Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”)

At work I have been asked to come up with a set of KPIs for my organisation. We need them so that we can proactively check progress towards our goals going forward, to make sure we’re not just picking the low-hanging fruit on a case by case basis, and that we are operating where our locus is. Or something.

It has occurred to me, whilst I attempt to come up with statistics that describe what a difference we are making to the quality of life in the UK (yes), that I am just not very good with numbers. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has watched me trying to split a bill in a restaurant, or played scrabble with me when I attempt to keep score. These things are what modern technology was invented for.

So why, when running, am I still calculating distance and speed using only my few brain cells? Last night, according to the plan, I ran 5 x 1200m at 10k pace. What I actually did was run for 5 minutes, wheeze for a minute, run for 5 minutes, wheeze for a minute, run for 4 or 6 minutes (not quite sure which), wheeze for about 2 minutes until I remembered it was time to run again but then forget which interval I was on, wheeze again, and finish it off with 4 minutes of sprinting.

I have no idea whether any of these 5 minute session was run at 10k pace, or was 1200m in length. I really need to measure a proper route, remember it and stick to it. That or I need a shiny new piece of technology to do it for me.