If you don't know how to measure performance, then you don't know if your team is doing a good job. If you don't know if your team is doing a good job, then you don't know what it takes to do a good job. If you don't know what it takes to do a good … Continue reading The other cost of not understanding performance
Leadership
The gift of empathy
I was part of a facilitated discussion for a charitable group, and the question posed to us was: How do we increase empathy? It was a diverse group of entrepreneurs, educators, and others (I include myself as an "other"). There were a lot of thought-provoking questions raised: How and when do you start teaching kids … Continue reading The gift of empathy
Write your mission statement
I've previously written about using mission statements as a clear declaration of your goals. While there are different formats for capturing this concept - guiding principles, core values, vision statements - they all allow you to refer to your true goal and redirect yourself when you start to drift. The important thing is to have … Continue reading Write your mission statement
The job of a boss
A friend recently complained to me about his supervisor. It's not that his supervisor was mean or abusive, but he didn't take action to develop or guide anyone on the team. The department was, subsequently, stuck in a rut that had lasted for years. You need a few things from your boss. Your boss should: … Continue reading The job of a boss
Goal vs game
There's a repeating conversation that goes like this: "Hey, did you know that we can charge extra for [fill in something that customers don't really want]?""Yeah, but wouldn't that be taking advantage of our customers? ""Well, maybe a little bit, but it will make us more money. And we need to make money to stay … Continue reading Goal vs game
Don’t let a good mistake go to waste
I was getting my internet connection fixed and a technician had to come out. He thought that the hardware needed to be swapped for a newer version, but before taking that somewhat drastic step, he decided to call central technical support and see if they could reset things. They tried, it still didn't work, and … Continue reading Don’t let a good mistake go to waste
Metrics as judgments
A police officer arrests the same person dozens of times in order to make an arrest quota. A bank employee opens accounts for customers without their permission because of a cross selling incentive. A teacher helps students cheat in order to improve tests scores so that the school will receive more funding. What's happening in … Continue reading Metrics as judgments
