When it comes to cause analysis for performance measures, many people put the cart before the horse. They rush too quickly to analyse their data without first establishing a clear purpose. (more…)...

Evaluation is about looking for improvement. But so is performance measurement. So why don't we call them the same thing? Well, it's because they're different.

Quite a few people still seem to think that performance measures are only needed at the end of the planning cycle, to check and see whether the goals were achieved and the strategic initiatives implemented.

Strategy maps, a la the Balanced Scorecard, are the most commonly used visual representation of strategy on a single page. But are they the only way to visualise a measurable strategy? (more…)

Measure Up subscriber Patrick D. asks a very pertinent question: "Why don't more companies implement effective performance management systems?" Well, in a nutshell, it's because they haven't made it a habit.

Measure Up LinkedIn Group members collaborated with me to create this list of the toughest things to measure in business. What are they and what makes them so tough to measure? (more…)

Measure Upsubscriber Suzanne asks "How do you set targets using historical data?" It's a great question, because it acknowledges something that most people don't appreciate about target setting.

After you've learned how to design excellent KPIs and performance measures, you might want to cull the bad ones you already have. Use this template to evaluate your existing KPIs and performance measures, and decide which to keep and which to cull.

Stephen Few's arguments about dashboard gauges and dials can be summed up nicely in his own words: they "say little and do so poorly". Agreed. But there's one specific reason that gauges and dials totally suck when it comes to KPIs.

I'm teaching the Melbourne PuMP Blueprint Workshop this week, and today's content included how to make your goals more measurable. One of the lovely participants in the workshop (thanks Steve!) showed me this video presented by Gerard Braud, at the International Association of Business Communicators 2012 World Conference: "