Numbers that matter

I’ve read of lot of financial statements in my life.  And I’ve explained financial data to people who hated anything to do with accounting. 

And the key thing that comes out over and over again is that numbers are SIMPLER than you think. Because some things are just more important than others.   

I’ve used the fat cyclist example. The guy with the $10,000 carbon bike.   Who needs to lose 40 pounds. 

Because it’s the rider, not the bike, that makes the real difference getting up the hill. 

That rider’s weight and power are the numbers not matter.  Not the 5 grams he can save on new pedals. 

The numbers that matter depend on your business.  And I’ll be giving examples as I go forward.    

But for now, I want to talk about three kinds of numbers: 

Numbers you can’t change. As in, we shouldn’t have signed this 10 year lease. 

Numbers that don’t really help. As in, we can save $200 on copier expense. 

Numbers that really matter. As in, if this improves, we get money straight to the bottom line.