You can't manage what you don't measure. It is an old management adage that is still accurate today. Unless you measure something you don't know if it is getting better or worse. You can't manage for improvement if you don't measure to see what is getting better and what isn't. The article You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure will help you know what to measure and how.

A major snow storm hit the US East Coast late last week. President Obama, addressing the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting, called the storm "Snowmageddon". Most of the storm's impact was felt over the weekend, when many businesses were closed, but the ripple effects will linger into this week - and perhaps longer if the storm coming later in the week develops as forecast.

Is your business prepared for a "snowmageddon"? Are you ready for a major snow storm, an earthquake, a rash of forest fires, torrential rain and mudslides, or any other natural disaster? What would you do if your employees couldn't get to work? What would you do if they were stuck at work and couldn't get home? How prepared are you?

King County(Washington) created "3 Ways, 3 Days" as "public motivation campaign urging you, your family, and the community to prepare for emergencies and disasters". Their website includes a small business preparedness page. The page features a quiz for you to determine how prepared your business is for a disaster.

There is additional quidance in my article Survive the Unthinkable Through Crisis Planning and on our Disaster Planning Resources and Information page.

There are many activities and results you can measure, but which ones really matter? You should measure the things that are key to your success. By managing these factors, you improve your chances of success, regardless of how success is defined. These Key Success Indicators (KSI) are often called Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

Can you explain the difference between Fixed Assets and Fixed Costs? Do you know your NDA from your KPI? Do you understand what Insider Trading really means? All of these terms are in our Glossary of Business Management Terms and most of them have links to articles with more details. If you need to brush up a little on the vocabulary of our profession, the glossary is the place to start.