Measure = Manage
I am reflecting back today to an article I wrote quite some time ago, recognizing that some of you were not yet regular readers at that time. I wanted to bring this back to the forefront as you set your strategic direction, mobilize your organization in strategic execution, and create an environment of improvement. I tee it up here as a reminder to leaders that our measurement system can enable many impactful things including:
- creating alignment,
- communicating priorities,
- cascading strategic direction, and
- serving as an engine for continuous improvement
Aligned Measures
As leaders, it is vital that we are not flying blind. Measures are key to ensure that we know how things are going in the organization (/department/unit). Without measures, we assume that all is well – that our customers’ needs are being met in a timely fashion, that our employees are well supported by their managers, that we are maintaining our market share, that our operational processes are humming along. Without measures, we simply assume.
Too few organizations use measures to manage! Sure, they have some measures…in select areas…that someone looks at sporadically…and occasionally this information informs their strategic efforts or operational improvements. But organizations that are serious about strategic execution, use measures to manage!! At every level in the organization…all leaders and managers and units manage with measures.
These measures are aligned to the strategic direction of the organization (e.g. their mission, vision, goals, strategies, and values).
All can clearly see how things are going at any point in time and how their area is contributing (or conversely, where improvements are most needed).
Organizations who excel at implementation, have identified, defined, and aligned their measurement system to their specific strategic direction. For each of their strategic goals, they have a set of well-defined measures that provides them with the needed information on how things are going relative to this strategic area of focus.
For example, if one of the organization’s Goals is Access, they have a set of measures that tells them on an ongoing basis how well their customers are gaining access to their services, how long of a wait list there is for accessing key services, whether they are broadening their access to a wider base of customers, whether their new service offerings are being utilized as well as their traditional service offerings.
In high-performing organizations, measures are aligned to the strategic direction of the organization and cascaded to all levels within the organization. Putting this in place is key to accelerating strategic execution.
One way to think of it is that your measurement system is your hardwired communications system. Measures that are aligned to the strategic direction of the organization and shared with the organization are “continually broadcasting” what is important. When our words fall short, the measurement system keeps communicating.
Measure = Manage and Manage = Measure
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Kathy Letendre, President and Founder of Letendre & Associates, advises organizations and leaders to create their excellence advantage.
Contact Kathy by phone or text at 802-779-4315 or via email.