10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mal Conway Review of Spitzer Book, March 29, 2007
This review is from: Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure and Drive Organizational Success (Hardcover)
DEAN SPITZER has produced a ground-breaking book that shatters long-held, deeply entrenched conceptualizations of measurement that have resulted in measurement dysfunction. Moving beyond classical measurement theory and the focus on technical measures, Dean challenges all who create, track, use and are affected by performance measures to move away from measurement dysfunction characterized by:
1. Excessive focus on rewards
2. Fear
3. Measuring the wrong things
4. Measuring `looking good,' rather than `being good'
5. Measuring too much
6. Sub-optimization (measuring in functional silos)
7. Cheating
His cogent, compelling, specific remedies for transforming traditional performance measurement are to focus instead on:
1. Context: Continuously improve how measurement is experienced. [We rarely think about the "measurement experience" in organizations!]
2. Focus: Focus on measuring the right things. Focus on the `critical few' transformational measures, rather than the `trivial many' routine ones.
3. Integration: Use measurement frameworks and cross-functional measures to break down barriers and align the organization.
4. Interactivity: Performance measurement is just a bunch of `metrics' if it isn't the basis for dialogue. Dialogue around measurement makes it come alive, makes it meaningful, and promotes organizational learning.
Dr. Spitzer's thoughtful book is destined to be a classic due to its focus on the human aspects of performance measurement. Kudos and my gratitude to him for producing this practical guide.
Malcolm J. Conway
IBM Global Business Services
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How to measure only what really what matters...and do it right, February 19, 2007
This review is from: Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure and Drive Organizational Success (Hardcover)
Consider the following observations:
"Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it." - Voltaire
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
"There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." - Peter Drucker
In this remarkable volume, Dean Spitzer urges his reader to re-think how to measure and drive organizational success, whatever the size and nature of the give organization may be. He offers a number of performance measures and ways of measures that can have a "transformational impact" on the way people in organizations view the work, their products, their associates, and their customers. He asks his reader to begin to view measurement itself "through a new lens" when correlating the material in this book with her or his own organization. "Perhaps the most surprising truth covered in this book is that the `context of measurement' [i.e. `an optimal environment for its effective use'] will largely determine its effectiveness."
At this point, it should be noted that Spitzer offers two significant reassurances in the Introduction: transformational measurement doesn't require a major change in a business structure or systems, "but only in how you think about measuring your organization; moreover, "on those occasions when measurement is used for the purpose of improvement rather than to make judgments or place blame, and when it is focused on the right measures, its true power is revealed."
After an especially informative Introduction, Spitzer carefully organizes his material within and 13 chapters as he explains why transformational measurement is so powerful, what happens when measurement "goes bad, why it does so, the beginning of the transformation process, how to create a positive context of measurement, on what to focus when measuring, how to integrate measurement, the nature and extent of interactivity of measurement, the leadership required by effective measurement, what can be learned about and from measurement, what the uses and abuses of measurement technology are, how to achieve and then sustain "performance measurement maturity," and then in Chapter 13 for purposes of review, what transformational measures are and aren't as well as what they offer in terms of their capabilities and potential benefits.
Then in his final chapter, after having established a multi-dimensional frame-of-reference (i.e. a proper "context") for his own core concepts, Spitzer examines 34 different transformational measurement "action plans.
I strongly recommend that this material, in Chapter 14, be reviewed at least every 3-6 months because the needs and interests of a given organization, as well as the perils and opportunities within its competitive marketplace, are certain to change and thus modifications of its own "game plan" must be made in response to those changes.
I began this brief commentary with three quotations: Voltaire urges all of us to seek the truth but to be skeptical of absolutes, given the fact that in today's world, change continues to be the only constant; Einstein's insight supports Spitzer's assertion that each "context of measurement" be viewed through a "new lens"; and Drucker focuses our attention on determining - and then committing our resources - only to what is most important.
Spitzer would be among the first to insist that only a fool would attempt to apply all of the core concepts, basis principles, strategies, and tactics he discusses. It remains for each reader to absorb and digest this material first, then be informed and guided by it when formulating and then implementing a "game plan" for her or his own organization. Whatever the structure and details of that plan are, it must respond to four questions:
1. What is most important to our success?
2. What specifically must be done to achieve that success?
3. How can we accurately and consistently measure our performance - both as individuals and as an organization -when seeking that objective?
4. In process, how can we take full advantage of every learning opportunity and then apply what we have learned in a timely and effective manner?
Congratulations to Dean Spitzer on what I consider to be a brilliant achievement.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breadth and depth, March 5, 2007
This review is from: Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure and Drive Organizational Success (Hardcover)
Dean Spitzer could have simply written a book to critically examine the traditional, ineffective use of measurement so pervasive today. Or, he could have laid out some of his thoughts on what perspectives and actions would constitute a truly transformational approach to performance measurement. Or, he might have regaled us with a proliferation of examples of both traditional and transformational measurement. However, he has skillfully woven together all of these elements into a compelling case that not only stands to transform performance measurement, but can stand as a valid, universal approach to management and leadership. And, not only that, but he has detailed at least 34 transitional measurement "maps" to help get a running start.
As directly as he suggests the reader examine their own measurement system, Dr. Spitzer "takes on" established measurement practices, and explains why - from sociological and psychological as well as procedural perspectives - they are not working. At the same time, he deftly paints a landscape of hope and encouragement, detailing the transformational performance measurement approach.
Dean's new book should be on your shelf beside those from which he significantly quotes: Senge, Deming, Argyris, Drucker, et al.
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