All Posts Tagged With: "measurement"
Conference on Performance Management & Measurement
If your leaders are looking for insight into issues they are facing, want to learn about strategies for managing change, can benefit from case studies about structured and successful improvement approaches, or are curious about how to integrate Baldrige , especially in the areas of strategic planning and performance measurement, then sign them up for ActiveStrategy’s 2011 conference on May 3rd and 4th in Philadelphia. Click on the blue banner on the right for details. Enter Baldrige11 on the registration page to receive $100 off the cost of the conference.
Held since 2004, the conference features case-study presentations that describe real-life issues and how organizations are dealing with them. It’s a smaller conference—usually around 100 people—that encourages asking questions, discussing problems, and exploring solutions. You will walk away with practical and proven ideas for dealing with your most challenging issues.
Most of the presenters use ActiveStrategy software to turn strategic plans into measurable results, but you don’t have to be an ActiveStrategy client to benefit from the experiences of the presenters, which include:
- Clayton Fitzhugh, executive VP of share services for Catholic Health East, will talk about “A Leader’s Role in Performance Excellence.”
- Allison Diego, assistant director at the Miami-Dade County Park & Recreation Department, will describe…
Barriers to Success
“Barriers to an organization’s effectiveness are internally built and locally maintained.”
And profoundly harmful, according to Gallup. “Tearing Down the Barriers to Success” in the Gallup Management Journal (February 16, 2011) lists fives causes of barriers identified by studying the phenomenon across industries, job types, countries, and organizational levels: fear, information flow, short-term thinking, misalignment, and money.
I wrote about the corrosive effect of fear here. Gallup identifies two types of information flow barriers: transmission (information does not get into the hands of those who need it) and assimilation (too much information and not enough time or resources to interpret it). Short-term thinking barriers occur when decisions are made too quickly, without consulting those who must live with it, or when long-term issues are known but ignored or rationalized away.
Misalignment barriers come in three types, according to Gallup:
- No clear link between personal and organizational missions or a general lack of mission, vision, and/or strategy.
- Misalignment of different departments’ goals that often put them in direct opposition. For example, the sales department demands more inventory to better serve the immediate needs of customers while the procurement department has goals for minimizing inventory.
- Money barriers range from departments protecting their budgets and headcount to individuals manipulating…
What Are You Looking For?
Baldrige.com now has 500 articles available that provide “the information you need to build the organization you want.” That includes your guide to building the career you want, The Baldrige Edge, available here.
What are you looking for? Here’s a sample of what you can find on Baldrige.com:
Baldrige: What it is, integrating Baldrige, starting points, Baldrige Criteria, Baldrige assessment, Baldrige Award, the organization you want, 10 questions to ask
Leadership: Leaders’ job, leadership matters most, priorities, mission and vision, managing, innovation, building a great organization, sustainability, 5 deadly diseases, change management, 10 critical questions
Planning: First phase of strategic planning, innovation and planning, challenging your assumptions, blind spots, revolutionary thinking, testing strategies, prioritizing initiatives, alignment and integration, plan deployment, 90-day action plans, 10 critical questions
Customers: Who are they, dangerous assumptions, customer knowledge, identifying requirements, engagement, increasing satisfaction, measuring satisfaction, 10 critical questions
Measurement: How do you know that, management by fact, performance measurement, aligning strategies and measures, balanced scorecard, communicating performance, knowledge management, 10 critical questions
Workforce: Valuing employees, driving out fear, identifying requirements, workforce planning, succession planning, employee engagement, communication, diversity, training effectiveness, workforce well-being, 10 critical questions
Process: What’s the process, process thinking, identifying key processes, value creation processes, process matrix, 5 process questions, keys to…
24Feb2011 | Steve George | 0 comments | ContinuedBecome a Strategic Performer
The first issue of The Baldrige Edge in Action is now available for those who order The Baldrige Edge. You can learn more about and order your copy of this 61-page guide to securing your job, making it better, and advancing your career by clicking here. The Baldrige Edge works for everyone who wants to become a strategic performer. It covers three smart questions you can use to set yourself apart, 10 steps to becoming a process master, how to take charge of your job and your career, what world-class performance looks like, and much more. It costs $17 and comes with a money-back guarantee.
The first issue of The Baldrige Edge in Action newsletter explores three areas introduced in the guide: measurement, process management, and Baldrige assessments:
- “Attributes of a Good Measure” digs into the elements of an effective measure: relevance, current performance, trends, context, and issues.
- “Common or Special?” looks at the causes of variation in a process, how you can tell them apart, and what you can do about them to improve the process.
- “Baldrige Assessment Pitfalls” describes eight things to avoid when you are conducting a Baldrige assessment, whether for internal use or to apply for a state award or the Baldrige Award.
Order The Baldrige Edge today…
23Feb2011 | Steve George | 0 comments | ContinuedEveryone Can Improve Quality
For the first twenty years of the Baldrige Award, the weakest category in terms of scoring was measurement and analysis. While the balanced scorecard movement has helped close the measurement gap, reliable and actionable analysis of data is still a struggle for many organizations.
Minitab, an industry leader in statistical and process improvement, addresses that gap. Virtually every major Six Sigma initiative worldwide uses Minitab software, which is also used to teach statistics in more than 4,000 colleges and universities.
The great thing about Minitab software is that it turns anyone into a statistician. The latest version of its software, Minitab 16, uses an interactive decision tree to help users choose the right analytical tool and walks them through their analysis step-by-step. It can then assist with interpreting the results and producing reports.
You can see how it works by clicking on the green box on the right. A short video introduces you to the features and benefits of Minitab 16, including the ability to use the software in seven languages.
If you want to learn more, click on the “Webinars” link at the top of the Minitab 16 web page for a list of free webinars about the product, or click on “Tour”…
10Feb2011 | Steve George | 0 comments | ContinuedSmart Question #3: Who Are Our Customers and What Do They Require?
(This excerpt is from The Baldrige Edge, an e-Guide from Baldrige.com. You can learn more about the guide by clicking on the black-and-red box on the right.)
Your organization exists to serve people, as does your department and your work group. Without customers, external and internal, you don’t have a job. Without satisfied, even delighted, customers, your job—and your organization—may be in danger.
In the course of a day’s work, it’s easy for the customer to disappear from the discussion, and that is an opportunity for you. We’ve already talked about process thinking (Smart Question #1) and the fact that everything you do, and everything your group, team, or department does, is part of one or more processes. The final step in each process is the delivery of something to the customers of that process. I’ll give you a few examples:
- You deliver end-of-the-month financial results to leadership. The leaders are the customers of this reporting process.
- You deliver training to employees. The employees are your customers, as are the leaders responsible for developing your workforce.
- You deliver products to customers through distributors. Both the end users of your products and the distributors are your customers.
- You deliver information to people who contact your call center,…
Smart Question #2: How Do We Know That?
(This excerpt is from The Baldrige Edge, an e-Guide from Baldrige.com. You can learn more about the guide by clicking on the black-and-red box on the right.)
Next to blaming people for process problems, making assumptions is a surefire way to miss the right solution. Which of these scenarios is more common in your organization?
(a) Options are debated based on what people think about a problem or issue and how they think it should be handled; or,
(b) Options are debated based on reliable data and information that illuminate the nature and causes of the problem or issue and point to possible solutions.
Most people act as if “a” is really “b”: My assumptions are based on experience and they’re as good as facts. They’re wrong. Guessing that you know what’s going on is not the same as actually knowing what’s going on, and the only way to know what’s going on is to collect and analyze relevant data and information. That’s where the second smart question comes in: How do we know that?
You have to be careful how you ask this question. If your boss says, “We’re getting customer complaints about how long they have to wait for service so we need…
1Feb2011 | Steve George | 0 comments | Continued
