WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS DONE
Tom Peters was one of first business gurus who acknowledged the importance of using quantitative measures for ensuring that work is done and even results can be improved. In his article “What gets measured gets done” published in 1986 (Peters, 1986) he is giving examples of measures used in his own organization in four main areas: customers, innovation, people and leadership.
The measurement process has evolved in the last 20 years to more innovative and structured performance management systems. The most known are: Balanced Scorecards, Dashboards, Management Cockpits, KPI (Key Performance Indicators). These tools are quite similar displaying in different ways a number of quantifiable measures in four main areas: finance, internal processes, customers, and people.
Almost every organization, big or small, is using nowadays a performance management system. If the rules or best practices to build these systems are quite similar, the way how they are analysed and used by each organization for further improvement can be quite different. Are these performance management systems just some other nice tools or are they really effective management tools for ensuring that work is done and further improved? Are these tools measuring what is really important for an organization? Are the indicators properly analysed and appropriate actions are taken?
First of all, it is important to understand why a measuring process is needed. It has been requested by the stakeholders? External or internal communication must be improved? Does the management need to have a set of measures to know if progress is made and goals are reachable? Does the management want to send a signal to the employees that their activities are linked to the organi ...