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The textbook says that what gets measured, gets done. Often that is true, but it begs the real question: What exactly is it that should get done? And what if that is difficult, or maybe impossible, to measure?

President Clinton's Secretary of the Treasury, Robert Rubin, knew the psychology of Wall Street. Mr. Clinton was preparing the largest tax increase of his generation. Mr. Rubin advised him to use part of the increased tax revenues to pay down the national debt.

When Clinton did so, and actually brought the federal budget into surplus, investors felt that they would not have to compete with government for capital at high interest rates, and they invested in the US economy with a vengeance. This produced the longest economic expansion in US history.

Last year, Nokia focused on developing high-end cell phones. Samsung and Motorola put their bets on the middle end cell phones, and introduced lower cost versions of the popular clamshell model. Nokia's market share dropped from 35% of all cell phones sold to 29%. The challenge of doing the right thing was far harder to master than measuring what was done. And how do you measure changes in tastes?

The early economists maximized satisfaction, which is an emotion. They saw an economy fueled by fears, optimism, pride, confidence and dissatisfaction. In this emotional universe, fiscal and monetary policy are formed and put in place. But there are times when someone that we trust must stand up and say: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself!" [1]

What did Roosevelt's fireside chats contribute to overcoming the depression of the 1930's? And what did the speeches of Hitler and Churchill do to the economies of Germany and Britain?

What have we learned, as leaders, employees and parents about the importance of emotion, irrational behavior, and overcoming long odds?

As parents we get our battle training from our teenage sons and daughters. Never do we see raw emotion and irrational actions in clearer view than when we intervene against hairstyles, clothing, and loud music, not to mention smoking, alcohol and drug usage. Only the memories from our own rebellious youth save us from despairing in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

The same applies in the work place. A thoughtless and disparaging remark can ruin the day for an employee, and affect the morale of the whole office. The force of "malicious compliance" can affect a whole company when employees decide to "work to rule", or managers are deprived of expected salary increases.

[1] Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933 inaugural speech.