My last post looked at the first of five serious errors that responsible entrepreneurs make: following trends and placing too much emphasis on competitiveness.

Error Two: Measuring How You’re Doing at the Wrong Place in the Work Stream.

Why is this an error? It promotes navel-gazing internal thinking, which leads to failure to detect customer dissatisfaction and loss of customer loyalty.

Business leaders get tightly attached to the idea of measuring what they can “see” and count. They measure their own effort rather than their effectiveness in the places where it really matters—the customer’s experience and benefits to communities and Earth. They value what is apparent, rather than what is important. It is possible to measure your business’s success in meaningful ways by assessing its effects on the lives of customers, communities, and ecosystems.

New Business Acumen: Measure the effects that your customers value and the internal measures tied to those effects. Know what factors your customers’ successes are based on and measure your business’s effects on those factors.

To be continued . . .

There are a few hundred more ridiculously common errors, all of which spring from good intentions. At The Responsible Entrepreneur Institute, we educate and develop people in the core business acumen needed to avoid them. Our track record includes building successful small businesses and growing them with strong financial and responsible platforms. Learn more about our programs and get an introduction to the five new business acumen arenas on January 10, 2013 at 5 pm Pacific Time. The call is free but space is limited. You must register to attend. If you register and are unable to attend, you may receive a free recording of the call within a few days after January 10.