ROI for human development work?

ROI for human development work?

It’s almost as silly as me saying the kite I flew this morning caused the Typhoon creeping towards our shore tomorrow.

Yet ROI for development work persists, and some folks take it seriously.

So, let’s put this to rest with a simple thought experiment. What is the most important moment in human development, and can you measure that directly or indirectly?

The most important moment is a private moment — neurons firing in the brain — when someone faces a choice and makes a new decision that sounds roughly like, “Hmmm, I used to do this. I see things differently now. Alright, I’ll do this instead!”

That’s the actual moment of change.

Can you measure it? No way.

Can you measure what happens next?

Sure. There’s plenty you can measure. But does it mean what you think it means? That’s a harder question to answer.

In an hour-long meeting, who knows how many private thoughts emerge. We can’t see them appear, and we can’t see what people choose to do or not do with them.

It’s possible that 100 thoughts appeared but didn’t feel relevant, then were discarded. Is that withholding, or wisdom?

And what if the behavior is subtle, or invisible? Like choosing to ignore something that could become a distraction.

Even if people do something we believe is different, do we have any idea what caused it? Maybe, but I see no way to get from hypothesis to proof.

But … if we don’t measure anything, the doors are open to snake oil. It’s a true conundrum!

Regardless, I cannot bring myself to tell a client, “yes, I will measure a private moment that happens inside a person’s brain.”

I have my own criteria for indicators of growth – which do not include surveys, scores, or assessments of any kind. I am not totally satisfied with these, but they feel more rigorous than made-up numbers.

So, I am curious – for others out there, what do you look for to confirm whether development efforts are paying off or just wasting budget?

In the meantime, I’m gonna try my kite again. Maybe this time I can stir up that typhoon!