SUMMARY
The overarching point of Michael Hammer’s article is that operational performance measurement is still to this day an unsolved problem within numerous companies of all sizes. The emphasis that this article focuses on is the coined “7 deadly sins” that correlate strongly with the unsolved problem. These sins include:
• Vanity – At some points companies have to take a step back and not solely focus on the metrics that make them, as employees/management, look the best. Weaknesses, or as I like to call them ‘opportunities’ are present in every company in every industry. The first rule of thumb is to identify them and work to improve them if success is one of the company’s goals.
• Provincialism – Boundaries within organizations will always be present, however these boundaries …show more content…
However, the crucial viewpoint that performance has to be viewed from is through the customer’s viewpoint.
• Laziness – Deciding which specific metrics to measure is not a 10 second decision to be made. Thought and effort has to go into deciding which metrics to track on a regular basis or the results lose their value and credibility.
• Pettiness – Whether the company is small or large ensuring that the entire company is being analyzed is extremely important. When measuring performance, it is not time to be delicate.
• Inanity – Just like anything else in a company, the consequences have to be taken into consideration as well.
• Frivolity – If one is not serious about performing the proper analysis on specific metrics from the very beginning than it is not going to benefit the company in the long run.
After reviewing the 7 deadly sins, Hammer offers four ways organizations can avoid them. These include deciding what to measure, measuring the right way, using metrics systematically, and create a measurement-friendly culture.
The overarching point of Michael Hammer’s article is that operational performance measurement is still to this day an unsolved problem within numerous companies of all sizes. The emphasis that this article focuses on is the coined “7 deadly sins” that correlate strongly with the unsolved problem. These sins include:
• Vanity – At some points companies have to take a step back and not solely focus on the metrics that make them, as employees/management, look the best. Weaknesses, or as I like to call them ‘opportunities’ are present in every company in every industry. The first rule of thumb is to identify them and work to improve them if success is one of the company’s goals.
• Provincialism – Boundaries within organizations will always be present, however these boundaries …show more content…
However, the crucial viewpoint that performance has to be viewed from is through the customer’s viewpoint.
• Laziness – Deciding which specific metrics to measure is not a 10 second decision to be made. Thought and effort has to go into deciding which metrics to track on a regular basis or the results lose their value and credibility.
• Pettiness – Whether the company is small or large ensuring that the entire company is being analyzed is extremely important. When measuring performance, it is not time to be delicate.
• Inanity – Just like anything else in a company, the consequences have to be taken into consideration as well.
• Frivolity – If one is not serious about performing the proper analysis on specific metrics from the very beginning than it is not going to benefit the company in the long run.
After reviewing the 7 deadly sins, Hammer offers four ways organizations can avoid them. These include deciding what to measure, measuring the right way, using metrics systematically, and create a measurement-friendly culture.