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What we measure reveals what we value

Somewhere between the spreadsheets and the PowerPoints, growth can become a race, efficiency an obsession, and people become data points. But do people remember the quarterly report that broke records? Or do they remember how the company made them feel?

Himanshu Bharadwaj
UX Collective
7 min readDec 8, 2024

What we measure reveals what we value. Somewhere between the spreadsheets and the PowerPoints, growth can become a race, efficiency an obsession, and people become data points. But do people remember the quarterly report that broke records? Or do they remember how the company made them feel?
Adobe Stock by ST22Studio

As companies grow, they often default to complex systems, metrics, and processes, forgetting that businesses are built on people. It may be because the world rewards those who master complexity, but we forget that it remembers those who simplify what we didn’t even know was complicated.

Should company annual reports, case studies, resumes, and designer portfolios focus more on metrics?

What would a human-centered portfolio, a resume, or a report look like if it measured humanity instead of just performance?

Could company reports reflect the legacy they’re building, not just the year they’ve had?

In the journey for growth, sometimes companies sacrifice their insurgent mission and DNA of purpose for efficiency. But we forget that customers don’t fall in love with efficiency. They fall in love with care. Efficiency may win quarters, but humanity wins decades…

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Published in UX Collective

We believe designers are thinkers as much as they are makers. Curated stories on UX, Visual & Product Design. https://linktr.ee/uxc

Written by Himanshu Bharadwaj

Product Innovation and Joyful Design Thinking leader, NY. USA. joyful.design

Responses (10)

What are your thoughts?

Somewhere here, growth stopped being about creating and started being about calculating. T

Companies can’t just be about capitalism or social responsibility—it has to be a balance. For us, caring about the end customer, creating value, and doing work that means something has always given better results than simply chasing the next buck…

37

This is beautifully written and so true. In the rush to scale, it’s easy to forget that businesses are built on relationships, not just processes. The human element — the care, empathy, and connection — is what truly makes a brand unforgettable. I…

7

A powerful insight! What we choose to measure reflects our priorities and values, shaping how we define success and progress.

7