Measurements

When I was working in public relations and event marketing measurement was always a hot topic. How do you know if you are moving the needle? Do How to you quantify how many people saw your message? How many responded to it? How effective it was? Blah, blah, blah...

It becomes a challenge to constantly try to prove the merit of your programs and to justify the budget expenditure. I am sure that has only gotten harder as the economy has turned and the new corporate buzzword is belt-tightening. That is certainly one thing I don't miss.

I will say that I often find myself looking for that same measurement in my current job. How do I know my programs (discipline, play, learning, household management) are working? Is my target audience (Emelia, Sam, Jeff) responding? How effective is my message ("don't throw things", "poop in the potty", "eat more vegetables", "what are you thankful for today")? It is funny because I have better measurement tools now. I have real-time feedback and a very vocal (albeit small) focus group.

Emelia lets me know through her actions and words how I am doing. She definitely gets the potty message. At Costco this weekend we both went to the bathroom. She went pee, then I had to go. She says, oh so loud and proud, "are you going to go poop in the potty like a big girl?"

Sam also lets me know through his actions. When he is done with his meal he shoves his bib in his mouth and spits. This is a messy but effective tool for ending meal time.

I have taken to measuring my success in small wins. I like to think it is like stringing together a pearl necklace. Each pearl has some value by itself but when they are all together on a necklace they can be priceless.

Today my measurement is five nights of sleeping through the night, eight days of dry underwear (Emelia's not mine), three days of a clean kitchen and seven loads of laundry that need to be done.