By Bill Collier, serial entrepreneur and coach.

“What gets measured gets managed.”

 It’s hard to argue with that piece of wisdom. That said, here’s another old saw to consider:

“If everything is important, then nothing is important.”

Between these two valuable quotes is a balance and a guideline for business owners. All businesses have certain numbers that define success. Some, like profit, are universal. Every business must take in more than it spends, so an argument could be made that this number – profit – is a definition of success for every business.

But what about other numbers? There’s certainly no shortage of other things to measure – sales, costs, margins, cash … the list goes on and on. They’re all important. But don’t forget: “If everything is important, then nothing is important.”