DEVELOPING SKILLS

THE 7 DEADLY SINS OF PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT... NARCISSISM AND LAZINESS

Last month, we looked at Vanity, the first of the ‘deadly sins’ identified in Michael Hammer’s article: ‘The 7 Deadly Sins of Performance Measurement (and How to Avoid Them)’. This month, we look at Narcissism and Laziness.

Narcissism - This involves looking at things from your organisation’s point of view rather than the customer’s.

Laziness – This is similar to narcissism, in that it’s all about measuring what is easy, rather than what actually matters to customers.

Insight implications
An Insight team needs to ensure that its organisation’s metrics include measures that are relevant to the customer. You need to really listen to customers and let them tell you what’s important, rather than making assumptions from an inevitably blinkered point of view.

If you would like to explore some examples of narcissism and laziness – and more details of how you can avoid these ‘sins’ – please click here
 

The art of making extreme numbers meaningful.

A key part of our job involves the presentation of data. But despite the fact that we are taught to deal with numbers from an early age, the human brain is still poor at dealing with very large or very small numbers. So how can we help stakeholders to understand the real size of extreme numbers in a presentation? There are several ways:

By division: Divide a huge number into several equal amounts, so that they are of a size that people are likely to understand.

By comparison: Think of something of a similar size that is more tangible - something that people are familiar with and that their minds can grasp.

By visualisation: Use a picture or an evocative image, so that people find it easier to visualise the enormity of the number you are trying to portray.

Please click here if you would like to see some more examples.

BE OF GOOD CHEER!

A message of cheerfulness seems very appropriate for this festive season, especially after a long period of economic blues. Lucy Kellaway wrote an article in The Irish Times that was stimulated by Sir Stuart Rose’s recent quote: “We are simply fed up with being fed up.”

Cheerfulness 
Lucy believes that a new ‘cheerfulness syndrome’ is starting to take root in businesses. People are tired of just seeing the negative aspects of business life.

This change, Lucy suggests, is the latest stage in the emotional cycle that was started by the recession. In a way, it seems to echo the grieving cycle. The recession firstly prompted shock and fear; followed by a worry that the world would never again be the same. This was followed by anger (which, in the case of the recession, was targeted at the bankers). This in turn led to eventual acceptance – which is now gradually evolving into a more positive, forward-looking feeling.

Positivity
This positive attitude could itself help to stimulate the growth of the long-promised ‘green shoots’ of an economic recovery.

Proactivity
Perhaps insight professionals need to take this on board, and to start looking for ways of being more proactive – which includes searching for ways of helping our organisations to identify new opportunities.

So, be of good cheer this Christmas – a New Year is on its way, with plenty of new challenges and opportunities. Let’s start to take action now, so we are ready for them when they arrive!
 

TIP OF THE MONTH

FUN CHANGES BEHAVIOUR

Insight is all about changing what people do. As we suggested in the April edition of ‘5 Minute Insights’, injecting an element of fun is one way of achieving this. Take a look at this website – www.theFunTheory.com. It contains three classic consumer examples, with the middle one about the escalator and stairs being probably the best.

But think about its relevance. Can it change your thinking about how your company can influence your customers? And can it suggest better ways of embedding insight in your business?

Whatever your thoughts – enjoy it, and have a Very Happy Christmas!

TRAINING