What Gets Measured

It was axiomatic in my work done years ago with TQM (Total Quality Management) that "what gets measured gets managed".  This quote is attributed to Peter Drucker, management guru extraordinaire and was used as part of the MBO movement (management by objectives, remember that?)  In TQM, we collected data as the basis for measurement.  There was a lot of education done about how to display data using various types of charts and graphs so that it told a story.  I was once required to attend a multi-day training program on statistical process control.  It was like torture.  A determining factor in why I went to law school as opposed to getting an MBA was so I would not have to take statistics.  But although I cannot remember the details of the class, some key principles have stuck with me for more than a decade.  Once you have 20 - 25 data points you can plot them on a control chart and calculate upper and lower control limits.  Fluctuation of points within the upper and lower limits results from variations inherent in the process.  If the process is stable, you can easily see it because continued collection of data points yields no changes to the picture that the chart tells.  However, processes can become "out of control" and when they do, you can see it because the story changes.  One way to tell that a process is changing is having six consecutive points, increasing or decreasing.   
When first diagnosed, Dr. Natalie gave me a prescription for a meter to track blood sugar, but was not overly directive about using it right away.   And I was fine with that.  Who wants to stick themselves and draw blood on a regular basis?  
Since the numbers she was looking at through lab work were trending in the wrong direction, I decided to measure so I could manage.  One of my favorite iPhone apps is Dlife because it takes blood sugar readings and puts them into a control chart.  So I have been able to see the trend since returning from CR and know that it showed a shift in the process that could only have come from a 'special cause'.    WOW. 
The picture above was taken during a tour of Churchill's War Rooms, underground in London.  If Churchill could manage WWII using charts and graphs, I can certainly manage this crappy disease using them too.