Where can I find KPIs for brand management? What are the right KPIs for machine reliability? What are some good governance measures? If you're shopping for off-the-shelf KPIs, from KPI libraries or KPI lists, there are dangers in this approach that deliberately designed KPIs don't have. 

Some habits are so powerful, that by focusing on them alone you can start a ripple-effect of other good habits with very little effort. These are called keystone habits by Charles Duhigg, author of "The Power of Habit". There's some suggestion that measuring performance is one of these keystone habits.

Weasel words are words that have no specific and obvious and singular meaning. They bring no clear images to mind of what is meant. Words like: effective, sustainable, harnessed, connectedness and leveraged. Weasel words have a stupifying effect on people's understanding of goals that are written with them, as well as rendering...

People agree they should measure performance. But they just don't get around to doing it. They say they don't have time, don't have money, don't have support, have too much else to do. If things are going to change, we need a different approach to engaging people to measure what matters.

Is the core assumption of pay-for-performance, that we can isolate the contribution of individuals on outcomes, correct? Here are five challenges that need to be met, and met well, before pay-based reward and punishment should even be considered.

Subscriber Nia B. asks: "We need to establish a measure for safety, however we have a terrific safety record and insufficient data to establish one. Is there a meaningful way to measure this?"

There are three reasons why people will give time to things. Apply these reasons to measurement, and more people will give time to measuring, too. (more…)

We have lots of reasons not to measure performance: not enough time, not enough good data, not enough engagement from colleagues, not enough support from leaders, not enough clarity in our goals, not the right timing, and so on. These are all constraints. But they shouldn't be showstoppers.

Rhianna's organisation has a committee for their new KPI Reporting Framework project. And they've laid out an approach to consult the right people in developing new measures to align to their six strategic themes. Deadlines are set, senior leaders are supportive, the budget is approved. But chances are, they'll fail.

5 Stars -- My go-to resource for performance report design Okay, I'll admit that I haven't read "Show Me The Numbers" from cover to cover, even though I've owned a copy (a signed copy!) for a few years. But it's not the kind of book that requires this to get the value from it.