Peter Drucker said “What gets measured gets done!”; Truer words were never said and yet nothing was said about the kind of measures. To make things ever more confusing and complex not all results are measurable and results can be soft and best relayed as benefits. I was recently involved with a branding effort that had more to do with mannerism and attitudes as a foundational element to the strategy than any real economic deliverable.
Metrics can be manipulated, it is not difficult to make things look rosy when they really are not. Substituting quantity for quality can easily confuse the most discerning of judges. Stress and hope are two emotions that people often use as a metric of effort. As a matter of metrics hope and stress cannot be a strategy. Although success of brands is deeply rooted in emotions and sometimes fears and so the success is a matter of how deep you can reach to sow the seed.
