Why ‘Year-To-Date’ is Rubbish

‘Year-to-date’ figures are often used in performance frameworks, both in the public and private sectors. In policing, ‘year-to-date’ figures are regularly used to track the number of reported crimes at any given point in the year, supposedly as an indicator of whether the police are doing a good job or not. Now, leaving aside the debate about whether crime rates should be used as a performance indicator at all (I might talk about that another time), let’s have a look at why the practice of ‘year-to-date’ itself is rubbish.

Stick Person Goes For a Run

Imagine a runner…

Here we are – it’s our little friend, the stick person. Let’s say the stick person likes to run 12 miles at a time, and his personal best is 120 minutes and 1 second; an average of about 10 minutes per mile.

Next time the stick person sets out on a run, he aims to do his…