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A Simple Mistake That Has Probably Made You Poorer

23 October, 2017 by Bernie Smith Leave a Comment

The case for austerity The inaugural meeting of the American Economic Association was held on the 4th January 2010. Two giants in the world of economics; Professor Carmen Reinhart and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Ken Rogoff were present. They presented their research paper, “Growth in a Time of Debt”. The headline […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: data integrity, data is not information, key performance indicators, peer review, quality assurance

A Culture of Fear, Intimidation and Retaliation

21 September, 2017 by James Lawther 8 Comments

Nervous Teacher

The scandal In 2011, a state report to the Governor’s office in Georgia claimed that there was “organised and systemic misconduct” in 44 of Atlanta’s 56 schools.  2 years later 35 teachers, head teachers and administrative staff were brought to trial and charged with racketeering and other offences. The smoking gun The accusations revolved around […]

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: command and control, conformity, data is not information, fear and anxiety, Goodhart's law, key performance indicators, performance management, political intervention, poor service, targets

Thou Shalt Not Delay, Distort or Withhold Information

15 August, 2017 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Delay and Distort

Systems need information They use that information to control the way they act. In a system of cells (like your body) that information flows along nerves and via hormones. In a system of animals (like a colony of ants) that information flows via pheromones and signals. In a system of people (like your business) it […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: bureaucracy, communication, fessing up, human nature, key performance indicators, management style, service design, systems thinking

The Simplest Way to Improve Performance – Possibly

3 January, 2016 by James Lawther 15 Comments

An interesting story: Courtesy of Donella Meadows: Near Amsterdam, there is a suburb of single-family houses all built at the same time, all alike. Well, nearly alike. For unknown reasons it happened that some of the houses were built with the electric meter down in the basement. In other houses, the electric meter was installed in the front […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: key performance indicators, measurement, systems thinking

5 Ways to Cultivate Evidence Based Management

31 October, 2015 by Oliver Cunningham 3 Comments

In my last post I argued for E.B.M. (evidence based management) as an approach that will help you: Make the best possible decisions As fast as possible At the lowest possible cost Here are some suggestion on how to promote E.B.M. in your own organisation. 1. Change your own mind Management deals with social problems, not mechanical […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis, Tools & Techniques Tagged With: key performance indicators, objective setting, plan do check act, reinforcing behaviour

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