You have just been told that there is a storage capacity issue.  Henceforth you will be allowed to keep only one measurement.  That's one operational, one financial, and one HR measurement. 

Which measurement would you keep?

For financials:  I think I would have to go with ROCE.  Return on Capital Employed.  It's pretty easy to calculate and tells you a good bit about the results of your efforts in the business.

For operations:  Hmmm.  I'm worried about cash flow, so I need to watch Days Sales Outstanding but that's not the whole picture.  I think I might just start watching my expenses per employee number.  That's pretty telling. If I can get a handle on the expense side of my business, I might also be able to improve the cash situation.  But that's a tough one.  Only one measurement huh? 

In HR: It has to be employee turnover.  No other measurement tells you more about your operation than the rate at which people flee. 

Now that you've imagined what it would be like to have limited options, you can sit down and take another look at exactly what you are measuring.  What insights are you gaining today?  Do you have so many different metrics,ratios and comparisons that you can't make sense of them?  Well start paring them down and see if it doesn't give you new insight.

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