Manifesto

UP QUOTES

“What gets measured gets managed.”

Not Peter Drucker

Introduction 

A multi-trillion dollar self-development industry that spans health, wellness, education, and other fields exists to help you live better. Some organizations are great at what they do; some are not. It’s extremely hard for anyone to know the difference between the two. Good data and analysis can help with that problem.

You deserve more

Many organizations imply their products and services are effective by offering glowing testimonials, cherry picked from their best customers, clients, and consumers. Unfortunately, anecdotes are not good evidence. They tell you very little about the actual effectiveness of the product or service. And next to nothing about its cost-effectiveness.

Show me the data

We offer a simple question for you to ask organizations before you buy: “May I see your data?” Request scientifically-valid outcome data from everyone that profits from helping you grow. This includes us.

Even better, ask for cost-effectiveness data.

Cost-effectiveness 101

How do you know how much you actually grew from that workshop you took, book you read or coach you worked with? Was it worth the cost for you? To find out, at the bare minimum you’ll need the following:

A baseline measurement that reflects your values. On day 1 how satisfied with life were you? How much money were you earning? What was your BMI? How many dates were you getting? 

A follow-up measurement. After 12 months how satisfied with life were you? How much money were you earning? What was your BMI? How many dates were you getting? What about after 2 years? 5 years? Longer?

A causal mechanism. Is it plausible that X caused Y? Or was it just a coincidence?

The costs. What were the total financial and non-financial costs you incurred?

The benefits. What were the total objective and subjective benefits you received?

Crucial caveat

 Collecting good data is sometimes hard. It can be expensive and time-consuming. It may not make sense for some organizations, especially if they’re early stage or if their products and services are rapidly changing.

But ultimately it’s crucial for us to build our collective understanding of what works from good data, not persuasive anecdotes.

Leading the way

It’s past time the industry that promises to help people change actually changes itself. We need to evolve into an evidence-based self-development industry that prioritizes cost-effectiveness.

Upgradable believes in honestly and humbly sharing our full track record, even if our results aren’t flattering. We’d rather shut down than mislead anyone. The truth matters more than profits.

We hope others in the industry will do the same. If this happens, we will have leveled up both an industry and the billions of people we collectively serve.