Think Different

Personally, I'd rank things differently then the ranking given in the previous post.

1. Revenue for the quarter is as expected
2. Revenue for the quarter exceeds expectations by 10%
3. Revenue for the quarter are short of expectations by 10%
   
4. Revenue for the quarter exceeds expectations by 50%
   
5. Revenue for the quarter are short of expectations by 50%

And I'd only classify the first as success. They key isn't how much was achieved as much as how close to expecations was the result. To me, that's the difference between a short term and a long term view.