It is the top of the sixth inning. There are runners on first and third with one out and the home team is winning 3-2.

It is second down and 6 yards to go. The home team is on their own 34-yard line and they are down by three with 8:00 left in the 4th quarter.

The above statements answer a basic question – what’s going on in the game? In each case a couple of simple sentences that include basic measurements can provide even a casual audience with a clear snapshot of what is happening on the baseball or football field. In fact every sport has their own measurements designed to give the players, coaches and fans a clear picture of the situation at any given point in time during a contest.

How are things going with the new client? So how is your project going? What did you accomplish today? Those are questions that might be asked by your coach, teammate or fan (friend or partner). What kind of an answer are you prepared to give?

When we conduct our daily business we too often forget to measure our progress (or lack thereof). Whether we are recruiting for open positions or rolling out new HR initiatives, we are well served to have prepared a snapshot of our progress, even if only for our own self-awareness. Every project, activity or initiative should have easily identifiable measurements of progress that are continually tracked and easily produced upon request.

A baseball or football game would not function well, if at all, without its measurements. Yet we see very talented individuals in our businesses that are unable to quantify their forward progress or provide any meaningful measurements of the work they are doing on a daily basis.

When someone asks “How is the big project going?” the answer should never be “pretty good” or “I think we’re on track”. Instead our answer should be quantifiable, specific and readily available to any stakeholders. We measure our sporting events down to the second, the yard and the exact score. Why wouldn’t we expect the same in our business? How else will you know if you’re winning?