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(More customer reviews)Neely, Adams & Kennerley caught my attention.
They note that the various performance measurement / management systems, such as Balance Scorecard to name one of many examples cited, despite their usefulness, are only partial or point solutions to the whole performance measurement / management problem. The Performance Prims attempts to remedy this by providing an integrative framework which is more comprehensive and more comprehensible (in how its component part fit together) based on Stakeholder Satisfaction, Stakeholder Contribution, Strategies, Processes and Capabilities - all neatly tied together in a visually appealing configuration which they call the Performance Prism. I suspect the PP is also a partial solution, but it does indeed build upon its predecessors and goes much further. While we might consider the Balanced Scorecard as a K Generation approach. PP is definitely a K+1 Generation approach. I suspect, unfortunately, it is a little too ahead of its time, but, in due course, will receive the attention it deserves.
I can't help but comment on one particular part of the book which resonates with me because of the myriad of strategic and operational planning texts I have read none of which have come to grips with what I see as THE fundamental thread of insight into producing something truly useful and practical: the difference between means and ends; the way such means and ends can be built into systems which have components operating at different levels (organisations and their subunits); and, most importantly, the relationship between the two. Many have tried, some have almost succeeded, but not quite. The clue is often "Where to Start".
At page 164 - 166 (2002 edition), the authors talk about "where to start" and, in doing so, note that "One of the great myths (and fallacies) of measurement design is that performance measures should be derived from strategy. ... Strategy, however, is not about destination. Instead, it is about the route you choose to take -how to reach the desired destination". They then go on to focus their first steps on ends / objectives based on identifying stakeholders and what constitutes stakeholder satisfaction.
Such bold statements about strategy deserve attention. I think they are right - despite the fact that strategy has a myriad of intepretations (which the authors themselves concede) which may distract you from the boldness and the intent of the statement. I think this is the clue I have been looking for in driving ever closer to a performance measurement / management text which, perhaps building on the Performance Prism, will be the seminal work for many years to come. The understanding of what ends are and how they are stated both implicitly and explicitly is the clue.
The Performance Prism is a marvellous book with a wealth of information. It is an extremely useful source book of performance related insights. I suspect and I hope it will get greater and greater attention in the future as others develop it. Generation K+2 is built on Generation K+1, not Generation K. I look forward to more books from these authors which focus on the PP. I hope that they expand on their case study chapter which saw the use of PP by DHL UK. Not quite at the level of sophistication as some of the Balanced Scorecard case studies, but, the BSC is grounded in an extraction of insight from innumerable cases over a ten year period. I think, in due course, PP, if it can move from measurement to measurement and management will be even better.
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