Instead of focusing on your outcomes (lagging metrics), which are not controllable in most situations, you should determine which inputs (leading metrics) will influence the desired outcomes and focus on those instead.
This is the core principle behind, for example, Activity Based Selling: no matter how hard you try, you can’t directly control how much revenue you bring in; you can only control how many calls you make or how many emails you send.
However, this doesn’t mean you should completely ignore your outcomes—that wouldn’t be healthy either. It’s important to invest in pursuits where the worst-case scenario is an intelligent failure, and it’s important to know when to stop.
Focusing on the controllables is also the best way to increase agency and reduce stress.
From Working Backwards:
Amazon argues that it’s not enough to know your output metrics. In fact, they go even further, and say that you shouldn’t pay much attention to your output metrics; you should pay attention to the controllable input metrics that you know will affect those output metrics.
From Clear Thinking:
You can put energy into things you control or things you don’t control. All the energy you put toward things you don’t control comes out of the energy you can put toward the things you can.
From The Playbook for Navigating Uncertainty:
When faced with the chaos and uncertainty, ask yourself:
How can I take resonsibility for internally sourcing approval, control, and security?
Also: