The false economy of measurement
What we love to measure now.
In business
How much profit we make, our costs, efficiency, performance, ROI, sales.
In life
How much money we make, how heavy we are, how much stuff we have, how young we look, how we compare with Jill and Bob and Paul and Sue.
How would life be if we measured things like..
Has any child gone hungry tonight?
Has any child been sold as a sex slave?
How many weapons did we NOT make, not use, and therefore, how many people are still alive?
How clean is the air?
How much energy did we deploy from renewable resources?
How many gardens did we plant?
How much art did you make today?
How many lives did you make a positive difference in today?
How did you help?
How much gratitude do you have now? And now?
How many amazingly useful, non-harming, value-rich things/services did your company produce?
How many relationships did you show up for with love?
How much really great sleep did you get?
How much time did you spend daydreaming?
How many actions did you take that required you to be bold?
How many times did you speak up when you knew you needed to?
How much time did you spend on your health and vitality today?
How much did you show up in love today?
There is nothing wrong with measuring profit, efficiency, sales and performance. Where humanity is currently wonky is how we have made these measures central to our existence. They are secondary, a side effect (precessional effect) of caring about all the important things.
Measure what matters.
Written July 31st 2013
In 2026, we will launch the Synergistic Accounting app (it’s in beta testing now). This app enables us to measure and honour all life and all contributions.
Photo Taken March 17th 2026. Article published March 18th 2026
