JULIAN TALBOT

"What gets measured, gets managed." Peter Drucker is often attributed with this quote but he probably wasn't the first to say it and the origin of this expression is up for debate. Whoever said it first, I disagree. Like many cliches, "what gets measured, gets done" is half right. Right enough to be believable. Wrong enough to be mislieading. If we measure our weight, will it change? We can quantify the velocity of planets, but does that mean we can control them? What changes

"What a business needs most for its decisions — especially its strategic ones — are data about what goes on outside it. Only outside a business are there results, opportunities and threats.” - Peter Drucker WHY BENCHMARK? I rate myself as being a better driver than most. Apparently, 93% of US drivers in a study also rated themselves as being in the top 50% for driving ability. So that casts some doubt on my self-rating. In yet another study, 87% of MBA students at Stanford ra

Every year, we spend billions of dollars on risk management initiatives, often without any subsequent assessment of the effectiveness of those risk treatments. The volatility of recent years has rightfully called into question the effectiveness of current risk management processes. Investors, regulators, managers and the general public are all seeking greater accountability into both the positive and negative impacts of risk on organizational and societal future performance.

If you've ever used Key Performance Indicators, you've probably found yourself wondering if they were worth the bother? Some we record simply because we can, others because we have always tracked them in the past. Some of the better KPIs will shape behaviours that help your organization achieve objectives, while others simply tell you if objectives were achieved. Not all of them are useful but how do you tell the difference? Which ones drive performance and which ones are a w