On Knowing Your Flock

Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds
for riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?

– Proverbs 27:23-24

Sheep © by blathlean

The key is understanding what is meant by “knowing”.

Put yourself in the mindset of a shepherd. He would want to know:

1. How are my sheep doing as compared to last week/month/year?
2. Can I account for the change? What conditions were different?
3. How do my sheep compare with other sheep?
4. What can I learn from other shepherds to improve the condition of my flock?
5. What metrics or scoring mechanism can I use or create to help me ascertain the condition of my flock, or individual portions therein, so that I may work on improving it?

“Knowing” therefore has a context and a purpose. It’s not knowing is the sense of knowing facts.

A good business person will have the same mindset as the shepherd. He or she will have some sort of measurement mechanism — or several — to compare different aspects of the business over time and with other businesses… with the goal of incremental systematic improvement over time.