What Metrics Count?

"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted."--Albert Einstein

In #fundraising there's lots of counting (often called "metrics").  Of course, there is the dollar value of pledges made each year, as well as the cash actually received.   We also often count the number of visits with donors along with the number and dollar value of proposals made.  We count the number of gifts made and how many stewardship letters and reports we send to donors.  We have headcount, and even those employees who count the minutes until they can slide down the tail of the dinosaur.

As a professional coach working with fundraising leaders, I see it a bit differently.  And that, I believe, is what Einstein was getting at.  For example, some folks whom I know look at the stock market several times every day so that they may keep count of their "net worth".  Does that really count (or matter)?  Can a person's "worth" really be measured by counting the numbers on a ticker tape?   Alternatively, how do we measure (or count) our love for a donor, friend, spouse, child, or other family member?  Who among these can you count on, and who can you not?

In fundraising by all means count what is essential (and forget the rest).  In life be mindful of those things that cannot be counted; for it is those intangibles that really count.