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What does it take to get the best clients? We think you’ll be surprised at how simple the list can be. And how straightforward the actions are, as long as you commit to them and work at them.

Most business leaders make a pretty good job of measuring results for bosses, bankers and shareholders. It’s easy to measure quantities – of money, production, sales calls, numbers of time the phone rings – and because it’s easier, businesses tend to default to measuring and managing only the straightforward, quantifiable things. However, much that you strive to achieve in business is just not that easy to measure.

Look at job descriptions in almost any organisation, and you’ll find they’re broad statements of areas of responsibility or maybe lists of activities. Job descriptions like this are concerned with activity rather than output, and fuel the culture of ‘hard work’ and long hours. What you don’t see is a short, complete list of the results you are accountable for producing.

In an economic squeeze, businesses naturally focus on driving revenue and reducing costs. But there’s plenty of evidence to demonstrate a strong link between high performance and a positive working environment. According to a major study published in 2001, not only is there a link between employee attitudes and profitability – improvements in employee satisfaction ‘cause a demonstrable, measurable improvement in financial performance’.

Everybody’s invoking the word ‘accountability’ now that, with the global financial crisis, the lack of it has become so apparent. It’s a loaded word and a political football in sectors, such as health care and education, crying out for reform. Who should get what data about doctors’ success rates, hospital effectiveness, student achievement, or school performance?

These are some critical underlying drivers of sustainable business success:

Have you noticed that some of the great stuff you want to achieve in business is not easily measured? It’s easy to measure quantities, of money, production, sales calls, numbers of time the phone rings before it’s answered, and because it’s easier, businesses tend to default to measuring and managing only straightforwardly quantifiable things.