This is your Captain speaking. I’ve flown a plane twice in my life, and it was so long ago I can’t remember if this is true or not, but I’m pretty sure cockpit diagnostic dials are set up in such a way that if everything is normal, the needle should be sitting vertically on most instruments. I like this concept (true or not!).

The idea is that all it takes is a quick glance at the range of assorted measurements and the pilot can quickly see if something is amiss and needs attention. The other alternative is that a pilot has to look at all the individual gauges and dials and recall what the optimum setting is. Looking even at the example above, that could be difficult. Think about how driving involves only two degrees of freedom and we would not know our speed, fuel, window washer and oil levels at any one time.

Businesses and educators should work out a system of metrics that can quickly tell a story about how the organisation or group is travelling. A whole panel of measures should be found, not just one or two.

Financial measure exist already of course, and yes there are likes and tweets, but there may be less obvious barometers for performance. Incoming phone calls, foot traffic, unsolicited job applications may be leading indicators for the popularity of a store.

What might indicate a student, class, subject, department or school is taking off or nosediving? Speed, acceleration, direction are the same for both, but pitch and elevation reveal a bigger picture.