Performance Controller

"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results"...WC Print

Figures can lie but lies cannot figure. That was a saying our business school lecturer would throw at our class to make sure we presented correct numbers in our stories.

There are many variations of this. Possibly the most nauseous, but still very useful is what we hear still being trooped out by IT people and software vendors is their aim to give us “The same version of the truth“.

But to be fair, these days in the transparent world of information and behavioral influence you need good systems for recall. Or to use another well warn cliché , “To remember your last lie”

Here is something out that makes this point.  Headed Obama Quietly Killed Two-Million American Muslims, the piece refers to conflicting estimates of Muslims living in America.

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If I can do nothing else, I read Seth Godin every day.  He never disappoints me with a new down to earth slants on down to earth things to think about and act on.

Like many others who enjoy his insights,  today his brilliance is no less as he  uses his former vocation as a base of his subject. He  introduces it simply by saying:

For fifteen years, I was a book packager.

You got my attention Seth as I read on to find out more. He then goes on to tell his tail that puts it all together.

You wont be disappointed either. Check him out>>

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According to this news article, Twitter users have caused an uproar by impersonating celebrities on the popular micro-blogging service. Businesses, too, are targets of fake Twitter profiles — sometimes from competitors.

Exxon Mobil Corp. has found at least two unauthorized Twitter accounts under variations of its name.

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In sales situations the quality of the competitive product is not always the issue. Varied solutions options and quality of offerings all too often compete in the same race for the buyer’s prize money.

In this complex marketplace, where snake oil salesmen are always about for the pickings, winning deals requires good fit and positioning, good timing,  and a highly informed understanding of the prospects performance requirements.

But regardless of approach a difficult responsibility of selling is to ensure prospects are fully informed about what they are buying. This is amplified as procurement processes look to fine print to transfer consequential risks to vendors. Even more telling on Vendors promises is linking them to KPI measures to give  Buyers very sharp fangs to strike back fiercely. Then beware any vendor whose product or service promises fall short of buyer’s supply chain expectations.

Vendor lined KPIs aside, due diligence in sales needs high attention for other reasons.

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How many managers understand what drives their business and how it is financed? And how many understand the laws of return on investment or breakeven analysis and critical mass.

Last year in December, at the Crown Casino Ballroom in Melbourne, I had a night to remember.  Our daughter Kate, now 28, graduated from the Melbourne School of Fashion. There she had completed a Fashion Management & Design degree after 6 years of part and full time effort.

With 16 design graduates, it was a gala event with professional models  parading their creations before industry icons who had come to assess the new release of talent.

Unlike many industries, fashion design is brutal on all who participate, as it ruthlessly starts at the top. Needless to say the show was world class.

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They say you should never complain, never explain and never threaten to resign. That is one of the Golden Rules of life. On this occasion I am going to break it and explain a mistake in my post earlier this week,  entitled NEVER Be The First To Get Old

The content was a poem, intended for another blog called Humour for all Occasions.

That blog hosts jokes that some of my friends share with me on a regular basis. You know, the ones that annoy us when we feel compelled to read them because they were sent by the friend.  For me,  forwarding them to a blog was one way to deal with them. Then at my leisure, I could read and share them without falling for the same trap.

So if you were are looking for a context on the Performance Controller Blog. I could say “Get a life. Because business it is not all about working”.  Hmm, I  may even try to make this  mistake again.

But as mistakes happen, it is interesting that in this medium, everyone sees it immediately. Subscriber and RSS feed services and in my case also,  automatic updating on social media sites like Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn and DIGG,  all grab the message before I can even say, OOPS.

So with a potential for several thousand following weekly it is a powerful way to get out a message for our niche and to express our irrational passion. Equally if we get it wrong it can be embarrassing or even  worse as we disappear into oblivion. In cases with the huge followings like Seth Godin has with his blog,  the embarrassment could be in the millions.

So with all the hidden microphones and echoes ongoing, we know we get overheard over and over again. So I do know we have to get better at saying it better as the stakes get higher. And when we don’, t even the edit and delete options cannot make it unsaid. Never the less the delightful poem sent to me by a friend in Newfoundland Canada, if indeed it was a mistake, is one I am happy to repeat.

If you missed it the first time enjoy the poem again here as I did.  Read more…

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The computer swallowed grandma.
Yes, honestly its true!
She pressed ‘control and ‘enter’
And disappeared from view.
It devoured her completely,
The thought just makes me squirm. 
She must have caught a virus
Or been eaten by a worm.
I’ve searched through the recycle bin 
And files of every kind;
I’ve even used the Internet,
But nothing did I find.
In desperation, I asked Jeeves    
My searches to refine.
The reply from him was negative, 
Not a thing was found ‘online.’    
So, if inside your ‘Inbox,’
My Grandma you should see,
Please ‘Copy, Scan’ and ‘Paste’ her
And send her back to me.

This is a tribute to all the Grandmas and Grandpas who have been fearless and Learned to use the Computer….
They are the greatest!!!

We do not stop playing because we grow old; 
We grow old because we stop playing ..
NEVER Be The First To Get Old!!

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Do’s and don’ts of business etc., are copied around the web by many as they share their finds. Here is one such resource.

Why Intelligent People Fail by psychologist, Robert Sternberg is worth bookmarking to use as a check list when you are planning your next failure. 

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Stephen Few and Nigel Pendse, are examples of business experts, each with quite distinctly different styles and modes of working. Both call it as they see it without fear or favor .

They can do so because they do the ground work and run their business in a way they can claim that right.

Pendse, is widely known and respected by all in the performance management business community that he serves on all continents,

Stephen Few, is a US based consulting specialist and author. His style is no nonsense to the point and he calls a  spade a spade.

Something each wrote recently under a clever headlines got my attention.

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With communication in web mode much more, is body language changing or becoming less important?

Body language as we know it, forms the major part of all effective communication. A test is, we rarely close a significant deal or change something complex as a team without at least one or two face to face meetings.

In Asia, as with many other parts, where English is a second language, I find to listen by also watching body language  brings greater success. When I fail to do this or I’m ambiguous with mine, sadly I am misunderstood and fail miserably. I found this too with raising my kids.

With so  many of us are now working and influencing things remotely, the opportunity for real face time is less practical. I am interested in views and experiences of people who can still remain effective and what actually works for them now?

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This man is brilliant at making a point that can grab attention and motivate others to understand their value.

In our company, as consulting advisors charging a fee, understanding our market and those of our customers is vital.

To help keep us on track Seth Godin and others like him are now playing an active role every day as our advisers in our RSS feeds.

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If you are trying to figure out twitter as a social network this is interesting

A man is almost twice more likely to follow another man than a woman. contrary to typical online social networks. 

New Twitter Research also shows  10 % of Twitter Users Account for 90% of Tweets As Twitter is still in it’s infancy, it could be interesting to see who the early technology adopters?

Here is the May 2009 Harvard study by Bill Heil and Mikolaj Piskorski

Study’s highlights include:

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As we focus on making it all happen it is easy to forget to enjoy the lighter side of life. Just to kept it in perspective. “The Ride of Your Life” by George Carlin is worth taking time out and reading every day.

George Carlin’s view on ageing is brilliant. He Begins with a question.

Do you realize the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids?

 

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John Robert Wooden (born 1910) is a retired basketball coach and a highly revered icon of leadership in the US

In a public domain video, Woodem;s biographical stories dwell on success, humility, and service to others. In recanting influences in his life and experiences he comments about someone asking him , “Why teach?”  to which his reply was, “Where could I find such splendid company?”

I noticed many use this video under banners oriented to their pitch: Management, Leadership and so on. I like the title on this one and   just wanted to share it. I learned much from what he freely gives  Enjoy it, as I did..

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