KPI Example – Soviet Nail Factory

What could better represent Key Performance Indicators gone badly than the grey gloom of an industrial-era Soviet nail factory? The Soviet nail factory is our first example of how key performance indicators (KPI) can go wrong. The nail factory is something of a metric...

Comparing Goodharts and Campbells Law

The tendency toward failed Key Performance Indicators is so great that there is much research on the topic. My observation is that the body of knowledge on why KPIs don’t work is quite extensive. BTW, I didn’t find any laws supporting successful KPI...

Do KPI stifle creativity?

The short answer is yes, KPI stifle creativity. However, when you peel back the onion, the root cause of stifled creativity isn’t as obvious as it first appears. This post will investigate the root cause of why KPI goes bad. The three steps to stifle creativity...

Three examples of North Star goals

As I dove into writing this post, it quickly became apparent that truly great key performance indicator examples function on multiple levels. There is both a strategic or high-level measure of success and an operational or tactical level of success. This post will...

What are your key performance indicators?

I often ask, “what are your key performance indicators (KPI)?” The purpose of the question is to understand if business leaders have existing metrics. The answer often provides insights into how focused they are on results. About a year ago, I asked the...