I’ve been talking a lot about technology these days, in part, because I’m pretty excited about my new iPhone. In my excitement to master this device, I became acquainted with all things shortcuts and, inevitably, apps.

Have you heard of the “Lose It!” app? As the name suggests, this tool helps to support iPhone users in their attempts to lose weight. Now, I’m not looking to do anything drastic, but I am headed to the beach in four weeks, and am busy banishing the three or four pounds of “winter sludge” that it’s easy to accrue while hibernating in the frozen tundra that is a Nebraska winter!

The app is really nifty. You enter your height, weight, age and gender, and voila! You’re assigned a daily caloric threshold. Not impressed yet? Well, the app goes much farther than that by allowing you to pull up the caloric content of foods you plan to eat while you’re out and about. Want an Italian sub from Jimmy Johns? You may want to think again after you search for JJ’s and find the sandwich packs more than 950 calories. Depending on your height, gender and weight goals, this could be way more than half of your total allotted calorie content for the day!

Of course, not only do we consume but hopefully we burn calories, so this app also allows you to log your exercise. It’s just smart enough to tell you if you run seven miles in an hour, you’ll burn nearly 600 calories, but if you slow it to six miles in the same time period; you’ll burn 100 fewer calories. Or if you play basketball for an hour, you’ll burn less than half what you would running 7 MPH.

Here’s the deal. The program breeds accountability. Throughout the day, your food intake and activity level is logged and measured and what gets measured, gets managed.

The same can be said for finances. If you track and review how much you’re spending, you’ll be more aware of the problem areas in your budget. This awareness enables you to address any sore spots with an appropriate action—which may mean cutting back on the pricey java or paying yourself forward by automatically depositing a set amount of your paycheck into your savings each pay period.

The more conscious we are of our actions, the more likely we are to effectively manage them.

As leaders, we often need to be more aware of our professional goals and our progress toward them. Whether it’s a work project you are managing, or a certification you aspire to attain, defining the necessary actions and tracking progress are a surefire way to achieve success.

It is impossible to successfully manage the performance of any task | project | business without data. When you have information, and use it effectively, you can manage for outcomes.

Don’t wait.

The more you are aware of the actions you are taking (or not taking) toward your goals, the higher the likelihood you won’t find yourself in a situation where you’re actually backpedaling and the closer you’ll be toward achieving success.