Chapter 2The Chicken KPI: Focus on outcomes and progress will come
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions”
– Grace Hopper
To start this chapter, we're going to take you out for fried chicken. A chain of fried chicken restaurants has been working incredibly hard to improve efficiency across its many outlets in the US. One of the KPIs they have set for their managers is to have as little leftover chicken at the end of the day as possible.
A few months after introducing this KPI, the managers at head office are pouring over the figures and they notice that one of their restaurants is consistently reporting zero leftover chicken. Clearly the manager of this outlet has cracked the art of reducing waste food. “Can you imagine what this might mean if we can share this solution with our other restaurant managers?” one manager says.
A consultant who has been working on the efficiency drive is asked to travel to this fried chicken restaurant to learn the manager's secret. When he arrives, he's greeted by the manager who proudly shows him around the premises.
The consultant makes notes as they go, looking at the working practices of his employees and seeing very little that is different to what he's seen in countless other restaurants in recent months. As they sit with a coffee, the consultant asks the all important question, “The reason I've been sent is because your record on waste chicken is the best in the business…” The manager beams. “Everyone at head office ...
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