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Archive for the ‘scorekeeping’ Category
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
Developing and testing new business simulations at CMOE is always a lot of fun. It’s a time when the CMOE staff gets free lunches, prizes, and the opportunity to meet countless new people we ask to join us. So in addition to creating or reworking our products, we create a culture of fun.
This past week I was assigned to pick up the food for a volunteer test group. I went to get Pizza and as I was standing at the payment counter, I noticed a computer screen on this wall. In big, black, block print, it read “LEADERBOARD.” I was immediately excited to see this. As I was waiting for my order to be finished, I was trying to identify what was being tracked by the “leaderboard” and how it worked. It was obvious that the leaderboard was networked with other stores and I quickly noticed that the store I was purchasing from was second from the bottom. This piqued my interest further. I decided to speak with the manager to understand how it worked.
 Me: I noticed your leaderboard on the wall; it looks interesting. It appears to be tracking certain success factors and percentages. Do you get rewarded when you hit certain levels of performance? The reason I ask is I work for an organization where we use effective management, measurements, and scorecards to drive bottom line profitability.
Manager: Yeah, it tracks just about everything in the store from the time a phone call was placed to the time the order leaves the store for delivery. Corporate can pull up data on just about anything in the store.
Me: It doesn’t sound like you believe it’s a good thing by the way you are speaking. Do you get recognized or rewarded for hitting certain levels of performance?
Manager: No, it basically indicates what you have to do as a minimum to keep from getting fired.
The manager continued to explain that this tracking system was to help employees have higher levels of customer service, reduced mistakes, and shorten production times, among many other things. While those are great focus areas, I was emotionally deflated by the way he explained it. This employee was telling me that the “Leaderboard,” this scorekeeping system, was the worst thing about his job.
If organizations are to succeed against strong competition and have higher levels of profitability, measurement cannot build fear and negativity into employees. Driving bottom line performance with the right measurement will engage people and get people excited and committed to push performance levels. By using our piles of data, managers can help employees sort out measurements that drive individual results.
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Tags: balance scorecard, Drive Business Performance, Leaderboards, rewarding teams, scorecard, scorekeeping, scorekeeping in business
Posted in Increase Profits, accountability, bottom line leadership, bottom line performance, bottom line results, results based leadership, score keeping, scorecard, scorekeeping | 1 Comment »
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
The game of golf continues to grow in popularity. I personally enjoy the game and try to play often. I love competing against myself and the game makes me be better both physically and mentally. Whether I play it on my own or with someone else, I always find a motivator to make me want to do my best. I track my effectiveness on a scorecard provided by the clubhouse. It lets me know how well I’m doing.
Some scorecards are very detailed and can inform you about the unique design of the course and about each hole so that each golfer can play to their own abilities. Scorecards in golf provide a lot of beneficial information. The score is the ultimate measurement of your ability as a golfer, but that is just the beginning. I have also seen golfers use score keeping to track not only their score, but track every single stroke they make. The serious golfers track the tee-shots ended in the fairway, how often they reach the green in regulation, how close to the hole their “approach shot” lands, and how many putt’s they make on each hole. There is plenty more, but the purpose is to evaluate and improve their game.
In the exact same way that scorecards are used in golf, they can be used in business – to improve your game! A personal score card in business is the perfect way to track an individual’s performance and contribution to the organization. Let’s draw some lines between the two.
Golf:
At the end of a golf round, I know if I am shooting above par, at par, or if I played really well, then I’m hopefully under par. If I’m under par, I’m winning.
Business:
Much like golf, at the end of the day in business a personal scorecard tells me if I’m winning and how I have contributed to the bottom line. It will tell if I’m making money for the business or if I am spending it.
Golf:
When I track all of my strokes in a golf round on my score card, I know where to focus my attention the next time I go practice at the range.
Business:
When I track my individual performance at work, I can see where I need to focus my attention the next day, week, or month in order to be more successful. If you are not tracking strokes at work, how can you improve your long or short game? You must have a personal score card that speaks to you. You need to know how many strokes you are taking to get your work done. Just as you need to know if your tee-shots are hitting the fairway. You need to know if you are hitting your goals or not. Remember, the least amount of strokes in golf means you are getting the most out of each stroke. There is the same focus in business….do more with less!
Golf:
A common phrase in golf is you “drive for show and putt for dough.” (Dough is referring to money or cash). This means the winners don’t just hit the ball far, but they also have a refined skill to make the precision shots that are so important to their game.
Business:
In business, you have to know if you are “putting for dough.” You need to know what it is that you do that creates profit for your business. Developing your business acumen and using a scorecard is critical to individuals and organizations that are looking to up their game.
Tags: balance scorecard, balanced scorecard concept, scorecards, scorekeeping in business
Posted in bottom line results, performance, scorecard, scorekeeping | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Are you a sports fan? Have you ever been part of a game where competition was very high, where emotions are running high and you can feel the palpable tension in the air? Maybe you were even more excited than the players and became one of those crazy fans sitting in the stands! Regardless of whether you were a player or a fan at this type of event, the word “scoreboard” should be familiar to you. Sometimes this term is used to “trash talk,” coming at a point in the game when a player on the losing team makes a great play or scores point, but not enough to put their team in the lead. Someone rooting for the losing team might say something about how great the play was, to which the fan or player for the opposing team might simply say “scoreboard.” What does it mean? It’s simple: While the losing team may have made one great play, it simply is not enough to take the lead in the game. The scoreboard is where the results of the performance are shown, indicating how well the team members are playing and whether they are actually accomplishing their goals. It is the tool that measures who is winning and, ultimately, who won!
Competition, Winning, and Business
Your company probably has its own corporate scoreboard, but do you know where it is? If not, ask around and see if you can find it. Company scoreboards will manifest themselves in how the company shows its stakeholders the business’ earnings. Businesses need to make a profit. Companies that don’t make a profit won’t stick around, so, making a profit is a focal point for all for profit organizations. What about at the individual level? Individual performance is also measured in this way, but rather than a scoreboard, some companies use and individual “score card.” A scorecard shows how and in what ways each individual is accountable for performance that increases the bottom line. Scorecards drive results and have a tremendous impact on the bottom line and help people become more engaged in competing for “wins” at both the personal and organizational level. Asking individual members of the organization to develop a scorecard to visibly show and track performance will inspire better performance across the company and make positive changes in the following ways:
1. Hold people accountable for what they do while at work and how they contribute to the bottom line profits.
2. Help individuals see that they earn a pay check for authentic achievement, not for mindless activity.
3. Help individuals understand how each person contributes in their role to the organization’s overall profitability.
Scorecards will drive bottom-line results and create bottom-line leadership as individual contributors think more deeply about their own unique areas of the business. Keeping score of their successes on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly) can help people feel more energetic at work and increase their interest in organizational success over the long term. In your next weekly meeting ask everyone this simple question: Did you win or lose this week? Followed this question with, “What were you responsible for in terms of helping our company grow and be more profitable?” Using scorecards, asking questions, and engaging the entire workforce is powerful stuff, critical to the organization’s performance.
Tags: bottom line results, performance, scorecard
Posted in accountability, bottom line results, leadership, motivation, scorekeeping | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
We are in a recession! For months now “that word” has been the big elephant in the room that few people would acknowledge. It is here now and there is all kinds of evidence to prove it. Have you looked at your 401k lately? How is your stock portfolio? Does your bank account have more money or less money in it these days? Are you feeling the pinch? Many people around the world are. Hey, at least gasoline isn’t outrageous anymore.
 Like many of you, I have been intrigued by the bailout programs that have been offered to many of America’s largest companies. “The Big Three” stood in front of Congress in mid- November and pleaded for $24 Billion in loans. I guess the “poor house” for the Automakers is coming even sooner than they thought. Just two weeks after Automaker CEO’s botched their first meeting with Congress, they have the courage to ask for 10 billion more and increase the total bailout request figure to 34 Billion in low interest loans.
Even large cities across the U.S. like Phoenix, Atlanta, and Philadelphia are crying poor. Governor Schwarzenegger says the State of California needs more than 11 Billion to keep the State from bankruptcy. We just haven’t seen anything like this since the 1930’s, and frankly it is a little scary that the world economy is in such poor shape.
Many of you working in sales likely have heard from your customers that they are cutting back, spending less, being cautious, and looking for ways to be more profitable. I have asked myself how can my organization help companies cut back, spend less, be cautious, and most importantly be more profitable?
Perhaps there is a way for organizations to be more profitable right now. Could there be a process that helps organizations measure performance that ties directly to the bottom line? A process, in which all leaders give appropriate feedback and coach members of the organization about their performance, that leads to dollars added to their bottom line. Keeping score is nothing new. Those of you who play games or play sports know exactly who the winner is and who the loser is by keeping score. This same scorekeeping principle is easily applied in business as well. Many organizations have embraced the concept of keeping score. By helping each employee understand when they are winning or losing, organizations have the ability to create an environment of accountability, responsibility, and focus. Additionally, it is not enough for leaders and employees alike to know if they are winning, losing, or stagnant. Leaders in organizations must assist all employees to win, to make a contribution to profit, and to improve bottom line results by frequently talking to people about performance. Yes, you read this right. Leaders must engage their employees not just once a year in a performance review, but regularly about winning and losing.
A combination of leadership principles coupled with scorekeeping does provide an internally generated bottom line “bailout” created by the employees and leaders working together for bottom line results.
Tags: avoid bankruptcy in your business, bailout plan for business, bailout plan for your business, scorekeeping in business
Posted in accountability, bottom line performance, profitability, scorecard, scorekeeping | No Comments »
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