Measuring progress in business in 2011

Most often, businesses measure success in dollars and cents but this isn’t the  only measure of success nor is it the most important.  The most important commodity in any business is not profit, it’s people.  Progress in business is the result of people choosing to work for a company and thereby helping it achieve its goals.  Certainly, people benefit by receiving a portion of the revenue earned from a company in the form of wages and a company benefits in the form of profit, but successful business owners are mindful that good people are what ultimately makes or breaks a company.  Finding good people is one of the main challenges faced by all businesses.  Recruiting talent is a lot easier when a business measures progress by looking at the bottom line as well as the contributions of each of its employees.  The truest measure of progress for any business, its talent quotient, is more intangible and more difficult to quantify than profit, but it’s also the more meaningful indicator of future success.   Of course, progress must be measured in dollars and cents but good business owners realize that real progress depends on the human factor or talent quotient.    Start the new year right  by recognizing the people in your business who contributed to your success in 2010.  This will get 2011 off to a great start.