The Wrong Metrics.

Over the past week in the sad country that used to be amerika, a convicted felon and a presidential candidate of one of the major parties boasted about the sizes of the crowds he was attracting.

About a decade ago, I noticed that when new movies were talked about in the news, they almost always mentioned their box-office boom or bust. Same with pop-music concert tours. 

Not too long ago, an IPG agency that, for all intents and purposes, is out of business--or at least no longer a credible leading agency, publicly patted itself on the back because of their award-winning logo-redesign.

And just about every four seconds in amerika, some agency, or some other failing business somewhere praises themselves for being 

"best agency," 
"network of the year,"
"best place to work,"
"best woman-led agency,"
"best craft agency,"
"best agency where the doors open in, not out."

In fact, nearly every hotel, airline, telco or ISP has won one major award or another, and advertise that victory as a way of telling the world how great they are.

It seems to me that so many of our judgment criteria are measuring and winning awards for things that matter not a whit.

I want a president to do all sorts of things that I regard as positive. Attracting large crowds never enter my calculus. Same for the movies I like. My guess is most of them have grossed little more than a well-placed lemonade stand on a hot summer's day. As for everything else, from telcos to airlines to ad agencies, I could give a rat's ass about the awards you say you've won and how happy your people are.

The product I get sucks. The service is worse. And your people seem to be teetering on the brink of self-immolation.

I'd guess if you looked at world history in the same manner, you could find yourself reading, "Hitler's award-winning "Einsatzgruppen." I'll give them this: great uniforms and that skull and crossbones and the piping and braiding on the rims of the peaked hat? Sartorially splendid.

My point is really simple.

I don't give a half a hoot about awards or sizes of crowds or box-office gross. I care about how you do the job you're supposed to do.

How you govern. How honest you are. How you own up when you make a mistake. How you entertain. How you provide what I pay for. How you treat me.

I think one of the many frauds of our current era is that we measure everything except what matters. And most of the things that matter we do badly.

I want brands and people and the like that do what they say they're going to do.

That treat me with respect.

That give me my money's worth.

That say thank you.

Likewise, I couldn't care less if AI makes something or if a human does. I just want it to be made with care and love. I want it not to annoy me, but to serve me.

That's what politicians, businesses, commerce, entertainment and people are supposed to do. Add to happiness on earth. That's why we give those entities our time and money.

Everything else doesn't just not matter, it actually pisses me off. Because you're trying to pull the polyester over my eyes. 

(You're too cheap to still be using wool.)