In its simplest form, productivity is determined by taking the value of goods or services produced and dividing it by the cost of production. Few experts know their own productivity. They might know subjectively how they are doing at their job, but they don’t typically know quantitatively how their performance fulfills their organization’s needs, nor do they know how their productivity compares with others.

I once worked with an information technology manager who believed his most important metric was the company’s network reliability. He believed that his organization’s network uptime was important above all else. Consequently, he spent an exorbitant amount of time and resources squeezing out the smallest possible vulnerabilities. He pursued double, triple, and quadruple redundancies to ensure service twenty-four seven. Cost management, it seemed, was a low and distant priority.

In reality, however, leaders in his organization were highly interested in cost management. Of course, the company needed reliable networks, but leadership did not value the network as highly as the IT manager, and they certainly did not believe the requisite cost was warranted. To the chief financial officer, the cost of a perfect network was not worth the investment required. This difference of opinion between the IT manager and the CFO boiled over and was never resolved.

Ultimately, the IT manager was replaced. His departure was not because he was poor at his job. To the contrary, he was an excellent technician and a skilled leader of his team. He was an expert in his field and his competency was rarely questioned. But he would not accept the metrics used to measure his performance. He overstated the value of a reliable network, and he refused to believe that his productivity was somehow tied to the cost of services he rendered.

By definition, productivity is always tied to value and cost. Therefore, experts who refuse to recognize the true value of their services and the full cost of those services do themselves and the people around them a disservice. Too many experts think they are the arbiters of their own productivity and value. They think that what they measure matters more than what others measure.

The best experts seek objective feedback. They want measurements that accurately reflect value and cost. They don’t exaggerate their own value, and they don’t deflate their own cost. They maximize true productivity by delivering the best possible version of goods and services at the best possible cost.