A Practical Approach to Performance Interventions and Analysis

Dr. Gene E. Fusch is a faculty member at Walden University and Northcentral University in the doctoral program in business administration. A Certified Performance Technologist, he works with organizations to help them improve performance and realize their desired end results. His clients have included Alcoa-Intalco Works, ARCO, AT&T Cable Systems, Boeing, BP, Georgia Pacific, the Washington State Department of Transportation, US West, and Yahoo!. His career has spanned both education and business, from organizational leadership to advanced technologies and aerospace. Richard C. Gillespie is President of Work/Life Systems International and Chief Operations Officer for Salty’s Waterfront Seafood Restaurants. A renowned organizational leadership and management consultant, he spent many years at IBM in roles ranging from quality engineer to corporate internal consultant. He participated in the original initiative that established IBM’s corporate organizational development function.

Preface     xiv

Chapter 1 Creating a Living Endowment for Ensuring Performance     1

Organizational Performance     4

Performance Analysis     6

Gap/Cause Analysis     11

Intervention Strategy     15

Design an Evaluation Plan to Measure End Results and Your Return on Investment     20

Design, Develop, and Deploy the Intervention     24

Measure End Results and Calculate Return on Investment     25

Conduct a Performance Analysis     25

Summary     26

Chapter 2 Starting with the Desired End Results     29

Principles of the Work/Life Approach     31

Organizational Bill of Rights     32

Understanding and Clarifying What People Were Hired to Do     33

Understanding and Clarifying the Expected End Results of People’s Work     34

Understanding and Clarifying How the Expected Results Are Measured     34

Understanding and Clarifying the Needed Knowledge, Experience, and Skills to Perform Well on the Job     35

Understanding and Clarifying the Resources Needed: Financial, Physical, and Time     37

Understanding and Clarifying to Provide and Receive Regular Feedback     37

Understanding and Clarifying What Is Required to Be Paid for Performance     41

The Celestial Approach to Managing     43

Communication and the Flow of Work     44

Additional Thoughts to Help You Realize Your Desired End Results     45

Batting Averages     46

Tell and Persuade     46

Focus on the Work     50

Summary     50

Chapter 3 Focusing on the Work     53

Organizational Mission     53

Vision     54

Acquiring Wealth     56

Stakeholders     56

Values     57

Growth     59

Social Responsibility     59

Longevity     60

Our People     60

Mission Statement     61

Focus on the Work     61

Summary     65

Chapter 4 Increasing the Flow of Useful Information     67

Sharing Ideas     67

Useful Information     69

Levels of Information     71

Shelf Life of Useful Information     72

Communicating Useful Information     73

Respectful Communication     75

Summary     76

Chapter 5 Getting Others to Own Their “Fraction of the Action”     77

Sapiential Authority     77

Understanding, Acceptance, and Support (UAS)     83

Understanding     83

Acceptance     86

Support     86

Arc of Distortion     88

Summary     90

Chapter 6 Valuing Behavior: Increasing Trust and the Bottom Line     93

Valuing Behavior     96

Stress Reduction     100

Validations     102

The Whole Person Model     105

Summary     106

Chapter 7 Owning the Present Condition Helps Define the Future Condition    109

Managing System Overview     110

Strategic Arena     110

Planning     111

Organizing     112

Directing     112

Leading     113

Controlling     113

Iterative     114

Operational Arena     114

Quality Management     115

Mosaic     118

Summary     121

Chapter 8 Fifty Years of Problem Solving: A Magnificent Obsession     123

Prioritizing and Time Management     124

The Basics of Solving Problems and Making Decisions     129

Problem Solving: Analyzing the Situation, Expectations, and Actions     131

Decision Making     133

Summary     135

Chapter 9 Why Play the Blame Game?     137

Self Assessment and Analyzing the Situation     138

Summary     144

Chapter 10 Fostering Change to Enhance End Results     147

Change Management     148

Resistance to Change     150

Memories     153

Habits     154

Labeling     156

Beliefs     157

Vision     157

Summary      160

Appendix A Measuring End Results: The Return-on-Investment Plan     163

Step 1: Collect, Evaluate, and Isolate Data on the Effects of the Intervention     167

Participants’ Post-Initiative Questionnaires     171

Step 2: Convert the Effects of Performance Intervention into a Monetary Value     175

Direct Observation     175

Interviews with Participants, Coworkers, and Supervisors     176

Interviews with Participants’ Customers, Vendors, and Supply Chain as Appropriate     177

Focus Groups Can Add to the Synergy of a Group’s Output     177

Measuring a Change in Production     177

Reduction in Customer Complaints, Customer Callbacks, and so on as Applicable     178

Reduction in the Amount of Time Needed to Perform a Task     179

Reduction in Scrap/Waste     179

Step 3: Calculate the Total Cost of a Performance Intervention     180

Step 4: Calculate the Net Benefit of a Performance Intervention     184

Step 5: Calculate the ROI     184

Summary     185

Appendix B The Authors and Their Perspectives     187

About the Authors     188

Gene E. Fusch, PhD     188

Richard C. Gillespie     189

References     191

Index    195