Articles by Victor Holman on ArticleSnatch.com

10 Ways to Keep Executives Focused on Performance Management

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:44:09 -0500

Have you ever tried to launch a performance improvement plan, but didn"��t have enough support from executive management? Chances are the initiative lacked focus, direction, and ultimately was unsuccessful. This is because executive management plays the biggest role in keeping leaders within the organization focused on what"��s important"��and that"��s improving performance, increasing productivity, and sustaining growth. Truth is, all executives want these things, but often performance improvement is lost among the myriad of organizational objectives. This is why it"��s important for performance management teams to learn effective techniques for keeping organizational performance on the forefront. This article focuses on techniques for getting support from senior executives and keeping leaders focused on organizational performance management. Keeping senior management and executives focused on performance management can prove to be extremely challenging, especially with their busy schedules. This can be accomplished by keeping the topic of performance management in front of executives, keeping them involved with the initiative and informing them of performance management successes. **End Summary** Topics: performance]]> management]]> cost]]> improvement]]> metrics]]> financial]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

Twelve Basic Predictive Analytics Techniques

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:39:07 -0500

Predictive analytics is a solution used by many businesses today to gain more value out of large amounts of raw data by applying techniques that are used to predict future behaviors within an organization, it's customer base, it's products and services. Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of techniques from data mining, stastics and game theory that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future events. Predictive models examine patterns found in historical and transactional data to identify opportunities and risks. Predictive models capture relationships among many factors to allow assessment of risk or potential associated with a particular set of conditions, guiding decision making for candidate transactions. There are some basic and more complex predictive analytics techniques. Three basic techniques include: Data Profiling and Transformations Sequential Pattern Analysis Time Series Tracking. Data profiling and transformations are functions that analyze row and column attributes and dependencies, change data formats, merge fields, aggregate records, and join rows and columns. Sequential pattern analysis discovers relationships between rows of data. Sequential pattern analysis is used to identify frequently observed sequential occurrence of items across ordered transactions over time. **End Summary** Topics: predictive analytics]]> consulting performance]]> best practice]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

Three Basic Predictive Analysis Models

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:36:02 -0500

It used to be that basic data was enough to make successful decisions within an organization. A CEO could look at common key performance indicators such as net profit margin, debt to income ratio, and return on investment and be able to make the best decisions available at the time. For the past several decades, companies have collected large amounts of data in order to evaluate why they performed the way they did and to understand their customer's needs and preferences. They built data warehouses and advance reports to improve accuracy to improve key processes, and optimize performance. As time went on, companies learned that they could use historical data and trends to predict future behavior, and to make decisions. This was seen in examples as when a call center manager uses call volume by hour statistics to staff a call center for peak and non peak times. Then organizations moved beyond reporting capabilities and began gathering even larger amounts of data to apply statistical analysis to further predict future trends and behavioral patterns. **End Summary** Topics: predictive analytics]]> consulting performance]]> best practice]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

The Challenges of Introducing Predictive Analytics to Your Organization

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:30:31 -0500

Predictive analytics is a solution used by many businesses today to gain more value out of the large amounts of raw data by applying techniques that are used to predict future behaviors within an organization, it's customer base, it's products and services. Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of techniques from data mining, stastics and game theory that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future events. The benefits of implementing predictive analytics is undeniable. There are countless documented case studies and success stories where predictive analysis yielded a substantial return on investment, helped companies optimize existing processes, provided a better understanding of customer behavior, identified unexpected opportunities, and anticipated problems before they occurred. But with all of the benefits associated with predictive analytics, there are many challenges that accompany becoming an analytics-driven organization. The perceived complexity is the largest challenge facing executives today. The cost of implementation is a close second. While these are legitimate fears, many tools are being developed to simplify the process and establish transparency from the complex formulas and statical modeling. **End Summary** Topics: predictive analytics]]> consulting performance]]> best practice]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

What is Predictive Analytics and Why Are We So Afraid of It?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:21:28 -0500

The other day I got into a discussion with a panel of executives and the topic of predictive analytics became a main area of discussion. Most of the executives were aware of predictive analytics, and many of them had implemented predictive analytics in some form or another, whether it be through CRM, decision support systems, marketing, etc. One thing they all had in common was they all were interested in increasing the value of their data investment. But the feeling that permeated from the group most was intimidation. Most executives, while extremely interested in implementing predictive analysis techniques and strategies, felt overwhelmed about the perceived technical nuances that accompany them. So why are we so afraid of entering the informative world of predictive analytics? The truth is, predictive analytics can be very complex, combining advanced data mining and data warehouse solutions to transform large data volumes into meaningful decision making information. This article will address some of the predictive analytics fears facing executives today, and hopefully will ease some of those fears you may have about implementing an predictive analysis solution. The main reason most execs fear predictive analytics is because it is driven mainly by statistical analysis. **End Summary** Topics: predictive analytics]]> consulting performance]]> best practice]]> ]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

Ten Enterprise Performance Management Best Practices - Executing Phase

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:43:37 -0400

This article continues where we left off discussing the 11 performance management best practices in the planning phase of the Lifecycle Performance Management Model. The Lifecycle Performance Management Model is an enterprise framework that is centered on 35 best practices. These best practices span across the five phases of the performance life-cycle: defining, planning, executing, monitoring and reporting. This article is the third of a series of five discussing the performance management best practices within Lifecycle Performance Management, and will focus on the executing phase. The executing phase best practices involve implementing the planned activities outlined in the defining and planning phases. This is where we develop metrics, align performance to organizational objectives, identify cross-functional processes, and integrate data. During the executing phase the performance management team must maintain a climate of open communication with business unit liaisons and executive management, as this is where executive goals are transformed into action. 1. Employee Performance Management Employee Performance Management is the systematic process by which an organization involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organizational effectiveness in the accomplishment of agency mission and goals. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

11 Enterprise Performance Management Best Practices - Planning Phase

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:41:40 -0400

This article continues where we left off discussing the eight performance management best practices in the defining phase of the Lifecycle Performance Management Model. The Lifecycle Performance Management Model is an enterprise framework that is centered on 35 best practices. These best practices span across the five phases of the performance life-cycle: defining, planning, executing, monitoring and reporting. This article is the second of a series of five discussing the performance management best practices within Lifecycle Performance Management, and will focus on the planning phase. The focus of the planning phase is to start the buzz and get your organization prepared for the cultural changes that will take place during your successful performance initiative. Best practices in the planning phase enable you to gain employee acceptance into the performance initiative and put employees into a high performance mindset. They also include base-lining current performance and setting future goals, breaking down functional barriers, identifying key processes that drive business success, and ensuring a successful performance management implementation through training. 1. Employee Acceptance Management Employee Acceptance Management is the process of gaining employee buy-in by emphasizing performance expectations from the top level down. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

Eight Enterprise Performance Management Best Practices - Defining Phase

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:38:49 -0400

Have you ever tried looking up performance management best practices? If so, then you probably discovered the same things I did, that there is very little documentation or standard best practices dealing with performance management. You may find human resources best practices or IT best practices, and even best practices dealing with various departments within an organization. But chances are you will have little luck finding a comprehensive set of enterprise performance management best practices. The truth is, performance management is a complex process that affects every aspect of your organization. Even with a detailed plan on how to reach your organizational goals this can be an overwhelming task and take years to fully understand. I've put together a set of enterprise performance management best practices that drive organizational success and help you avoid the obstacles that can bring a performance initiative to a halt. The Lifecycle Performance Management Model is an enterprise framework that is centered on 35 best practices. These best practices span across the five phases of the performance life-cycle: defining, planning, executing, monitoring and reporting. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

7 Steps to Developing a Successful Strategic Plan

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:36:41 -0400

Yesterday a client of mine asked me what I thought was the best way to execute a strategic plan and apply performance metrics to ensure success of the plan. This is a two part question which will be answered in two entries. Today, I'm going to discuss the best way to execute your business strategy, and tomorrow I'll get into how to integrate the performance plan into your strategy to ensure performance success. A performance initiative cannot succeed unless executives have defined the organizational goals. Organizational goals must be defined and a strategic plan must address how these goals are going to be achieved in order for a performance initiative to be successful. There is no compromising here. Performance management depends on organizational goals being distributed and measured throughout the entire organization, originating from the executive board and communicated all the way down the line. Today's tip is going to discuss how to develop a plan that lays the foundation for your performance plan. Because without a solid plan, your performance initiative is setup for failure. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

How to Develop a Performance Metrics Repository That Drives Organizational Success

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:34:21 -0400

So, you've documented your organizational objectives and you've identified performance metrics. Now, where do you store these metrics? You store them in a performance metrics repository. A performance metrics repository is more than a list of metrics, it is a documented resource that explains to stakeholders everything they need to know about the metrics, such as what they are, how they support organizational objectives, how data is collected, who collects it, and so forth. In small organizations there are normally fewer metrics, and they tend to be maintained centrally. In larger organizations with multiple business units, metrics are often maintained at the business unit level. Business units may have a number of metrics that they monitor, from systems performance to processes to employee performance. The key purpose of the performance metrics repository is to serve as the central point for viewing key performance measures across the organization. The magic word is key performance measures. While an organization may monitor hundreds of metrics enterprise-wide, the goal of the performance management team is to capture, collect and analyze the key measures that drive business and align to organizational objectives. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

9 Steps For Integrating Strategy Into Your Performance Plan

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:28:19 -0400

We've all challenged ourselves at some point in our lives, whether it was a 5K run, a weight loss program, a school project, and so on. The first thing we did when we decided to accept the challenge was to set personal goals. Those goals may have been to run the 5K in 20 minutes or to lose 20 pounds in 3 months, or to get an A on that project. Next, we developed a plan to reach those goals within the desired time frame. Lastly, we executed the plan. Now, if we're really goal oriented, we set milestones and were constantly comparing our personal progress in relation to where we were in our plan. The same way we (hopefully) reached those goals is the same way an organization should integrate their strategic plan into a performance program. Today I'm going to discuss how to integrate the strategic plan into your performance plan to ensure performance success. In the example above, integrating the plan into your performance plan takes place during the goal setting phase, when you were deciding what you wanted to accomplish and how you were going to get there. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

4 Key Areas to Aligning Performance to Corporate Strategy and Goals

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:23:59 -0400

It used to be that performance management was managed in one department. Today, performance management has spread throughout the entire organization, where almost every division must focus on performance management to some degree in order to be successful. Despite this wider range of performance management, enterprise-wide performance initiatives are not widely practiced. And without an enterprise approach, it is extremely difficult to align your performance to organizational goals and objectives. According to software vendor SAS, a recent survey of 1100 businesses revealed that performance alignment was the PRIMARY benefit companies hoped to receive from their performance management efforts. Aligning performance to your organization's goals and objectives is critical to your organization's success. On the other side, lack of alignment increases inefficiencies and risks and prevents optimal execution of the organizational strategy. Think of this scenario as a model for linking corporate strategy to business objectives: The executive board collaborates high-level strategic planning and identifies goals for the CEO and organization. The CEO then meets with his/her senior executives who in turn develop objectives derived from the CEOs goals and integrates those goals into the strategic plan. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success. .

6 Ways to Gain Employee Acceptance and Get Them Into a High Performance Mindset

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:17:27 -0400

Have you ever been involved in a performance initiative where employees asked "why are we doing this?" Or they were apprehensive and you received strong push back. Or even worse, they flat out refused to cooperate altogether? To say this is a common occurrence in enterprise performance management would be an understatement. Creating a high performing organization involves numerous requirements, perhaps none more important than gaining employee acceptance. While most will agree that managing performance is critical to the success of a business, strong resistance is often met when it comes to an initiative which entails scrutinizing the productivity of business units and employees. Often times, in the employees' eyes, a performance improvement initiative is a negative reflection of their current performance. It may even come across as if their performance is being singled out, or that others are telling them how to do their job. As a result, morale is diminished and the performance initiative is halted before it ever gets off the ground. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

8 Steps For Developing the Scope For a Winning Performance Initiative

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:12:46 -0400

Imagine trying to get 10 people that speak 10 different languages to work together and achieve a complex task. It would be extremely difficult no matter how intelligent the people were. This is how we have to think of our organizations...of intelligent people who aren't accustomed to speaking the language of business, or more specifically, the language of performance management. If you've ever had to managed a project you know the importance of eliminating assumptions and making sure that all key stakeholders are looking through the same lens as to how the project will be carried out. In order to achieve this the first thing you did was document the project scope. Well, a performance initiative shouldn't be any different. Before you even think about implementing a performance program, you must first define the scope of your performance initiative. The performance scope sets the boundaries for the performance management team. The performance scope defines the high level processes for how the performance management team will approach divisions, support teams and individuals to begin aligning performance to business objectives. Many times there is confusion about what falls inside the boundary of the performance initiative and what does not. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

Secrets of Developing Simple, Powerful Performance Measures That Drive Organizational Success

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:09:49 -0400

In this economic, fiscal crisis it is critical that organizations understand what drives their success and how to measure it. Performance metrics tell us how good we are at doing what we do and help us reach goals on time and on budget. But in order for them to be truly effective; they must be fully understood and properly applied. For example, server availability is a very common measurement for IT departments. But what does 99.999% server uptime mean? If you have multiple servers running in a redundant cluster or server farm, chances are your servers will be available 100% of the time. But what good is an email server that is up 100% of the time if the email application itself is sporadic or if a customer is not receiving all of their mail or if transactions are taking too long to process? In this example, the metric is not set up from a customer point of view, but instead from a technical point of view. And thus that metric is not fully understood and adds little value. This article discusses the different types of measurements and how to develop simple, unique metrics that drive organizational success. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

How to Evaluate Organizational Performance in Economic Hard Times

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:02:20 -0400

We've all made the decision to improve our appearance at some point in our lives. Maybe we've decided we were going to lose weight by dieting and exercise. Or maybe we've decided to gain strength by lifting weights. The first thing we did was stepped on that scale and said "Wow, I need to lose a few pounds". Or we ran to the gym and measured our strength and endurance at various exercises. What we were actually doing was creating a baseline. We were creating a snapshot of our current selves. Let's just pretend that we didn't baseline our current self, we didn't have our measurements, and based personal goals based on Miss America, or Mr. Universe's appearance. We wouldn't capitalize on the available data (our current selves) and set realistic goals. Shortly, we'd become frustrated, lose motivation, and eventually fail. Likewise, businesses often don't capitalize on available data to get them through difficult times. With a new year beginning and growing concerns of our economic future, now is a good time to evaluate our current environments and identify our organizational strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvements and cost savings. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

How to Turbo Charge Organizational Success by Implementing Performance Management's Best Practices

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:30:42 -0400

In this global fiscal crisis, many business owners and executives are looking for ways to maximize organizational performance and cut costs at the same time. While this is a very difficult task for most CEOs, the truth is these goals can be accomplished with relative ease once we stop relying on technology and start focusing on our internal processes and leveraging existing assets. According to business intelligence software vendor SAS, the number two reason why performance programs fail is failure to adopt best practices. But what are performance management best practices and why are they so valuable? By definition, they are techniques or methodologies that, through experience and research, have been proven to reliably lead to desired performance results. This article discusses the value of applying performance management best practices and leveraging your existing assets for maximum performance. Most companies have some form of performance management processes in place. It's common to baseline performance, apply a set of performance metrics, identify goals and create a plan to reach them. But where most companies fail are in the intangible processes, such as gaining employee acceptance and buy-in, aligning performance to organizational objectives, choosing the right business intelligence tools, and so forth. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.

How to Break Down Functional Thinking Within Your Organization

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:18:18 -0400

We've all been in situations where a division or functional group within an organization points fingers at other divisions when a process failure occurs. Or part of a team that had little idea of how their function fits into other functions within the organization. This article discusses an issue that affects almost every organization, and that's breaking down functional or departmentalized thinking and creating streams of information that flow across multiple functional or departmental boundaries. Most organizations use departments and business units in order to differentiate the various functions and services which drive their business. For example, personnel related matters are managed in HR departments, payroll is handled in accounting departments and computer and systems related incidents are resolved in IT departments, and so on. In addition most business intelligence systems are built to support decision making in those specific functional areas rather than being built around core processes that span the enterprise and govern how a business operates. For instance, marketing collects only the information it needs to put products and services before the public eye. Sales departments pay attention to leads, and conversions, and customer buying patterns. **End Summary** Topics: performance management]]> cost]]> financial]]> improvement]]> employee]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Victor Holman is a business performance and growth strategy coach, consultant, international speaker, entrepreneur and creator of the Business Performance Portal . He has provided his expertise to over 50 government agencies worldwide and hundreds of corporations of all sizes. His goal is to help small businesses outperform their competition by applying business growth strategies and assessments that drive business success.