Is it even possible to measure the impact of measurement? And if we could, why would we bother? (more…)

A perceived lack of data - or lack of data with reasonable quality - is a constraint that stops many people from even trying to develop meaningful performance measures. That sounds logical enough, but it assumes that value of measurement only comes at the end of the process. What if you measured without data?

Recently I was listening to a radio program that interviewed two opposing representatives on the issue of regulating the trucking industry by fixing minimum wages for drivers. The idea was to improve safety on our roads. Rather than who was right and who was wrong, what interested me was the constraint that the 'opposition dynamic' put on finding a good solution.

One objection to measuring performance with KPIs is that we don't need them; we can already see what's going on by walking around, by our past experience, by our wise intuition, by what people complain about. But our human limitations make these observations inherently biased.

It's the week of Christmas and so I don't want to be too heavy and serious. So if you feel inclined to lightly ponder, let me share with you what measuring performance is going to mean for me in 2016. (more&h...

A reasonably frequently asked question about performance measurement is how to find KPIs or measures that you are guaranteed to achieve successfully. Is presupposes that KPIs and measures should be achieved successfully. Is that true?

Too many clichés tell us that we measure performance to manage, to control, to improve, to learn, to monitor, to hit targets. But what if there was a simpler reason to measure performance, that still paid off? That could really help out those people who are still a bit fearful or skeptical of measuring, don't you think? I reckon the simplest reason to measure is to notice. T...

Forget all the cliches about why we measure performance. 'You can't manage what you don't measure.' 'What you measure is what you get.' Why we measure performance is much more profound and fundamental.

Measure Up reader, Paul O, asks: How do I educate my clients (and win new ones) in SMB of the power and ROI behind great KPIs? (more…)

What's the real role of performance measurement? To serve the bureaucratic machine? To keep an eye on employees? To hold executives accountable? Does the role change depending on whose measuring and what they're measuring? I don't believe so. I believe that performance measurement's role is universally comprised of three specific things.