How to use Performance Measures to tell a meaningful story

1
How to use Performance Measures to tell a
meaningful story
Tom Holland, Management Associate ICMA Center
for Performance Measurement www.icma.org/performan
ce www.icma.org/ncs 202/459-4521
2
Introduction

• The two schools of Performance Measurement
• Evidenced-based Leadership
• Keep analysis simple NASA Challenger example
• Performance measurement examples

3
The Two Schools of Performance Measurement

• What managers might say
• Embarking on performance measurement.
  Enthusiastic.help us explain to citizens what we
  do on their behalf
• What many employees hear

4
The Two Schools of Performance Measurement
5
The Two Schools of Performance Measurement

• The Gotcha school versus the
• Perspective of a front-line employee
• A park where Im proud to bring my family
• I want this to spread like a virus throughout
  the organization
• Culture of outcomes
• From perspective of resident
• Positive, internal motivation

6
Performance-Based Evidence as a Key Ingredient to
Your Leadership Management

• Great Leadership (Jim Collins Pfeffer Sutton)
• Establish piercing clarity of mission
• Rigorously assemble evidence
  performance measures
• Apply rigorous logic, thinking questioning
• -- Pfeffer Sutton (2006) Evidence-based
  Management, Harvard Business Review, January
  2006 reprinted with permission in ICMAs Public
  Management magazine (September 2007).

7
Performance-Based Evidence as a Key Ingredient
to Your Leadership Management

• Seven Key Diagnostic Questions
• A. Establish piercing clarity of mission
• Are we doing the right what? Who is we?
• According to whom?
• Why be high performance? What is at stake?
• and, therefore, what outcomes and results do we
  need to achieve?
• _________
• Senior Executive Institute, University of
  Virginia, www.ccps.virginia.edu Commonwealth
  Centers for High Performance Organizations,
  www.highperformanceorg.com

8

• Seven Key Diagnostic Questions
• B. Rigorously assemble evidence
• 4. How do residents view our
• performance? fellow employees?
• 5. Are we good at it? How good are we?
• 6. How would we know if we were?
• 7. What is the appropriate level of performance
  for us?
• Sidebar The importance of methodologically
  rigorous citizen surveys

9
Performance-Based Evidence as a Key
Ingredient to Your Leadership Management

• And one set of action steps
• C. Apply rigorous logic questioning
• 8. How do we improve? What real or assumed
  constraints get in the way?
• What can we learn and apply from high performers?
  Best is not monolithic (1) top overall, (2)
  best at leveraging, (3) best pct. improvement.
• How do we avoid mindless mimicry?
• How do we get the flywheel to turn a 2nd time?

10
Performance-Based Evidence as a Key
Ingredient to Your Leadership Management

• Great Leadership
• .What matters is not finding the perfect
  indicator, but settling upon a consistent and
  intelligent method of assessing your results,
  then tracking your trajectory with rigor.
• -- Jim Collins (2005) Good to Great and the
  Social Sectors, p. 8

11
NASA Challenger example

• January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger
  exploded shortly after launch
• Seven Astronauts died because two rubber O-rings
  leaked due to cold temperatures

12
NASA Challenger example

• Graphs used in the decision making process were
  difficult to interpret.

--Edward Tufte (1997) Visual and Statistical
Thinking Displays of Evidence for Making
Decisions, p. 24
13
NASA Challenger example
--Edward Tufte (1997) Visual and Statistical
Thinking Displays of Evidence for Making
Decisions, p. 25
14
NASA Challenger example

• A simple scatter plot demonstrates how far out of
  range the proposed launch temperatures were.
• Lesson Keep It Simple!

--Edward Tufte (1997) Visual and Statistical
Thinking Displays of Evidence for Making
Decisions, p. 23
15
Performance Measurement Examples

• AZ Performance Consortium Dashboard workshops
  held in June.
• Sample jurisdiction data

16
Performance Measurement Examples
Retrieved online July 14, 2009 from
http//dashboard.cityofalbany.net/Dashboard/Pages/
Report.aspx
17
Performance Measurement Examples
Retrieved online July 14, 2009 from
http//dashboard.cityofalbany.net/Dashboard/Pages/
Report.aspx
18
Performance Measurement Examples
Retrieved online July 14, 2009 from
http//www.cityofvancouver.us/upload/contents/582/
200820Performance20Report.pdf
19
How to use Performance Measures to tell a
meaningful story
Tom Holland, Management Associate ICMA Center
for Performance Measurement www.icma.org/performan
ce www.icma.org/ncs 202/459-4521
20
Appendix Overview of ICMA-CPM

• FYI only This section will not be part of
  the formal presentation but is provided for those
  who may wish to have additional information on
  ICMA-CPM
• Over 200 cities counties (and growing)
• All sizes (urban, suburban, rural)

21
Mission

• Improve effectiveness efficiencythrough the
  collection, analysis and broad-based application
  of performance information for managerial and
  organizational leadership

22
How is mission accomplished?

• Defining indicators
• Collecting comparative data
• Ensuring consistent set of data
• Employing rigorous data cleaning
• Providing citizen surveys
• Annual data report

23
How is mission accomplished?

• Facilitating analysis and assisting participating
  jurisdictions
• Web (e-database rosters) workshops
• Statewide performance consortia (14 so far)
• What Works Identification of effective
  practices
• For more information, visit www.icma.org/performan
  ce www.icma.org/ncs