Hugging A Cloud

Perhaps the biggest lie in business is "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." Of course that simple aphorism has been proven wrong many times. John Wanamaker, the retail magnate, is famous for saying: "I spend a lot of money on advertising and I know half of it is wasted. Trouble is, I don't know which half." The same is true of accounting, law, and even top management. Hugging a Cloud acknowledges that fact of business life, and goes a step further: The human side of business is difficult or impossible to measure, but it cannot be ignored. Leaders cannot afford to ignore the thinking, behaviors, and relationships that define the human side of business. All, separately and together, contribute in some way to profits+meaning. And they can be measured--perhaps not as precisely as financial ratios can be measured--with simple metrics that create the Profits+Meaning Index, or PMI. PMI, when combined with financial ratios, realistically evaluates the short- and long-term efficiency and prospects of a business and its leadership. Enlightened and forward-thinking leaders will hug the cloud that is the human side of business.