Beyond Measurement: Leading the Future of Experiences

Joshua Nelson, Director of Technology Experience, Power Design, Inc.

Experience Management (XM) has developed how HR and IT operate. XM empowers organizations to measure, analyze, and optimize experiences with unprecedented precision. But after decades in this space, one question keeps coming back to me: Is measurement enough? I have come to realize that it is not. If we want to make a real difference, we must look beyond the here and now to the future.

The insight came from practice within our awardwinning service desk. Despite having dashboards full of positive metrics—response times, satisfaction scores, ticket volumes—something felt missing. When I asked one of our star technicians about their success, they didn’t mention a single metric. Instead, they said, “I think about how I’d want to be treated if I were frustrated and stuck, and then I work backward from there.”

This perspective embodies what I call Experience Leadership (XL). While XM gives us crucial data about where we are, XL pushes us to envision where we could and, likely, should be. Think about the distinction between management and leadership: management keeps systems running smoothly, while leadership charts new territories. XM and XL mirror this relationship.

Rethinking How We Work

I’ve seen the difference in practice. Take the standard opendoor policy most companies pride themselves on. Sure, this sounds good on paper, but how many transformative ideas emerge from those open doors? XL reimagines this policy as an “open-mind” culture, where new ideas aren’t just welcomed—they are actively explored with intent and purpose.

The questions we ask also evolve under the concepts of XL. Instead of “Can we do this?” we ask, “HOW can we do this?” This subtle shift moves us from limitation to possibility, from measurement to innovation.

“Experience Management (XM) provides the data we need today, but Experience Leadership (XL) challenges us to envision the future— shifting from measuring what is to creating extraordinary possibilities for what could be”

Turning Vision Into Action

Don’t misunderstand—we still need XM. Those metrics and insights remain vital. But they should inform our vision, not constrain it.

For example, when redesigning employee onboarding, we moved beyond productivity metrics, asking, ‘What if a new hire’s first day felt less like orientation and more like joining a mission? This led us beyond standard checklists to create personalized journeys that connected individual strengths with the company vision.

Leading The Future

The future belongs to organizations that go beyond measuring experiences to leading them. XM acts as the compass, while XL provides the vision to move forward. Metrics are essential, but they are only the starting point, not the destination.

I believe we’re at a turning point. The most successful organizations won’t just be those with the best measurement systems—they’ll be the ones who use those insights to imagine and create extraordinary experiences.