Don't know how I missed this months ago (assuming it was in the print edition of The Economist), but it looks like Canada is a better place to conduct business than a lot of people think.  In fact a lot of business owners and senior executives assume that the U.S. is preferred because they have a more "natural entrepreneurial spirit".

There are 10 equally weighted, including political environment, macroeconomic environment, market opportunities, policy regarding free enterprise, policy regarding foreign investment, foreign trade and exchange controls, taxes, financing, labour market and infrastructure. 

Unfortunately the U.S. submission has a distinct disadvantage right out of the gate:  the first question asked under the "Political Environment" question is, "What is the risk of armed conflict (external or civil) during the forecast period?".  Enough said...

How many times have I seen this before?  No names of course.

The irony of this cartoon is that the "employee" may in fact be correct.  Granted that a revenue chart with this kind of drastic drop-off can't be good, we too often pay these one-dimensional measurements too much attention.

It is like the analogy of the airline pilot sitting behind his cockpit dashboard with all but the altimeter covered up.  When asked by a (nervous) passenger, he responded, "Oh that?  This week I'm really concentrating on managing my altitude better... next week I'll work on airspeed".

How many times have you seen organizations look myopically at a single indicator, often inciting drastic management decisions and policies? 

Organizations in today's competitive environment need a much more balanced view of their corporate health, taking things like customer perspective, internal processes and knowledge/skills and abilities development into consideration with financial indicators.  Sound familiar?  This is exactly the approach taken by The Balanced Scorecard, which has unfortunately of late, been associated more with software vendors (and their management dashboards) than then original methodology written by Robert Kaplan and David Norton more than fifteen years ago.

(Cartoon Courtesy Charlos' Toons @ www.CharlosToons.com ... NOT used by permission (yet), but I hope it's okay!  By the way Charlos, you should consider creating an RSS feed to further syndicate your work on the web.  I see this cartoon via The Vancouver Sun, but taking a page from Dilbert the reach you can get from a web-based syndication (RSS) will soon far surpass the success of the newspaper syndication.)

Thanks guys for inviting me out to Vancouver's inaugural DemoCamp.  Some very interesting people, and many interesting ideas. 

(Before I forget... Workspace is looking very nice... great view!  Thanks Bill for hosting.)

Four interesting demonstrations:

1. Gaboogie

Conference calls are frustrating.  The folks at Gaboogie want to change that with an "easy as pie" approach to scheduling and managing calls.  Some key features:

• (Almost) No Touch Participation.  There are no conference bridges to call or PIN to remember.  The system actually calls participants (at multiple numbers if necessary) at the allocated time and puts them into conference.
• Uses OpenID.  It would be nice if more services followed suit and leveraged this emerging (dare I say) "standard".  Regardless this has been mapped by Sxipper if you want to go that route, or even <gasp> entering in your own information and (remembering) your own password.
• Dropped Calls.  If a participant drops the call (presumably on a mobile phone), the participant can simply dial back the Gaboogie number that called her, and it will automatically discern which conference call she was participating in.  (Still no PIN required).
• Per Line Volume Adjustment.  I didn't know I needed this until now!  Through the simple web-based administration console you can actually adjust the volume level of individual participants.  Everyone has experience with "Loud Mouth Larry", or "Soft-and-Sweet Sally" (is that gender bias?) ... so I guess Goboogie is also the great equalizer for meetings and collaboration...
• Private Discussion.  Participants can "raise their hand" during a call to ask a question that the organizer can take "offline" into a private chat. 

These guys are hard at work, but some of the "use cases" that could complicate this rather uncomplicated service might include:

• Dialing into a PBX or Attendant.  The problem of dialing a participant that is on the other side of a PBX, receptionist or even speech recognition system (see Microsoft's as an example ... this type of thing WILL BE the standard).  What if the receptionist can't raise the participant, or the participant is on another call... how intuitive is the "snooze" feature?
• Integration to other Services.  Can we integrate this with other extensible software-as-a-service organizations (e.g. Salesforce.com)?  How about integration with Google Calendar?  I understand they are looking at integrating with Campfire (from 37 Signals)
• Integration to other Applications.  Can I integrate this with Microsoft Outlook/Exchange (still the predominant productivity tool for the enterprise)?  How about common CRM systems?

2. Kelvin Tools for Urban Living.

Not what I'd expect for your conventional DemoCamp, but a very entertaining demonstration.  Essentially a hand tool for the urban warrior.  Founder Kevin Royes has developed a Swiss Army Knife for every day living.  (See graphical representation here).

This all-in-one tool contains an Audi/VW Key-style screwdriver (this is what I mean), with an LED flashlight, extra long tape measure, a hammering surface, a level and a few other interesting features.

Kevin claims the strength of the tool comes from the Titanium/Kryptonite alloy he is also working on patenting... :)

3. Incen.TV

The "world's first" peer-to-peer investing marketplace similar I suspect in concept to Prosper.com, Zopa and even the more philanthropic Kiva.org, though not focused on debt instruments, but rather equity instruments.

The flash demo was flashy with an energetic soundtrack, but apart from the inspirational quotes I still wasn't clear on the how, the where, the who, ... it could be just me though.

4. Sxipper

I've known of Sxipper for a while and have been using it for a few months.  Frankly it was one of the compelling reasons that drove me back to Firefox (again) from Microsoft Internet Explorer.

The concept is simple: "Forget your passwords!"

Basically Sxipper attempts to replace the need to remember, secure and administrate the numerous web sites, their respective login/password information and other sundry tasks (registration, etc.).  It also "dumbs down" OpenID so that any one can take advantages of its benefits.

A great service, that I can see expanding in a few areas (that would help me):

• Proxy Service for Public Terminals.  Though Sxipper doesn't store your personas (or related data) on a server, it would be nice that I could "opt-in" to this type of service.  That way, when I'm using a library terminal to check an account all of my persona information (especially passwords) get inserted at the proxy so that it never rises on the public terminal or in the session. 
• Multi-device Support.  It would be great if personas could by synchronized between devices, or even on the Sxipper.com servers (see above).

... another innovation in the Identity 2.0 space by Dick and his team at Sxip.com.

Anyway, thanks Bryght (Kris, Boris and Roland), Workspace and all the others that helped organize this ... I'm looking forward to DemoCamp Vancouver02!

(Photo courtesy Tod Maffin via Flickr)

The field of Performance Management is increasing in scope, coverage and every day.  How do I know this?  Because there are more "Performance Management" consultants today than ever... and they bill a truckload to improve the performance of their clientele.

Further to that, Performance Management is now considered a sub-set of Business Intelligence (at least according to the large BI software vendors... add another truckload of costs).

We see Performance, within the context of organizational performance, being defined as the "achievement of results", but what does that really mean?

To use a sports analogy, when is the last time the general manager of a baseball team cared that his clean-up hitter hit .500, if it was for a losing cause?  The batter achieved great results by any measure, but how closely do those results contribute to the immediate success of the team?

Performance Management is as much about the alignment of measurement, as the measurement itself.

By that I mean that sometimes what we measure is more important than the results of a given measure.  I'll give you an example:

Some of the top measurements reported in publicly traded organizations today is revenue.  Let's assume for a moment that revenue is a standard measure, that can't be "fudged" (I know: that's a bit of a stretch).  If an organization reports year-over-year increases in revenue of 23% the market applauds.  But what does this really mean in terms of organizational health?  Why isn't the 13 point loss of market share more interesting, or the 4% decrease in cashflow year-over-year, or the 18% increase in employee turnover?

The fact is that performance metrics or measurements without context and analysis are just statistics.  But the analysis I speak of isn't the domain of rocket science or nuclear physics, but rather a blend of common sense and strategy alignment.

(Photo by kiwêhowin via Flickr)

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without Strategy is the noise before the defeat.”

Sun Tsu ("The Art of War")

If there is one thing missing from so many otherwise great organizations I've worked with, it is strategy execution.  Many managers understand that a strategy is essential for success over the long-run, but surprisingly few are capable of mapping that to operational terms meaningful to the rest of the organization.

Robert Kaplan (co-creator of the Balanced Scorecard) suggests that according to a recent Bain Consulting study, seven out of eight companies (in a sample of almost 2,000 large corporations) fail to achieve profitable growth, even though more than 90 percent had detailed strategic plans.  (Link)

Why is that?  It is assumed that failure is assured without a strategy, but with a well crafted, informed strategy success is destined.  In fact, we see that the mere existence of a strategy means very little in terms of contribution to success.

Using a sports analogy, teams heading into game day will have prepared a strategy that has been chosen as the best means to victory given the conditions, the opposition, their roster, the officiating crew or style and even the reputation of the fans.  But what good is a strategy without the playbook?  The result is a team that understands the elements required to win, but without the direction to apply their efforts cohesively.

Strategy execution is all about the "operationalization" of strategy, but this is not straightforward and takes as much introspection as it does external analysis.  I intend to further explore this "gap" between strategy and tactical operations in subsequent articles, but would like to focus here on the Strategy Execution as an organizational trait.

I recently attended a discussion led by Robert Kaplan where he suggested that there are five key principles that management should assess when developing a Strategy Execution Plan.  I've modified them somewhat to my own taste and experience, but the themes remain consistent:

1. Deliver Exceptional Leadership. 
2. Communicate the Mapping. 
3. Demonstrate Organizational Alignment. 
4. Provide the Inspiration.
5. Strategy as a Continuous Process.

In Summary:

• Delivering Exceptional Leadership
  Corporate change in a leadership void is a recipe for disaster.  Organizational leaders need to be visible and consistently available when attempting to align the organization to a new (or even existing) strategy.  The concept of a "leadership coalition" is cited as a key contributor to successfully implementing a strategy execution plan, and more importantly a culture of strategy execution.
  
• Communicating the Mapping
  The mapping of strategy to operational terms needs to pervasive and communicated consistently and constantly.  In Kaplan's words: "Say it seven times, in seven different ways", which is to say that the delivery of the message needs to become as much a part of the fabric of corporate culture as your core values and mission are.
  
• Demonstrating Organizational Alignment
  A common question is, "What happens if the result of my Strategy Map is the realization that one or more of my initiatives are off-strategy?".  This is further complicated if the initiative has significant momentum or has had a significant amount of investment.  The answer (as any good consultant will always tell you) is that it depends:  However, the "answer" depends less on the tangible elements of the problem, and more on the resolve of leadership to stay on-strategy and to assure organizational alignment.  Make alignment to strategy another cultural trait of your organization.
  
• Providing the Inspiration
  Kaplan in his talk actually suggested providing the right "motivation" for your team.  I prefer to explore inspiration than motivation.  Motivation urges action often through the enticement of reward (or threat of correction), whereas inspiration draws from deeper purpose that provokes greater engagement for a longer period. 
  
  How can we ensure that a strategy execution plan is meaningful for line employees?  How can we inspire alignment in our team?  I don't know ... or at least the answer varies by organization.  Because organizations invariably consist of people, each with varied degrees and sources of purpose, developing inspiration is a black art.  Having said that, a very common human trait is the inspiration one feels when efforts are appreciated and their effects are correlated to the success of the organization (which leads me back to the concept of "Personal Brand Development").
  
• Strategy as a Continuous Process
  I have personal experience with organizations that insist that strategy is a document that was produced years ago, printed, and distributed to staff.  Often this strategy still maintains a prominent home at the top of a dusty shelf or even helping to prop up a computer monitor.  Instead the concept of continuous strategy development needs to be embraced.  Much like the analogy of a sports team with a game plan (strategy), the same game plan applied to different circumstances may fail.  The team must have the ability to adapt to changing environments, different competitors, etc.

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In my experience three critical themes contribute the greatest to developing an environment conducive to strategy execution. 

1. Make it Cultural.  What better way to make a strategy execution plan succeed than to make strategy execution a central theme within the culture of your organization.  The team in shipping needs to insist that they understand how their efforts contribute to financial sustainability (for instance).  If it isn't clear, demand clarity.
2. Make it Personal.  Why can't a strategy execution plan be delivered with the entire organization comprising the principle audience.  Too many reports, plans and "strategies" are written by, for and to the general amusement of consultants and executives.  A litmus test: Does your junior accountant in accounts receivable identify with your vision and your organizational strategy?  Can she articulate how that strategy applies to what she is doing right now? Why not?
3. Make it Practical.  Does understanding the correlation of my every-day tasks to overall organizational success need to be complex?  If it is, maybe it isn't correlated.  Re-thing the strategy map.

What do you think?  What are your experiences?