Wow, what a week! On January 7,
President-elect Barack Obama appointed Nancy Killefer as the country’s first
chief performance officer. It actually caught me by surprise. Typically we think
innovation stems from the private sector and over time is accepted by the public
sector. In this case we see the public sector taking the lead in an area that
the private sector has been slow to accept.
You hear a lot these days
about the bad economy. You also hear about companies going into a bunker
mentality and hoping to survive rather than proactively managing the situation.
Harvard
Business Review benchmarked both approaches, and the results clearly favored
companies that were proactive in their approach to managing through tough
economic conditions.
The bottom line is that you cannot position your
company for success if you don’t have a plan that is comprehensive and flexible,
and that highlights the gaps in your budget as well as the reserves you have
available. Performance management provides the catalyst for implementing such a
process and gives you the ability to turn economic crisis into an opportunity,
so your business can thrive.
Hopefully, the appointment of Nancy Killefer
will have a number benefits:
· It should supercharge and excite those
companies currently implementing a performance management process
· It
should get the attention of companies considering implementing a performance
management solution and serve as a wake-up call for those who don’t have
performance management on their radar
· It should shake things up and
formalize the performance management title/position for all government agencies
(just think of the potential!)
For those who are new to the notion of a
chief performance management office or officer, author Bob Paladino defines it
in his book, "
Five
Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management." Included are case
studies, key principles and best practices that provide a recipe for successful
transformation into a continuous planning environment to create a strategically
managed company. And the first step is putting someone in charge:
"The
CPM [Corporate Performance Management] Office and Officer are at the center of
the five CPM principles. Establishment of this office must be your enterprise’s
first step toward formalizing CPM competencies in your organization." — Bob
Paladino
If you are interested in learning more, please check out our
book
offer.