Basic Math

I’ve spent much of the summer trying to buy a used car. A couple of weeks ago, I thought I was close to a deal on one. I told the salesperson that I liked a particular vehicle, but the price was too high. Specifically, I told him that I had seen another car that had 7000 less miles but was the same price. His response: “Mileage is worth about $0.10 per mile, which won’t amount to much at all.” I pointed out that this would be a $700 difference and that I’d be interested if he dropped the price that much. He did a lot of creative sidestepping and ultimately was unwilling to come close to the lower price. The point of this story isn’t to criticize the salesperson (even though I was pretty frustrated at the time). I simply want to highlight the importance of understanding and mastering the basic math in whatever arena you’re in. Knowing the impact of mileage on a car’s value is a pretty fundamental skill in the used car business. In any kind of non-profit organization – church, ministry, or other – the leader should know where they stand on donations and if they’re on track for the year. In a church, the pastor should know the percentage of first-time visitors that stick long-term or what portion of the congregation is volunteering in some capacity. A denominational leader should the number of strong and healthy congregations and whether that number is growing. The leader of a job training ministry should know how long a person needs to be in the program to develop the necessary skills to succeed. This is not just a job for first chair leaders. Others in leadership roles for specific areas should have the same command of their basic math. The job of the first chair is to make it clear that basic math is important and if necessary, guide the conversation about which “math facts” are matter most. So in your next staff meeting, start a conversation about basic math. See what your team thinks you should be measuring. Then see if they have a grasp of their math facts. If not, you may be missing an important opportunity to excel, just as the car salesperson missed an opportunity to make a sale. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>