it. Or you want a leader who will influence you to act—and nothing else. Maybe you want a leader who will influence you to make an impact, or a leader who creates a valuable experience for everyone. Realistically, a successful leader needs to be successful at all levels. Success at each level leads to success at the next.
Table 2. Success Profile of Leadership
Although these are logical levels, many individuals don’t think in these terms. Sometimes this is because they view the different levels as too much information or too hard to deliver. Maybe they have felt the pain of taking the wrong measurements at each level, delivering less-than-valuable insights, so they opt out. These people fail to consider how this chain of value occurs. They also fail to consider the consequences that occur when their preferred level of success proves, well, unsuccessful. We need the different levels of success. They describe how we deliver ultimate value—and what we need to focus on when we don’t.
SHOW THE VALUE PROCESS
You now have a framework of success measures that will help ensure you can report value from multiple perspectives. The next question you should be asking yourself is How can I plan for, deliver, and capture these five levels of success for my project? At the same time, you should be asking, How do I ensure that the results I report are credible? Like any journey, you need a road map (either paper or digital will work). This road map will help you explain to others what you are going to do, step by step. It also helps you explain what you did when it’s done. The process presented in this book includes six steps to design, deliver, and evaluate a successful project, program, system, event, procedure, or initiative. Following the process will make your journey toward success much easier than if you just start out on your own because you think you know better than the cartographers. Our process is intentionally kept simple to give you flexibility when detours emerge. We will present the steps from the perspective of Doug Stewart from the opening story of this chapter.
Step 1: Why? Start with Impact
Back to the opening story. Following the workshop, Doug began thinking about the different measures important to the hospital system. One of the most important measures is patient length of stay (LOS). The longer a person stays in the hospital, the more it costs the hospital system and ultimately the patient. If the stay is extensive, healthcare reimbursement may not cover the hospital’s costs. Monitoring LOS is particularly important for high-cost units, such as the intensive care unit (ICU). Doug decided to measure how a chaplain could influence LOS for the hospital. This became the “why” for his journey toward success.
Answering the question of why before moving forward with a project clarifies the impact you want from the project, program, or initiative. We’re not talking about the aspiration or actions, activities, or behaviors. Rather, we mean the strategic or operational KPIs your project will improve. At this step, it is essential to align to key business measures that your work will influence and define the specific indicators. Ask, “Is this a problem worth solving or an opportunity worth pursuing?” If it is either, describe the problem or opportunity as precisely as possible as one or more business measures. Then, determine the current level of performance in the measure. This becomes your baseline.
Step 2: How? Select the Right Solution
Next, Doug reflected on the role chaplaincy plays in determining patient LOS. He anticipated, and research confirmed, that chaplaincy can improve LOS. Another important area of focus is improvement in patient satisfaction. When chaplains focus on patient satisfaction, the patients, and their family, cope better with the situation. Considering the work he and his fellow chaplains do and how it helps patients, Doug became convinced that good chaplaincy can improve the LOS measure.
This second step in the process answers the critical question: “Is this the right solution to influence the impact measure?” Answering this question may require some effort on your part or that of others. It certainly requires a mindset for curiosity. Interviews, focus groups, analytics, and phenomenological research can be helpful. However, you do not always need to go that far. Sometimes, enough insight can come from review of records, external studies, and benchmarking. In Doug’s case, it was simply reflection on the work chaplains do and a few conversations.
To find your right solution, consider what is working and what needs to change. Change may include using a new procedure, new technology, new behavior, or taking specific corrective actions. Perhaps the change includes stopping something that is interfering with performance.
Determining the solution will generate new questions such as “What will people need to know to make the solution work?” Learning needs are important in finalizing the solution design and developing the evaluation strategy. Additionally, it is important to answer questions concerning how you or others prefer to implement the solution to address the need. Aligning the solution to the “why” and identifying what people need to know and how to best implement it serves as the basis for the project, described next, for Doug’s situation.
Doug wanted to study patients who usually pass away in the ICU or are moved to a hospice level of care in the ICU. The place chaplains invest the most time in the ICU is with those most critical patients and patients who are at end of life. In the ICU, the chaplain is a key, trusted player in helping families come to terms with these challenging situations. Doug embedded a chaplain into the ICU; whereas before, the chaplain was a visitor and not part of the ICU team.
With Doug’s project properly planned, he set out to demonstrate how the embedded chaplain can make a difference in LOS within the ICU. He compared the success of an ICU that had an embedded chaplain to another ICU without a chaplain embedded. While many factors can influence LOS in an ICU, Doug did the best he could to match the groups against those factors prior to measuring LOS. His thinking was that while he may not have a perfect match, the comparison would provide good enough insight to judge the contribution of chaplaincy.
Step 3: What? Expect Success with Objectives
Doug needed to set specific goals for his project to reduce length of stay, the impact objective. To achieve success with LOS, Doug knew he must also achieve success as the chaplain performs his work. So, Doug set application objectives that described how he would interact with the patient, family, and the team. Doug wanted to ensure that everyone, including the patient, followed the processes and protocols to carry out the spiritual care work. To ensure success, he also knew people needed to know what he was doing and their role in making chaplaincy successful. So, he set learning objectives. Finally, Doug knew that everyone involved must see the chaplain’s work as relevant to the situation, important to better health care, something they will make successful, and a process they would recommend to others. He, therefore, set objectives that clarified the reactions he hoped to receive from others in the process.
This third step in the journey sets expectations for success along the way. This provides direction, so that everyone involved knows exactly what they need to do to improve performance in measures that matter. To be successful here, you need to:
1. Establish the definition of success recognizing that success does not occur until the impact occurs. This concept is important because we sometimes prematurely think success comes from learning or application. No, the project is not successful until there is a demonstrable impact. In Doug’s case, this was reducing length of stay.
2. Define objectives for reaction, learning, application, and impact because objectives provide focus, direction, and guidance. They serve as the blueprint for designing and delivering the project and measuring success at all four levels.
3. Share the objectives with others involved in the project, so they will know what to do to make the project successful. Each person involved in the project works to achieve the desired success at the impact level. They are designing for impact.
Step 4: How Much? Collect Data along the Way
Doug executed the project, and along the way he captured reaction data and learning data to determine the likelihood of successful improvement in LOS. Although informal, his data collection included journaling his observation of people’s reactions, learning, and insights. Collecting the application data involved a slightly more formal documentation that everyone was doing their part to ensure a successful intervention and that patients were on track for an appropriately timed discharge from the hospital. Finally, he collected impact data by monitoring the length of stay for his unit.
This fourth step captures the data on the first four levels of success. Demonstrating the evolution of success as a project is underway is an essential step in this process. It is important for you to collect reaction data early to determine if those involved in the project see its value. Whether formally or informally, you must collect learning data to ensure that everyone knows what they should do to drive success. Capture application data to see if people are using what they have learned, and that they are doing this frequently and consistently. Finally, collect impact data on the measures selected at the beginning of the project.
Step 5: What’s It Worth? Analyze the Data
With data showing improvement in LOS for the ICU with an embedded chaplain, Doug compared it to the measure of LOS to the control group—the ICU without an embedded chaplain. He saw very little improvement in LOS in the control group, but more improvement in the experimental group. The diference between the two groups proved to be significant. Doug reviewed the two groups again to make sure that he was comparing similar groups. He asked himself and others on his team, “Is there anything in these groups that would affect this measure or any differences between these groups that would affect the measure?” Doug convinced himself that no other major influence could be affecting the groups, giving him confidence that his claim about how much improvement was due to the embedded chaplain. This step is essential to the credibility of his claim that good chaplaincy improves LOS.
When analyzing data, credibility is a key concern. This step of the process determines if the impact data will be tangible or intangible and calculates the fifth level of success, ROI. While impact data provide evidence that the work made a difference, more compelling proof is required. This step sorts out the effects of the project on the impact data, recognizing that not all the improvement is the result of this project. Some of it may come from other influences internally or externally. This step will help you credibly back up your claim that the project has an impact.
Doug wanted to show the actual ROI. He located the costs for each day of stay in ICU. He extrapolated the impact findings for one year and multiplied the number of days avoided by the cost for a one-day stay in the hospital. This yielded a savings of $251,640 (monetary benefits). Doug then examined the cost of the chaplain on the project, which was $33,800. He calculated the return on investment, which compares the monetary benefits to the costs of the chaplaincy. The project realized a very high ROI:
For every dollar invested in this project, the dollar is returned, plus an additional $6.45. Chaplaincy proved to be well worth the investment.
Sometimes it is important to address the question, “What’s it worth?” To do this requires you to convert the impact to a monetary value and calculate the costs of the work. Using these two numbers you can then calculate the ROI, which will tell you in numerical terms if the project is worth the investment in it.
Step 6: So What? Leverage the Results
The final step in Doug’s journey was to present the results to show the value of this project and its worth to the hospital and the profession. Doug pointed out that this project was a win-win-win project: (1) the appropriate care for the patient; (2) better care for the families of the patients as they go through the patient’s terminal condition; (3) cost savings for the hospital. Clearly, the results were impressive, and this study helped him obtain the continued, needed support, and, yes, funding from the hospital administrator. Today, Doug shares his journey with other chaplains by speaking at conferences and writing in professional journals. He has even won awards for this project. Doug did what many will not—demonstrate the real value of his work, chaplaincy. In doing so, he inspired others in the chaplaincy field to show the value of what they do. It is worth the effort from all perspectives.
Figure 1. The Show the Value Process Model
When the ROI is determined, the question becomes “So what?” The critical issue now is to leverage the results for maximum benefit. The goal is always to make the outcome better. If the project is successful, make it more successful. If it is not successful, change things to make it successful the next time or make the next project successful. Use the results to gain support, commitment, influence, and funding.
The road map for your journey toward value is shown in Figure 1. This book devotes a chapter to each step. These steps are simple, easy to use, and will not consume excessive amounts of time. Following the six steps will provide you with credible answers to questions frequently asked about your work: Why? How? What? How much? What’s it worth? and So what?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN RESULTS ARE SURPRISING?
Katie Westwood led the tuition assistance program at a large Fortune 50 company. Many employees used the tuition refund program to take evening or online courses. It was a popular benefit, but the senior management felt the tuition refund program should be a retention factor that would keep people at the organization. The company had a great benefits package, excellent pay, and great working conditions. There was minimal turnover, and retention was not an issue. Top executives had made comments that the tuition refund program should possibly be discontinued because it was not affecting turnover.
Katie knew about these discussions and was concerned because she felt there were benefits to having the tuition refund, many of them intangible. Katie took on a project to show the program’s value and conducted a study with the participants of the tuition refund program. She collected data directly from the participants to measure their perceived value of the program and get a sense of the skills, competencies, and knowledge they had gained and the extent to which they use what they learned on the job or in career moves.
Katie also collected impact data, which showed that there was little or no connection to turnover. The tuition refund benefit was not much of a factor in retaining employees. However, it was a factor in improving career mobility and career enhancement. As it turned out, career mobility was a high-value measure to the organization. In fact, at the time of the study and today, the company celebrates the fact that the former president started on the front line of the organization. Even Katie began as a frontline worker. Through the tuition refund program, she obtained a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and her doctorate. The program enabled her to progress in her career and manage the tuition assistance program. Later, she became the director of leadership development.
Katie presented the data to the management team. She detailed how the program was working and the fact that it was not driving retention. She explained that if the program value was based on its connection to turnover, the ROI would be negative. However, it was responsible for much of the internal career mobility and career development with many promotions and transfers linked to the program. Katie had difficulty placing a monetary value on those promotions and transfers but knew that it probably could be done with extra effort and even offered to do so.
Her presentation made the executives realize that the program was adding value, and they decided not to discontinue it. They also decided to change the program design to help employees in their work by focusing on selected majors or job-related courses that were specific to the organization. This adjustment provided more focus on career opportunities and career mobility. Essentially, this study, completed at the impact level with a negative ROI, prevented the executives from taking negative action. It saved the tuition refund program from possible discontinuation or severe restriction.
Are you afraid your work will not demonstrate extremely positive returns? Don’t be. Disappointing results do not always translate into discontinuation of a project or reprimand by the boss. Intangible benefits can be strong enough to make up the difference. Even if the impact is disappointing, the opportunity is there to understand what led to disappointment. Essentially, even if a program lacks financial value, the consequences may not be a problem. Because you have the foresight to collect all the other data, you can use it to determine what caused the financial failure. The changes necessary to lead to success are usually obvious. Thus, having negative results at Level 4 Impact or Level 5 ROI doesn’t mean that your project, you, or your team will be terminated. It merely means you have an opportunity to adjust. Of course, if results indicate that you implemented the wrong solution at the outset, well, maybe you don’t need that solution after all.
SHOW THE VALUE THINKING
When you begin to use the five levels of success and the six steps of the Show the Value Process to deliver that value, your thinking completely changes. Previously, we mentioned changing your mindset; now it’s time to be specific. When you begin to work with this process, you approach your projects and your work differently. Show the Value thinking includes these issues:
1. Take action before someone asks for results.
2. Respect the value chain for the five levels of success.
3. Remember that the most important measure of success is impact.
4. Start with the end in mind.
5. Design for the results that you need.
6. Use ROI analysis selectively.
7. Look for the positive in a negative ROI.
When you begin thinking this way, you’ll never go back to the traditional approach of evaluating your projects and initiatives.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
This book is based on almost three decades of research and practice. We (the authors, our team, and the users of the Show the Value Process) have measured the success of individuals involved in leadership development, coaching, team building, communication, empowerment, and a variety of different self-help processes. We have measured the success of habits, behaviors, culture, actions, networking, collaboration, and other hard-to-measure items. And, of course, we measure the success of technology, quality, marketing, and even work itself. Our combined experience is distilled into the six logical steps described in this chapter. We invite you to explore these steps in more detail, with more real-world examples in the remaining chapters.
Our approach to measurement is a proven process that places success on different levels. Each level adds to your work’s profile of success and in the end describes a complete journey toward value. Higher levels of measures provide more compelling evidence of contributions, although each of the lower levels is essential. The concept is unique, novel, and effective. The Show the Value Process, in six steps, plans for the success levels, captures and analyzes the success levels, and leverages the results of the success levels.
The Show the Value Process described in this chapter offers a logical way to deliver value meaningful to those who matter to you and the project. It requires you to begin a project with the end in mind to ensure that your approach is the right fit, given the problem or opportunity you and your organization face. It requires you to define specific, measurable objectives and to use those objectives as the framework for designing your work. Then, you collect data throughout project implementation and analyze the data along the five levels of success. Finally, the process requires that you present and use the results to demonstrate value and to influence process improvement and funding.
That sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Well, maybe not. Just keep this in mind: It’s a logical, credible process that is easy to follow and use. The next six chapters examine the six steps in more detail with tips, tools, stories, examples, applications, and encouragement. You will learn how to start your project, set precise objectives, collect all types of data, convert data to money, and calculate ROI. Read on!
NEXT STEPS
Now that you see the process, here are the actions to take:
1. Review the website. This will allow you to see what is available to you, how it can help you, and when you might need to reference it as you measure the success of your project.
2. Identify your project. Many of you had a project in mind when you purchased this book. Others were just curious. Still, for others, the project that you had in mind is probably not the right one you want to evaluate, now that you have been introduced to the process. The key is to identify a project that you want to evaluate along the five levels of success, so that you can show the value of what you do.
3. Find a sponsor. When the results of your evaluation are in, you want to share them with someone. The most important person is the sponsor. The sponsor is the person who cares about this project and whose support is important to you. This may be the person who funds it, approves it, or asks you to implement it. For every project, there is someone who has an interest. This is the person with whom you will share results.
4. Read the next chapter. The next chapter begins the first of the six steps, starting with why.
