While it has been well known that organizational systems are subject to the same laws of measurement as say in Physics, it is a matter of amazement that these principles are often flagrantly violated in practice. Let me provide an example. If the length of a table were to be measured by different methods and the answers came out to be different, would you suggest a compromise, say an average of the two answers. In all probability, not. You would rather challenge the assumptions behind one or both the methods to surface the error and thereby reach the right conclusion. Why is it then that the first instinct is to seek a compromise and not search for the true measure when such conflicts arise in an organization?
During my journey over the last 25 years as a consultant and advisor for more than 100 organizations around the world, I have witnessed varying degree of management attention being paid to leveraging measurements as a very powerful vehicle to drive individual and team behavior as well as organizational goals.
Based on observed phenomena across many of these organizations, here is a stage-wise evolution of how organizations apply measurements in both individual, team and organizational performance – a staircase to excellence in measurements.
