Comments on: #46 Why You Can’t Measure Your Performance Outcomes…

By: Stacey Barr

Stacey Barr — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:34:53 +0000

Swapna,

The challenge with trying to make a weasely objective statement more measurable is gaining access to the people and the thinking they did when they originally wrote the weasely objective! You effectively need to have the conversation with those people, about what they really meant, what results they really want to achieve.

Yes, that means rework. But we can avoid it in the future by taking more care when we write our strategy in the first place.

By: Boago

Boago — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:11:14 +0000

How true. Trying to sound professional in our plans just takes the fun and focus out of planning.I have participated in planning meetings where we have argued endlessly about the measurabilty of objectives like “improve work culture and mindset”, “achieve quality and relevance of education” … Needless to say we are still not agreeing on what it means, but we are executing.

By: Swapna

Swapna — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:16:10 +0000

Hi,

an interesting article.

How would you translate these strategies:
“Provide efficient, unique, unbiased and responsive, high quality support” which is from a military organisation.
“Strengthen student engagement and learning outcomes by enhancing student support and intervention services”, from a government education department.
“[We] will be a leader in articulating and characterizing the dynamic system of scholarly communication”, from a library association.

to words that can lend themselves to be measured?

By: Zoe Routh

Zoe Routh — Tue, 18 May 2010 06:07:54 +0000

Haha Stacey you crack me up! Weasel words – drivel indeed! Let’s re-write this one:

“articulating and characterizing the dynamic system of scholarly communication” -change to –

“speak in plain English.”