Month: July 2010

In my last post on the theme of looking at metrics as either valid or reliable and the balance between them, I wanted to examine the impact on decisions in the board room. So far we have covered the following: Valid or reliable – take your pick Valid or reliable

This week I’ve been writing about the tradeoff between measuring things in a valid way or a reliable means. Two posts published so far are: Valid or reliable – take your pick Valid or reliable – trying to break the tradeoff How does this impact culture? Culture is one of

Yesterday I wrote about how measurements are often in conflict between being valid indicators and reliable indicators in Valid or reliable – take your pick. How can we possibly break this tension so there is no tradeoff? One method, staying within the domain of measurement, is a stronger use of

Last week we had an interesting conversation. It started as a discussion about projects, particularly how you make sure you projects are going in the right direction. Ideally, you should choose how you’re going to be measuring yourself before, during, and after the project. If you wait to the end

My latest article, Too Many Problems, articulates that I see problem solving in organizations as much more than problem solving skills. Many times people roll out new problem solving skills thinking that is enough. But beyond that, you also need systems and infrastructure to support those skills, and the right

George Steinbrenner passed away last week of a heart attack at the age of 80. I’m a die hard Red Sox fan, so it was always hard to watch a man of Steinbrenner’s caliber beat you. But George was a winner, and that should be celebrated. As I look at

A lot is written and taught about developing SMART goals. I wrote about the topic earlier this year when everyone was developing their annual goals in the post Forget the New Year’s Resolutions. There are mistakes in developing goals that I find far too common. Let’s call them DUMB goals.

  Aesop’s Fables present timeless lessons. As my mind thinks, I related these back to organizational lessons and to lean transformation, as I wrote about The Mice in Council before. One of the most famous phrases, even if people don’t really know the story, is The Goose That Laid the

  Thanks again to John Hunter of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog for inviting me to host issue #103 of the Management Improvement Carnival. Lean Consumption: A Summary – since Womack and Jones Lean Solutions book, there still hasn’t been much written about lean consumption but Pete Abilla take

Today I participated in Lehigh University’s Global Village program run by the Iacocca Institute. It brings together well over 100 students, many of whom are in their twenties, for a 6 week learning experience every summer from every corner of the globe – Russia, China, Israel, France, Brazil – pick