JMP Connections

8In Closing (As-Built)

THE PREDICTIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND PRESCRIPTIVE ACUMINOUS BUSINESS

It has been said, “You cannot not manage what you cannot measure,”¹ implying the use of metrics is an absolute.

I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science, whatever the matter may be [33].² (Lecture on “Electrical Units of Measurement” (3 May 1883), published in Popular Lectures, Vol. I, p. 7. See Figure 8.1 and http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/File:Hubert_von_Herkomer03.jpg).

Figure 8.1 Public Domain: William Thomson Oil Painting

Thus, when a strategic objective has been cast, the formulation of the strategy has a clear set of objectives for execution. Critical success factors are then linked to well-chosen performance metrics, so-called key performance indicators. Corporate performance management is in union with and intersects with decision process improvement. If operational performance was perfect, there would be no need for decisions to make adjustments by management. In fact, metrics alone do not guarantee optimal decisions. The decision maker also may not have the perfect expertise and skills ...