Set hard percentage thresholds against balanced five-point scales.

technique — attributed to Mark Brewster

When the objective is to be seen as the leading innovator in a market, the metric is not "improve perception." Brewster designs a survey question that asks attendees, on a balanced five-point scale with a midpoint, to compare the company's innovation level against the rest of the market. The success threshold is a specific percentage at the top of the scale, often fifty percent or higher. The hard number forces the team to decide what they are actually trying to achieve. It also makes the post-event reading binary: either fifty percent saw it that way or they did not. There is no fluffy concept to hide behind.

For B2B and corporate organizers writing measurable objectives at the strategic design stage. The technique fails if the threshold is set after the data comes in.

survey-design, kpi-design, metrics-first, scoring