The need for both KPIs and OKRs

The need for both KPIs and OKRs

Headline: “Business Metrics Gone Awry: The Dark Side of Relying Solely on KPIs” Subheading: “Corporate Missteps Highlight the Pitfalls of Blindly Chasing Key Performance Indicators” We read about it all the time; in a shocking turn of events, the business world is abuzz with meteoric fall of some company and its CEO, its CFO, or…

Considering the Entire Employee Lifecycle

Considering the Entire Employee Lifecycle

I wrote an article entitled “The Strategic HR Department” where I shared my thoughts on the characteristics of a Human Resources Department that is strategic with a purpose of being an accelerant of the organization’s ambitions rather than one that is a bureaucracy whose emphasis is on compliance. Of course, compliance is an important responsibility…

Safety Comes Third: A Contrarian Approach to Prioritizing Workplace Values

Safety Comes Third: A Contrarian Approach to Prioritizing Workplace Values

Several years ago I was at an Operational Excellence Conference here in Frankfurt.  As with most talks, the speaker started by introducing the company he worked for and what it did.  He then proceeded to list the companies values, of which there were five or so. The last value on the list was “Safety” to…

Design Thinking for Operational Excellence

Design Thinking for Operational Excellence

I was the Chairman at an Operational Excellence and Business Transformation conference in Amsterdam this past March (2023) which was produced by CParity.  The lead-off workshop was on Design Thinking. I must admit; my first impression of the workshop was mixed.  I thought the concepts of Design Thinking and its approaches were novel.  But it…

Establishing Kill Chains in Business Operations

Establishing Kill Chains in Business Operations

In my book, “State of Readiness” is a brief discussion on “Effects Chains” (pgs 271-277); which is really a re-branding (for purposes of sensibilities) of “kill chains” that I borrowed from military parlance and adapted to business. In the context of the military, a kill chain refers to a series of stages or steps that…

The Strategic HR Department

The Strategic HR Department

I have been in business, running a consultancy (XONITEK) since 1985.  Besides it making me uniquely unemployable, I have had the opportunity to observe and interact with the many incarnations and varieties of Human Resource (HR) Departments at countless clients over the course of years. Marking our calendars, today is April 10th, 2023.  And to…