Entries by Nathan Ives

Business Performance Assessment Program – Yellow Sticky Analysis

Business performance assessments represent a second tier aggregation of organizational data, benchmarking references, and industry experience. As such, assessment team members are challenged to combine the often disparate data they collect in a way that allows them to draw meaningful conclusions upon which the organization can act to improve performance.

Business Performance Assessment Program Best Practice 13 – Capture Improvement Opportunities within the Corrective Action Program

Self-critical business performance assessments yield multiple opportunities for performance improvement; yet their benefits often go unrealized because assessment recommendations are not acted upon. To ensure the organization profits from each self assessment, it is necessary to programmatically pursue the recommended performance improvement actions. The structured approach employed should drive accountability for implementing the improvement activities balanced with the organization’s other priorities.

Decision-Making Warning Flag 3 – Intellectually Empty Assertions

Intellectually empty assertions represent logical laziness or deceit on the part of the individual(s) drawing these conclusions. Those making intellectually empty assertions do so without supporting facts, in contradiction of factual evidence, by incongruently combining two or more facts, through misapplication of real-world experiences or events, and/or commission of a logic error. Such assertions are not presented as opinion, but are instead forcefully put forth as representing either unchallengeable facts or as the only logical conclusion one could draw from the complete set of facts. There is nothing logical about intellectually empty assertions. Rather, these assertions tend to be made by individuals based on their personal biases, goals, or opinions and may drive disastrous outcomes if acted upon.

Business Performance Assessment Program Best Practice 12 – Define Issue Materiality

Business performance assessments seek to identify meaningful improvement opportunities for an organization, typically in the areas of safety, performance reliability, and operational efficiency. Meaningful or material opportunities are those representing a performance improvement that satisfies a regulatory requirement, exceeds the organization’s financial return on investment threshold, and/or provides a not easily replicable advantage over competitors. As such, assessors should evaluate potential performance improvement opportunities for their materiality; focusing on those offering the organization meaningful gains.