I Am An Industry Standard Metric So You Must Implement Me

I’m sure there have been tons of times that you’ve heard “It’s an industry standard so we must implement this” or “I was at a conference the other week and they were talking about best practices so we need to implement it this way”. We’ve all heard those sayings multiple times and we just cringe because we know it’s not a good path to go down but get stuck on it anyways.

Yes, there are “industry standard” metrics but that doesn’t mean you have to implement them nor does it mean it’s right for your organization. No matter what anyone tells you there is no one size fits all.

For any metrics that you implement within your organization you need to be able to justify why you have it. What business goal/objective are you trying to meet? What are you able to track correctly and can you do it consistently? Take a look at our presentation called 6 Key Steps In Creating Metrics That Matter to help answer questions on creating metrics.

There are lots of dashboarding tools available but you need to make sure that the one you pick isn’t forcing you to just use the industry standard metrics. Select a dashboard system that allows you to pick and choose metrics that can help you track your organizations goals and objectives. Pick one that allows you to have metrics added that are specific to your organization.

Tip: It’s okay to say no to an industry standard/best practice if it doesn’t fit your organization’s needs.

What metrics have you had to implement because it was an industry standard? Did you agree/disagree with the industry standard?