Stacey Barr: Practical Performance Measurement
Stacey Barr is a specialist in strategic performance measurement and evidence-based leadership. She is the creator of PuMP®, a performance measurement methodology that routinely transforms measurement cynics into its greatest advocates.
Stacey is also the author of two books, Practical Performance Measurement: Using the PuMP® Blueprint for Fast, Easy, and Engaging KPIs*, and Prove It!: How to Create a High Performance Culture and Measurable Success*.
In this conversation, Stacey and I discussed some of the common mistakes that leaders and organizations make with performance measurement. We also explore what well-formulated performance measures have. Plus, Stacey has kindly made her book available for free to our listening audience.
Key Points
Common mistakes in performance measurement:
- Initiatives are not performance measures
- Events or milestones are not performance measures
- Measures of activity completion are not performance measures
- Sources of data are not performance measures
- A few vague words don’t make a performance measure
Well-formulated performance measures have:
- A method of comparison that we can use to tell whether performance is good or not
- A base of objective evidence that gives a reasonably accurate and reliable picture of current performance
- A sufficient degree of granularity to detect small but important changes in performance to which we should respond
- Relevance to the organization’s priorities
- The ability to show changes in performance levels over time, giving us enough context to avoid short-sightedness
Resources Mentioned
Book Notes
Download my highlights from Practical Performance Measurement in PDF format (free membership required).
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