ABSTRACT
Performance can be good or it can be bad. There have been times, after noticing the absence of a performance system, I’ve asked clients, “How do you know if you’re winning or you’re losing?” I had one response, more memorable than the others, “Well, we didn’t get yelled at today.” That response came from a group lead in a service group that I began working with in January 1997. In January of 2000, her response was, “We’re winning! I can even tell you from a Customer, Employee, or Supplier perspective, or a Time, Quality, or Cost perspective!” A newly acquired client of mine just answered the same question with, “We just don’t know.” I’ve found, often is the case, even where a lot of performance measures are captured and communicated, the people of the organization aren’t cognizant of the actual performance of the organization. In numerous instances, I’ve often been told that it’s whether or not we’re making money.
