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What matters the most? Outcome vs Output

What matters the most? Outcome vs Output

Me being a fitness freak, as you all know, once in a blue moon, my sweet tooth pops out and longs to eat my favorite dessert “Kesari” – Semolina cake. So, I ventured into the kitchen to prepare it all by myself.

With all the right ingredients and following the procedure to the T, the dessert was ready and smelling great. For a moment, I was on cloud nine to celebrate the success thinking that I got the desired output.

However, I missed the taste by a mile. It was a disappointment. The outcome was not what I had expected.

While I ponder over this to find out what went wrong, take a look at your outcome vs output

Understanding Outcome and Output

An output is an end result of an activity. It doesn’t address the value or impact it creates for your customer. On the other hand, an outcome is an achievement that occurred because of the undertaken activity. Outcomes quantify performance and assess the success of the process.

A simple way to look at it is that outcomes are the results, and outputs are the activities that support the desired results. For example, ‘increased customer satisfaction’ is a typical business outcome. An output that can help achieve this might be a quick turnaround time.

Outcomes are what businesses want and need. It is both quantitative and qualitative. Not only do outcomes reflect results, but they also reflect the experience and perception between the organization and those it serves.

Move towards what matters most- Achieve outcome by delivering outputs

It is easy to report and validate output as it is quantitative. However, outcomes are challenging. To a large extent, it depends on the perception of the people who would receive this service. And, perceptions are not easy to measure but it is essential to do so.

I have seen an organization generate reports and the dashboard that looked glossy and green. However, when they delved deeper, the customer was not happy with the service.

I am certainly not suggesting that you no longer need to report on the achievement of outputs. Instead, organizations should identify the outcome. Then, review outputs to ensure that they bring in their desired business outcome.

Aim for 99% customer satisfaction by reducing turnaround time by 20 mins.

Great organizations manage the outcome. So, look at what you offer – Are you preparing a dessert that pleases by look and smell or delivers a tasty one that brings smiles in your family?

The First step in this Awesome Journey

The First step in this Awesome Journey

Katherine Mansfield, an author from New Zealand in the early 19th century, once quoted – 

Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.

Have you ever wondered the hardest thing that you did in life? In fact, at every stage of our life or career, we would have taken the hardest decision.

Let me go a step back and tell you that we have had done the hardest thing as a kid- the first step to walk, the first word, the first sentence without any errors as a child. And, there can be many more such examples. These things seemed hardest to us, without actually knowing that it was the hardest. We managed to come out of these with radiance and courage, as we were all naive to the world and we didn’t care much about risk. We never had thoughts on the aftermath of an action or decision. If I may ask you a question at this point, do we have the same courage and strength to risk our life and career?

Many in my friend’s circle were quite hesitant to say a firm YES to this question. I may not want to divulge or discuss the reasons behind the hesitation. However, one common thing that I found was everyone wanted to play safely without being risked on physical, mental or financial aspects.Where did this hesitation come from, while all along we have been thought to risk everything in our childhood?

The fear of failure grips us all. The hesitation to start anything new or afresh or change a situation stems from the fear factor in you. The onus is on our own self to overcome this fear factor. Take risks with caution to face one of the many new challenges that come in your way. Take the first step towards your goal and happiness and the rest will automatically fall in place as to how it did to all of us as a kid or a child.

You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” – Paulo Coelho

I have overcome my fear to take this leap in my career. 

DoyenThoughts is a hub for GTM team’s to network and exchange ideas that will help the business provide a great customer experience