ROI Vs ROE.

About a year ago, my friend and I lost a juicy opportunity to coach the employees of a certain organisation in the East African region. A fellow coach who was already doing some work with them referred us. I’m good at engaging people on the ground, and she’s gifted in putting the structure in place. The slide decks, activities, and timetable for the programme are her strong areas. We made a good combination.

It took us several days to put together a pitch, which I found impressive. I was in high spirits when we approached presentation day. The content was solid and aligned with their need at the time. In addition, the figure we charged was enough to buy my upgraded full-frame camera and prime lens. I was already imagining that experience in the bush and taking another award-winning photo hehe.

We’ve all heard the term return on investment (ROI). In almost every transaction, the investor wants to know whether they’ll earn more than they put in—if so, it’s a good deal. When I ran my tent business, this was easy to judge: if the setup was on time and to my client’s satisfaction, they felt they’d gotten good value for their money. If the tents arrived late or fell short of their expectations, they felt they’d lost out. ROI is easier to measure for products than for services. Good mbogas delivered to the market make mama mboga happy—she’ll sell them fast and at a good price.

As we made our presentation, the sponsor (finance team) struggled to see the value of what they were paying for. A numbers guy wants to see tangible and often immediate value for what they pay for. That’s where it gets tricky with a service like coaching; the results are often intangible because they are long-term. When we said that the employees’ behaviour would change for the better, leading to better outputs at work and overall enhanced performance at the workplace, the guys went blank. I could see their quizzical looks on the virtual call.

We didn’t get the job despite (what I believe was) our world-class pitch. In hindsight, I now know exactly where we lost it. What we were missing was a clearer demonstration of the return on expectation (ROE). We needed to shift from ROI, which asks, “What financial results will this produce?” To ROE, which asks, “To what extent will the intended expectations or outcomes be achieved?” Had we demonstrated that clearly, we might have won the business.

That said, the client remains responsible for the outcome they want. We couldn’t guarantee the organisation a positive outcome. The staff had to put in the work. All we could do was facilitate awareness and action. That’s a key pillar of coaching, unlike in consulting, mentorship or therapy where the client is often directed on what to do.

That’s the thing with most deep learning in life: it takes time, stays invisible for a while, and the results show huko mbele. That’s where the battle is won or lost—in private. Many of us give up too soon, impatient for a return we can’t yet see. The investment is the grind we put in daily, but the return is often out of sight.

Maybe it’s time we shifted our focus from ROI to ROE at a personal level. What have you been doing, folks that is yet to show results? Perhaps we get discouraged faster because we can see the effort we’re putting in, but the desired outcome is out of sight. If we pictured that expected outcome more vividly — what success actually looks like — it might be easier to keep going, even before the results show up. Personal return on expectation is where we meet our self-defined goals and expectations.

What is that thing you want to achieve? The one you’ve been putting off because you’ve convinced yourself it’s too expensive, or that there’s no time for it. You are wondering if the investment of time and money is worth the effort. How about we shift focus and commit to giving our goals a good chance of succeeding? If we do that and remain consistent, then our expectations will surprise us because we will have fulfilled them.

Many of us are living way below our potential. We somehow know we should do better and be better. We expect more of ourselves but sabotage ourselves by thinking that there may not be a return on our effort or investment. I experienced this at our Silver Fox event two weeks ago. Apparently, I did a great job as a moderator. After we ended the event, one of the panellists came to me with a disturbed look. I freaked out for a moment, wondering if I had offended him in some way. He looked me in the eye as if almost annoyed and said, “Lucas, lean into your discomfort.”

I was perplexed until he explained that I should explore doing moderation more and even making it a major part of my life. I did feel uncomfortable because I remembered that speaking is my gift and that I may not be using it enough. Am I in a comofort zone that I need to get out of? Maybe.

So, you can see I need to preach today’s sermon to myself too. Perhaps I, too, need to focus on the return I’d get from putting my gift to greater use, rather than allowing the investment it takes to perform well discourage me. For many of us, it’s partly fear that holds us back from leaning in, and partly the pull of staying in our comfort zone, in the familiar.

We are halfway through the year, folks. What return on expectation do you want in December? Perhaps if we focus on the return on expectation, then return on investment will take care of itself.