Why You Must Measure, Even When Times Are Good
We live in an age of big data. Increasingly, the challenging part isn't finding enough data to make a decision. Rather, it's wading through all of the existing data to find what's really important. Today, the problem isn't having access to information; it's knowing how to interpret the information. Still, if you want to keep track of things specific to your organization, you will have to put in a little effort to measure them.
Companies in the mortgage industry are increasingly more willing to invest in data analysis when they're looking for a competitive edge. When times are hard and you're struggling, you really want to measure everything you can to make sure you're making the most of what you've got. When things improve, though, measurement tends to go by the wayside and keeping track of data doesn't seem to be so important.
The truth is that we should continue measuring as much of our business as we can even when times are good, and perhaps especially when times are good. Why? Because if you aren't measuring what you're doing, you won't know what's working and what isn't. Just because things are going well, that doesn't mean you know why things are going well. It could be luck, it could be market forces, or it could be something you're doing. But you'll never know unless you keep track of it. Measure when you need it; measure when you don't. Because, in reality, you always need to know what's driving your business.
David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS), a management consulting firm that provides transformative business strategies to owners and “C-Level” executives via consulting, executive coaching and various communications strategies. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News and hosts his own weekly podcast called “Lykken On Lending” heard Monday’s at 1:00 p.m. ET at LykkenOnLending.com. David’s phone number is (512) 759-0999 and his e-mail is [email protected].