The Perils of Metrics Misapplied

[Surferbeetle]

No that is not business. Nothing to do with business other than (like the Arms Deal of some years ago) for the 'lucky' winners of the tenders to do the work and those political insiders who will stand to cream off R80-100 billion in terms of kickbacks and 'commissions' who will be smiling.

Would be interested to hear about an example of 'good business' as per your definition.

Good business...hmm...for me examples include infrastructure and education.

I was going to write to you about the beauty, importance, and service to humanity of infrastructure, associated examples of economic structures, and a bit about the 30 days or so i spent sh#tting out most of my braincells after drinking untreated water in a foreign land...something that truly gave me a deep appreciation for the importance of clean water in a way that school and decades of work in the field have not...but i wonder if that is what you are really trying to get at?

It's not an easy trip to America from some places, but we have some kick-ass schools...community colleges on up...that welcome students (young and old) and teach them about how create their own good business. Perhaps some links and books (i have found them useful for putting together my first business plan, and more) might be of interest to you:

How to Start a Business from the SBA

Value Chain Analysis from the USAID

Guiding Principles for Stabilization and Reconstruction, USIP

Jeffrey D. Sachs, The End of Poverty, Penguin Books LTD, London

W.J. King and James Skakoon, The Unwritten Laws of Business, Profile Books, London

Richard Templar, The Rules of Management, Pearson Education, New Jersey

Robert E. Quinn, et. al, Becoming a Master Manager: A Competing Values Approach, John Wiley & Sons Inc, New Jersey

O.C. Ferrell and Michael Hartline, Marketing Strategy, Thomson-South-Western, Ohio

Mason A Carpenter and Wm Gerard Sanders, Strategic Management a Dynamic Perspective, Pearson Education, New Jersey

Craig W. Kirkwood, Strategic Decision Making, Wadsworth Cenage Learning, California

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Bob,

Metrics to measure metrics....the volatility smile concept is an interesting one to consider. It is used to model changes in underlying contracts....but why not defense spending, or infrastructure spending, or educational achievement, or employment....