Performance management – the measurement trap (part 1)
2 July 2021
The Measurement Trap in Strategic Performance Management
Performance measures are vital aspects of our organizations and performance management. To go with the words of the fifth century B.C. philosopher Philolaus – without measures we can understand nothing and know nothing. Once organizations have defined and clarified their strategy, measures can be used to gauge performance in comparison to, for example, their expectations, targets or competitors. Measures enable us to define future goals like a certain market share or shareholder value, and they should help us understand whether we are on the right track towards delivering our strategy. Indicators should allow us to challenge our business assumptions and provide us with insights that will guide our everyday decision making. Without indicators we can’t assess our success, we don’t know whether our assumptions or decisions were correct, and we don’t see whether we are moving into the right direction.
However, this is not what happens when most organizations implement performance management. What we see is often a very narrow use of measurement. Common reality is that there are too many metrics, no one knows why they are being collected, and most people agree that the measures that are used are not measuring what they are supposed to measure or what really matters. Organizations have become obsessed with measuring everything that walks and moves but often fail to measure what really matters. In many cases measurement has become an administrative burden where we spend a lot of our time collecting and reporting metrics, which we know is of little or no value. As a consequence, few strategic insights are extracted from the measures we collect and little or no learning takes place.
Related Articles
Will AI Solve The World’s Inequality Problem – Or Make It Worse?
We are standing on the cusp of a new technological revolution. AI is increasingly permeating every aspect of our lives, with intelligent machines transforming the way we live and work.[...]
How You Become Irreplaceable In The Age Of AI
In a world where artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing, many of us are left wondering: Will AI take our jobs?[...]
Why Apple Intelligence Sets A New Gold Standard For AI Privacy
In the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, privacy concerns have become a hot-button issue.[...]
Can Your Device Run Apple Intelligence? What You Need To Know
Apple's announcement of Apple Intelligence has sent waves of excitement through the tech world.[...]
10 Amazing Things You Can Do With Apple Intelligence On Your IPhone
Apple Intelligence is poised to revolutionize the iPhone experience, offering a suite of AI-powered tools that promise to make your digital life easier, more productive, and more creative.[...]
Agentic AI: The Next Big Breakthrough That’s Transforming Business And Technology
The world of artificial intelligence is evolving at a breakneck pace, and just when you thought you'd wrapped your head around generative AI, along comes another game-changing concept: agentic AI.[...]
Sign up to Stay in Touch!
Bernard Marr is a world-renowned futurist, influencer and thought leader in the fields of business and technology, with a passion for using technology for the good of humanity.
He is a best-selling author of over 20 books, writes a regular column for Forbes and advises and coaches many of the world’s best-known organisations.
He has a combined following of 4 million people across his social media channels and newsletters and was ranked by LinkedIn as one of the top 5 business influencers in the world.
Bernard’s latest book is ‘Generative AI in Practice’.
Social Media