Crawl. Walk. Run.  A Simplified Matrix for Measuring Success

Crawl. Walk. Run. “Crawl / Walk / Run” is a way to measure (and build) performance within your team, utilizing three simple categories that happen to create a vivid picture in the process. 

• Crawl:  You finish the project. It might be late, over budget and messy, but it gets from A to B.  Bare minimum, a baseline that just about everyone should be able to hit.  It passed. Barely. 
• Walk: You finish on time, at acceptable quality, and roughly within budget.  The minimum standard that everyone needs to meet. 
• Run: You finish early, under budget, and the quality is excellent (the high performer).  Keep in mind, rarely are all three elements hitting simultaneously (hence the saying – Good, Fast, Cheap –  Pick Two). 

First you must crawl, then walk, then run. 

In order to understand these three different levels of production and how to effectively manage it, let’s first take a look at the three “Result Variables” used as the determining factors. 

Result Variables: The three metrics by which we determine success/failure are simple and practical, yet incredibly effective at providing a clear process of measurement. 

1. On Time: Time related elements of the job including showing up, completion of tasks, completion of projects, timeliness of responses. 
2. On Budget: Appropriate usage of resources, time management of others, materials. 
3. Level of Quality: Quality is subjective but every company has their standards on what is “quality” vs not. 

All three areas should be performed to acceptable standards, as the baseline of which we judge performance. 

Now that we understand our three levels of production, and the three variables we use as a baseline, let’s dive in further at the three mindset variables that greatly affect our results variables. 

Mindset Variables: Three key characteristics that determine one’s ability to move from crawl to walk to run. . 

• Motivation:  A solid measurement of commitment. The deeper desire to go the extra mile, show up, do more, be better  . 

• Work Ethic:  A solid measure of consistency and drive. An understanding of what hard work is, ability to plow through when others get tired/stressed, ability to maintain consistency of mental and/or physical approach. 

• Pride in Craftsmanship: A solid measurement of perfection. Recognizing that the details matter, that every day is a chance to make yourself proud of the job done.  Pushing the bar forward on what “great” actually looks like. 

Needless to say, finding someone who’s intrinsically motivated, has an amazing work ethic and also shows incredible skillsets when it comes to the task at hand… that person is a rare bird.  

While we all strive to find or become “Runners”, not everyone will.  Everyone should, however, be capable of Crawling.  It’s the lowest level of achievement possible outside of outright and blatant failure, and therefore it should not be accepted as an end state whatsoever.  Life doesn’t celebrate C’s and D’s, and neither should you. 

That being said.. 

The Environment: It’s not always about the person (think Nature vs Nurture).  When attempting to get someone moved from Crawl to Walk or Walk to Run, take a really deep look at yourself and the environment you’ve provided to achieve success.  

• Results: How are you facilitating the environment around the three Results Variables?  Are there areas of improvement on the company side that could make a significant difference in these individual areas? 
  • On-Time: How are we facilitating time efficiencies and emphasizing time-related matters? What would someone point to as recent examples of this not being a priority for one’s self or the company? 

• On-Budget: What processes, procedures and other items are in practice to help steer projects and the company as a whole towards better money management?  What areas would show there is more work to be done? 

• Quality of Work:  Who is setting the standards, and how? Are they clear enough, and are they high while also maintaining flexibility and understanding?  

• Mindset: How are you nurturing the Mindset Variables?  While you should not have to jump through hoops on these (providing the tools for success with the Results Variables is much more important), it’s always worth keeping your eyes and ears open to these. 

Your environment and the accompanying systems shouldn’t trap talent, nor should they enable poor habits and behaviors. They should accelerate talent, even if it means the talent runs right out of your company and goes to greener pastures (better pay, starts their own company, etc).  Likewise, they should provide a clear path to move from Crawling to Walking while providing defined timelines for determining when to cut ties.  

In other words, let’s build a machine that can turn crawlers into walkers and walkers into runners, assuring the company that losing one runner doesn’t break you and crawlers don’t stay crawling forever. 

In Conclusion:  Using this simplified approach for benchmarking the success of yourself or your company is incredibly powerful, if you put in the time to first understand it, and then actually put it into practice. 

We all want greatness, not just for ourselves, for all those around us. Through heuristics, programs and paradigms such as this one, you are laying the foundation for proper expectations and the roadmap to success. 

Crawl. Walk. Run.