Stop me if this sounds familiar: You've run nearly every day training for that big race in 2 months. You've put in the hours on that important report at work. You've dedicated your evenings to reading. Yet nothing changes.
This happens because we focus on the wrong things. We get inputs, outputs and outcomes confused. If you optimize for the wrong thing, then you'll only be creating motion, not momentum.
Inputs
Inputs are your efforts applied. Running 4 times this week. Working 10 hours on a report. Reading for an hour every night.
These are all inputs, and they feel great in the moment but mean nothing in isolation. The problem is that inputs help you feel like you're being productive, and also help make you look productive to others. It's effort, without direction.
Outputs
If inputs are effort applied, then outputs are measurable work done. Running 36 kilometers in a week. Building out the runway forecast on a report. Reading 312 pages over the course of the week.
You could go for 4 runs in a week, but only run 4km total. You could work on a report for 10 hours, but still be stuck on the introduction. The calories were burned. The time was dedicated. The effort was there. But the output was low. This is motion, not momentum.
Outcomes
Finally, we have outcomes. The thing that we should all be optimizing for. If inputs are work applied and outputs are work done, then outcomes are the real-world changes that occur.
- I improved my 10k time by 42 seconds — not "I ran 36 kilometres this week"
- I gained confidence in our financial position — not "I worked for 10 hours on the report"
- I learned 6 new mental models — not "I read 312 pages in total this week"
Outcomes change behaviour, capabilities and knowledge. They aren't just metrics. They are what move us forward. Everything else is motion, potentially in the wrong direction.
Put simply: Inputs are effort. Outputs are results. Outcomes are changes. Inputs → Outputs → Outcomes.
Now work backwards. Outcomes → Outputs → Inputs. What are the outcomes that you want to achieve? What are the outputs that will prove that you're moving towards it? What are the inputs required for you to guarantee those outputs?
When you reverse the order, everything gets clearer. Life and business become a lot simpler when you optimize for the outcomes first, track the outputs that matter and apply the inputs that you need. Anything else is just staying busy.