In business, if it can't be measured, it doesn't matter.

I've learned this the hard way, moving into a more customer-facing role. Maybe that's wrong. Maybe it's unenlightened. But the rules of this game are clear: if you can't show that you're bringing in more dollars, they don't care. If you can't show that you're saving time—which translates into dollars—they don't care. They want to see how you scale. In numbers. That is the language of business.

Philosophy, poetics, the soft parts of life—even when they're true, even when they're more correct—their beauty does not cut through. Business is not a place for that. It really is just like a game. I think there's a reason a lot of pro athletes end up in business. They understand the cutthroat aspect of it. Did you get the goal? Did you show the numbers? It's not like the arts, where your impact is immeasurable—something someone feels. That piece of music changed my life. Thank you for making it. How do you measure that? You won't. And we can argue about which game is better. But really, it's just about which one you've decided to play.

the trick is legibility

The easier you make someone else's job, the easier you promote yourself—but in one particular way. Not by making it easier for them to advance. By making yourself more legible. Making it easier for them to understand what you do.

This is a principle of managing upwards. It's not about creating some complicated way of explaining your value, even when that explanation is true. It's not about showing how hard you work, how many inputs you have, how much intangible gain you've created. When it comes to business, nobody cares about the intangible gains. They want to see how you scale. In numbers.

Your manager, your boss, the CEO, investors, the board, your customers—it's the bottom line. I'm not saying you shouldn't care about other things. I'm not a fan of this way of being. But it's like a sport: nobody cares if the way you got to the goal was longer, harder, had different circumstances. They only care: did you get to the finish line?

So choose to play by these rules, or choose a different game if you don't like it.

if you're playing, play to win

If you do decide to play, keep your focus on that goal. Find the way to make the numbers work for you—to set yourself up for success so that you achieve your numbers. If you're not in the best position to do so, find a way to get yourself into a position where you're showing the good numbers.

Because nobody in business is going to help you do it. It's cutthroat. People don't care.

Make yourself legible. Speak in numbers. Then go from there.