Show the Value of What You Do

Book excerpt: By the winners of the Association for Talent Development's 2022 Thought Leader award! Prove your effectiveness to anyone-and achieve professional success-by adopting the same ROI methods and metrics that leading companies use. In an era of evidence-based inquiry, people need to be able to demonstrate the value of their projects credibly. But how do you do that when there isn't an obvious measure connected to the project, like increased sales? In their new book Patti and Jack Phillips, the cofounders of ROI Institute, show how you can adopt the same methodology used by more than 6,000 organizations in seventy countries to evaluate large institutional initiatives. By following their six-step process, you can build a case for any project, process, or intervention, even so-called soft programs. For example, the first case study in the book involves successfully demonstrating the effectiveness of chaplaincy in an intensive care unit. The authors explain how to link your project to a meaningful business outcome, make sure your project will actually influence that outcome, identify metrics that will show if you're making progress, collect and analyze data, and use the results to build support. This book includes extensive examples from a wide range of organizations: businesses, nonprofits, schools, law enforcement, and more. It provides diagnostic tools and supportive practices and even offers advice on how to find a positive interpretation for results that don't conform to your anticipated outcome. Answering the question Is it worth it? defines the ultimate value of any project. Using the methodology this book presents will keep your work relevant, your career on track, and your organization healthy.