Month: January 2013
The “King Midas” award for Measures with Unintended Consequences
King Midas is famous for an apparently good idea – everything he touched turning to gold – with unexpected side effects – starvation. I regularly stumble across less dangerous variations on this theme, with measures that create completely unintended consequences. I’m looking for your favourite examples of bad measures, KPIs or metrics. The winner will…
Using 5S to improve report and dashboard design
5S is a tool that lots of manufacturing businesses use. It’s a funny tool as it can look quite superficial unless you have been involved in a project where it has been applied properly. What people often miss is the mindset that goes along with it. When you start living and breathing 5S some quite…
Strategy Checklist: Is your strategy ready to support meaningful measures and KPIs?
Why is a strategy checklist important? Imagine a friend saying to you “Can you pop out to the hardware store and buy a tool for me?”. Obviously, your first question would be “What kind of tool are you looking for?” Deciding on your measures and KPIs without having a clear strategy is exactly like going…