Distinguishing
high and low performance often requires a common set of metrics. Applying
standard metrics across different positions can drive exceptionally high levels
of performance across a company. This is often found in the world of sports.
Examples include a baseball pitcher’s ERA (Earned Run Average), a football
quarterback’s passer rating (QPR), or the average per game metrics applied to
basketball players – Points per Game, Rebounds per Game, Assists per Game,
Steals per Game and Blocks per Game. This standard framework binds the company,
allowing managers to quickly size up individual players and identifying those
who need coaching.
A collection of best practice articles to help grow companies with an emphasis on finance. The goal of the blog is to explain how these best practices work, enabling anyone to put these ideas to immediate use. Articles are written by Matt H. Evans, CPA, CMA, CFM
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Want a Superior Workforce? Hire Women
It goes
without saying that people make the difference in great companies. Author Jim
Collins brought this point home in his book: Good to Great. One reason
this can be challenging is that people are different and they may not work well
with others. So how do you reduce the selection process and find people who can
add the highest value across the entire workforce? Well you may have to be
somewhat bias in favor of women.
Monday, July 20, 2015
The ABC's of Competency Models
As you drill down the drivers of performance for most organizations;
things like great customer service, efficient processes, and empowering
technology, you reach a base level for making these drivers happen. This
gets you back to the qualities of your human resources – knowledge,
expertise, experience, and those things needed for successful execution.
And the combination of skills, expertise, knowledge and other
intangibles will vary from job to job, function to function. For
example, what we need for executing for securing new customers is not
necessarily the same as what we need for efficient processes.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Cyber Security 101
One of the
most profound challenges facing every company is Cyber Security. Many of us,
including myself, are ignorant about the threat. Some of the largest companies
are experiencing massive data breaches. Examples include:
·
Target Department Stores - Debit and credit card
data stolen impacting 100 million customers
·
J. P. Morgan - Customer data compromised
affecting 76 million customers
·
Home Depot – Reported 50 million customer email
addresses stolen
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Understanding Your Value Proposition
Getting your
value proposition right and knowing when and how to tweak it is extremely
important. Intense competition and change are forcing many companies to
re-visit their original value propositions. The best value propositions are
those that solve major pain points for lots of people. Start by looking at how
your customers spend their time – what frustrations do they encounter?
Friday, June 19, 2015
Science Explains Creativity
With so much emphasis on creativity and innovation, it helps if we
can all cut directly to the chase – namely what's behind creativity?
Thanks to various scientific studies and author Jonah Lehrer, we have
great insights into where creativity comes from. In his book, Imagine: How Creativity Works , Lehrer highlights some very important research that explains creativity.
For starters, creativity is not one train of thought. It is about how people can switch their thinking from one mode to another. For example, we all get stuck on some problem, struggling to break through and reach a solution. What creative people do is they switch gears from say analytical thinking to day dreaming and imagination. Knowing when and how to make these switches is critical to creative problem solving.
For starters, creativity is not one train of thought. It is about how people can switch their thinking from one mode to another. For example, we all get stuck on some problem, struggling to break through and reach a solution. What creative people do is they switch gears from say analytical thinking to day dreaming and imagination. Knowing when and how to make these switches is critical to creative problem solving.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Elevating the HR Function - Part 2 of 2
Part I of this article addressed the issue of elevating the HR Function
into a more strategic type function, as opposed to an administrative
type function. Part 2 of this article will describe several strategic
ideas for moving HR into the strategic function it must become.
In Part I, we mentioned the importance of HR as it relates to core competencies. Organization's need to maintain and build their core competencies since this is the source of competitive advantages in the marketplace. Core competencies have a lot to do with recruiting and retaining the best people. Obviously, HR should play a lead role in this mandate. However, we do not want to stop here since there are numerous other strategic issues related to HR.
In Part I, we mentioned the importance of HR as it relates to core competencies. Organization's need to maintain and build their core competencies since this is the source of competitive advantages in the marketplace. Core competencies have a lot to do with recruiting and retaining the best people. Obviously, HR should play a lead role in this mandate. However, we do not want to stop here since there are numerous other strategic issues related to HR.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Elevating the HR Function - Part 1 of 2
Organizational capabilities are developed primarily through the
development of human resources. Despite the enormous importance of human
resources, many organizations treat the HR (Human Resource) Function as
just another administrative function with high overhead costs. As a
result, the HR Function is often targeted for outsourcing and
downsizing; crippling it from its real potential for value-creation
within the organization.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Do You Know Your Vital Few?
Assessing
business health is no different than assessing your own personal health. It
resides in a set of key metrics or vital few. For example, if you want to size up your personal health, you look at vital indicators such as
blood pressure, glucose number, cholesterol, and pulse rate. You continue to
monitor theses on a regular basis and if something goes outside the normal
range, you take corrective action. So the question is why aren’t you doing this
for your business?
Friday, May 8, 2015
Keep on Bootstrapping
Regardless
of where your company stands in the growth life cycle, you should always
consider some form of bootstrapping. Bootstrapping is the use of little or no
money by leveraging available resources. Bootstrapping enables you to control
cost by getting things done without committing cash. This approach is viewed
favorably by current and potential investors since you are setting priorities
around maximizing value.
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