Performance Management Practice

It is difficult to allocate resources when true cost of intellectual assets are unknown and hidden in overhead. Learning how to tap into activity-based data creates opportunity to “see what others don’t see or choose not to see”. Enhancing understanding of how disparate hierarchies of intellectual resources / assets are distributed across an organization creates opportunity to improve business transformation practices. Tapping into the collective thinking of an organization opens doors and generates insights needed to develop roadmaps and timelines for implementing solutions to improve operations.

If you’re not familiar with activity-based metrics, it might be difficult to comprehend how special insight can transform decision making. Ability to grow current business to meet demands of future markets demands discipline and understanding of effective performance management practices. Activity-based metrics are used to understand dynamics of particular states and conditions that impact business performance. We use these metrics to model behavior and measure how specific activities impact knowledge worker performance and ability of an organization to execute effectively.

The objective is to create opportunity to make “on-the-fly” step change adjustments to ensure resources are being utilized effectively. It’s difficult to shift resources without disrupting workspaces. This is why it is vital to make change agents (individuals who take ownership of implementing step-change) part of the solution.  Knowledge workers who are fully engaged in creating a better future can be empowered with valuable insight to enhance effectiveness of step-change efforts.  The ultimate goal is to ensure that the right workers are in the right jobs with the right resources for the right reasons. Knowledge is powerful when it can be used to transform thinking. Timing is everything. Knowing when to act or to hold a position can mean the difference between success and failure. We help to create future business by transforming thinking when decision makers get exposed to new insights that reveal how to improve practices while also bringing a sense of pride, joy and satisfaction back into the workplace. Give us a call if you want to learn more .  .  .  .

The US dollar is in trouble. If you think its business as usual, think again. The U.S. has been on a destructive course for many years. It’s only a matter of time before the world shifts away from the US dollar as the reserve currency. What does this mean? It could mean hyperinflation and utter chaos.

The U.S. can’t expect to keep creating enormous debt without dire consequences. Failure of our banking, healthcare and real estate markets was just a beginning. We’ve been warned, now we must act before it is too late. This means making difficult choices and creating opportunity to transition markets.

World economies operate based on growth. Inability to stimulate and grow an economy creates all kinds of problems. What goes up must come down – basic laws of physics. To adapt and thrive with relatively flat market conditions will require new thinking. We need to find new ways to balance global economic commerce based on creating realistic and sustainable life-cycles.

Managing the ebb and flow of global commerce is tricky business. Free markets work when there’s a fair playing field. The challenge is how to shift our thinking about commerce – we need to shift from growth to reuse and renewal on a global scale. The transition will not be easy, but it will be well worth the effort.

Building a sustainable free market economy will take time and will require access to good information. The worst thing we can do is put off the inevitable. We need to break political gridlock and get our leaders to act on creating the greatest good. Only then, will we be able to change our path and create opportunity this country was founded upon and design to uphold.

Corporations were designed to create value for shareholders. During the turn of the century, corporations were the free markets answer to the industrial age. For years, corporations have served mass markets well by organizing and employing millions of people to perform large complex tasks. Today, global competition, technology and need to satisfy consumer demands have changed the nature of business. Ability to create value has less to do with “bricks and mortar” and everything to do with knowledge and information.

History teaches us that bureaucracies have a tendency to self-perpetuate. Huge government budget deficits, high taxes, cost of energy and need to protect the environment are significant factors creating need to rethink roles of government and business. Recently, public sector employment displaced jobs in the private sector creating enormous problem for US taxpayers. Strain to sustain government spending places a huge burden on business – impacts ability to generate profits to sustain operations. Challenge is how to restore free market thinking to stimulate economic growth.

Currently, the world is experiencing an economic shift in wealth creation. As US debt increases, so do concerns about ability to manage the ebb and flow of global commerce. For decades, management gurus have staked reputations on attacking entrenched corporate cultures and government bureaucracies in an attempt to make organizations more effective. Managers by definition are resistant to change and often tasked and driven by self-preservation, not by market forces. This creates all kinds of problems for organizations who need to embrace change and align / balance resources to meet new demands.

The solution is to create an environment where your organization can thrive. Healthy organizations know how to empower workers and take calculated risks. They instill strategic checks and balances and benchmark knowledge worker activity to align and direct resources. Workers are self-directed and rewarded for nurturing innovation and delivering great results. Workflow is streamlined and unencumbered by bottlenecks, redundancies and busy-work. Ability to focus and make the right decisions is driven by knowledge and feedback loops that keep workers informed and motivated. Understanding of best practices is commonplace and opportunity to promote reuse and renew is inherent in design. Value creation is maximized because ad-hoc teams work in unison and are focused on doing the right things.

Hopefully, government and business will re-align to revitalize free market thinking. In the meantime, do what you can to optimize performance and prepare for change. Gaining access to insight hidden in your organization is vital to understand changing states and conditions.  Consider learning what we’ve learned leveraging unique tools to access hidden information. You have nothing to lose - everything to gain! Give us a call to learn more.