Fit for Purpose: Why Measurement Isn't Enough
January 2025
By Alastair Colin-Jones,
Senior Director, Business Transformation & Learning,
Mutual Value Labs
As we settle into the new year, I’ve been reflecting on the journey that brought me here —back to the middle of 2015, when I first joined a passionate team diving deep into the relationships between natural, social, and human capital with financial performance. At that time, we believed measurement was the key to unlocking purpose-led business transformation. The goal was simple: give leaders the tools to measure critical non-financial factors so they could make better decisions. As a popular saying went, “you only manage what you measure”.
Fast-forward almost a decade, and it’s clear that while our understanding of measurement has grown exponentially, the results haven’t matched expectations. Despite the explosion of ESG metrics and data, businesses often find themselves unchanged at the core. We’re certainly measuring more than ever, but are we actually transforming the way we operate? Perhaps you only manage what you measure, but are we measuring what matters? And fundamentally, what really matters in the first place?
This reflection can be brought to life with a simple analogy, one that is apropos for those of us currently trying to stick to a new gym routine! Imagine setting a single fitness goal—say, hitting a target weight or running a marathon. While a perfectly good target to set, achieving that target doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthier. You might sacrifice sleep, other types of leisure time, adopt an unbalanced diet, and all the while increase your stress levels trying to maintain it. Achieving good health requires a more holistic approach, integrating sleep, exercise, rest, and nutrition into your daily habits. Similarly, in business, focusing on one metric—or even many—can lead to tunnel vision, missing the bigger picture of what transformation truly demands and what really matters.
Real change, whether in health or business, can’t just be about numbers; it’s about more. About rewiring habits, mindsets, goals, and importantly, the environments we operate within. For business leaders, this involves moving beyond a checklist mentality to cultivate a deeper understanding of the responsibilities they have and the influence they can orchestrate to solve problems of people and planet. It’s not enough to measure trust or well-being; we need to create ecosystems that enable those values to thrive.
One critical insight from this reflection is the importance of combining intrinsic motivation with ecosystem support. Leaders must first create the internal desire to do business differently. They must “see” the potential for change—envisioning what a purpose-led organization looks and feels like, beyond the metrics and measurement systems. Once we see it, we have to be able to speak to it, to tell the story of what an alternative could look like. Having Jyoti Guptara, story strategist join our team of speakers has really clarified the importance of developing the art and skill of business storytelling.
But at the same time, we must build ecosystems that foster this transformation, partnering with others who share their vision and values. If you have ever set a fitness goal on you own while none of your family or your friends are on-board, then you know how hard it is. I remember trying to be on a keto diet while on holiday and staying at some friends who thought I had joined a cult when I explained my new diet. I may have broken my diet that week...
This dual focus on internal and external transformation is at the heart of what we explore in our executive leadership program with Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. The program offers leaders not only a space to reflect and reset but also a community of like-minded individuals navigating similar challenges. Together, we explore the big questions: How do we move beyond measurement to genuine transformation? How do we align purpose with tangible outcomes? And most importantly, how do we need to show up as leaders to create businesses that are powerful drivers of positive change?
As we look ahead, the question we all need to ask ourselves is what are we doing to create space and time to see differently in 2025? If you only set output targets (number of classes attended, calories consumed, etc), you might achieve them but ultimately miss the transformative change you’re seeking. Let’s move beyond simply adding more metrics our dashboard to embracing a more meaningful way of seeing and doing business. The journey to mutual value creation starts with both a shift in perspective and a commitment to building supportive ecosystems—and there’s no better time to begin than now.
If you’re ready to embrace a deeper way of seeing and doing business, join our virtual executive education program with Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. Together, we’ll explore your leadership development, how to align purpose with tangible action, create mutual value, and build ecosystems that enable real transformation.
