Improvement through Measuring Performance

President Thomas S. Monson once said, "“When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.” While there are an innumerable amount of ways that performance can be measured and reported, I would like to suggest that through data and technology, we can better measure and report our progress as a society. In order to better do this, we need to change the ways existing information is reported and shared and the attitude we have about it. Throughout history, we have changed the ways we think about information:

• During the Enlightenment, or the age of reason, people began to take an observational approach to understand the world around them. Charles Darwin would be the classic example of this. Another important example that relates to my topic was the introduction of the census. Governments desired to better understand the nations that they served, and through collecting data about their people, they were better able to understand who the people were.
• The industrial age allowed for technological advances. It was a major step before the technological era that we live in today. Because of technology, we have the resources that we have today to make life better.
• The rise of the internet dramatically changed the way that we share information and connect with each other. Social media was also a huge paradigm shift. Never before had such a large public system existed that had recorded our thoughts and feelings about the world. As we continue to share these things, we can find ways to better collect and report on information about who we are as humans.