October 03, 2008
Business Intelligence and What's Next, Knowing & Doing
In Foundations of Supervision II at HRD, designed for practicing supervisors, we discuss how to set goals and how to measure achieving those goals. "If it can't be measured, it cannot be managed," we quote. As managers develop in their careers, obtaining reports - now fashionably known as the category of business intelligence, to enable "decision support" is the lingo. Supervisors have usually progressed from looking at coaching individuals based on goal achievement to using reports to look an staff/faculty/student data en masse to plan, think great thoughts and do great deeds, right? So how ARE the UM management ranks doing with business intelligence, minimally - using those reports that are generated for their benefit? How are HR, OD and others helping the conversation?
A well ranked blogger, Steve Roesler, http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/ has posted some thoughts questioning what we are measuring, and then pointing us to execution resources.
His current suggestion is referencing the book: The Knowing-Doing Gap -- For which he lists the first five chapters:
1. Knowing "What" To Do Is Not Enough
2. When Talk Substitutes for Action
3. When Memory Is A Substitute for Thinking
4. When Fear Prevents Acting on Knowledge
5. When Measurement Obstructs Good Judgment
Steve mentioned an email exchange with co-author Bob Sutton, noting: If you are talking a lot about execution, you probably aren't executing.
Steve also helpfully lists two chapter downloads (for fee) from the book:
Knowing "What" to Do Is Not Enough: Understanding the Knowing-Doing Gap http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-What-Enough-Understanding-Knowing-Doing/dp/B000WE2J9Y?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222922460&sr=1-3
and
Turning Knowledge into Action: Reducing the Knowing-Doing Gap
http://www.amazon.com/Turning-Knowledge-into-Action-Knowing-Doing/dp/B000WE2JBW/
What is your experience at the big U with how you and/or your organization is using business intelligence?
Posted by dnrevel at 10:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack