COMING AT YOU WEEK OF 4.6.21
When you’re all about hitting goals, but…well, you’re not
Advice from habit master, James Clear
Your weekly updates, including some interesting new features
Weekly catch up
Some social stuff we actually want to use.
If Facebook comment wars are getting out of hand, you can try out this feature.
If you’re tired of FB’s News Feed algorithm, you can choose to see content by most recently posted.
Say ‘Hi’ to Business Access, the Pinterest version of Facebook’s Business Manager. (We think.)
Stuff you might want to know about Google.
Does iOS or Android send more data to Google? This study says it’s Android, but Google calls BS.
FLoC testing has started. Reminder: FloC is Google’s replacement for third-party cookies. It groups similar users together for advertiser targeting.
Proof that our life is hard (or at least that we think our life is hard).
😭 just became the first to overtake 😂 in the most-used, monthly emojis on Twitter.
Our two favorite April Fools’ shenanigans.
Duolingo toilet paper and Teletubbies cryptocurrency.
Ask yourself this
What’s better than a KPI? Part I
Your team reviewed its quarterly report today and you’re feeling a little riled up. How do the KPIs look so bad after you worked so freaking hard the last few months?
This issue with reporting is a complex problem. Here is one solution that can bring more sanity to your worklife: start focusing more on systems and less on KPIs.
Out of the office example
KPI: use zero disposable grocery bags this year.
System: put reusable bags back in the car right after you unpack your groceries.
See the difference? We like systems because they give us the following:
Control
Harvard conducted a study with over 20,000 students. The kids who focused on inputs, like finishing assignments and attendance, outperformed those who focused on outputs, like good grades. The researchers determined that input focus was successful because it gave students incentives based on a controllable action. Students who focused on good grades (output) “had little idea of how to boost their grades.”
If our KPI is increasing inbound leads by 25% in a fiscal year, there are many factors affecting the result. But a system like running competitor keyword research once a month is completely controllable.
Emotional stability
High confidence = high energy. Because you can control adherence to your systems, you’ll feel confident. And you’re less likely to dread work.
Long-lasting change
Let’s say you have a goal to increase your average social impressions by 15%, and you hit the goal. 🔥 How much do you focus on impressions after you reach the finish line? But if you create a system that helps you keep your social accounts more active, then that system becomes part of your work routine.
Job security
When your KPI tanks, you can say something like this: “I know we didn’t hit our inbound lead goal. But every two weeks this quarter I’ve tested something on our ten landing pages with the most traffic. Here’s what I’ve implemented from those tests: ________. “ Your systems prove you haven’t been lazy.
Maybe this theory of systems > goals was familiar. But are you implementing it? Next week we’ll give you tips on how to create systems. We might even tell you to just chuck KPIs out the window. Or will we?
Wordfull Wisdom