I think there is a distinction between "what I can't measure" and "what I am too lazy to measure." If something has a meaningful effect, that effect and thus th

I think there is a distinction between "what I can't measure" and "what I am too lazy to measure." If something has a meaningful effect, that effect and thus the underlying factor must be measurable. Yeah there isn't some simple equation to turn "Bob tells lots of funny jokes" into a "team morale boost quotient" but it is still observable that on days when Bob's in the office everyone is more productive and there are fewer issues associated with low morale. But rather than starting with the things that are important - sales, productivity, complaints, etc - and determining what actually affects them, instead bad managers start with the measurements and see what affects they have on things that are important and assume that's all there is.