Read a great article about employee appraisals by Performance Path Software
Employee Appraisal Tips
Conducting employee appraisals is usually one of the least favorite tasks of most managers. It is easy to understand why. Traditional one-size-fits-all appraisals bear little resemblance to the actual job requirements. One-size-fits-all employee appraisal systems use broadly defined statements to define work responsibilities. And, the rating scale is more a measure of the manager’s opinion, versus measure of actual performance.
Full Article > Employee Appraisal Tips
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Old Man, the Boy, and the Donkey
An old man, a boy, and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked beside him. As they went along the passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding. The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.
Later, they passed some people who remarked, "What a shame! He makes that little boy walk." They then decided they both would walk.
Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So they both rode the donkey.
Now they pass some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal, and he fell into the river and drowned.
The moral of the story? If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.
Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
Later, they passed some people who remarked, "What a shame! He makes that little boy walk." They then decided they both would walk.
Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So they both rode the donkey.
Now they pass some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal, and he fell into the river and drowned.
The moral of the story? If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.
Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
Monday, September 20, 2010
What's Risk Got to do with IT?
Risk is a measure of your willingness to step out of your comfort zone. Success often requires change, and the road is often paved with new challenges that defy complacency. Those not willing to change live a life like everyone else. And those who accept risk get to live like no one else.
Website: www.LiveInTheTwo.com
Website: www.LiveInTheTwo.com
You Get What You Reward
Incentives, when used properly can be a powerful force for directing productive behavior. However, they can also be a force creating disaster.
As demonstrated by companies like Enron, and the banking crisis, businessmen and politicians have been misusing incentives four hundred years.
Line of sight incentives are useful when their results do not create unintended consequences. When Equity Traders are rewarded for finding and investing in growing companies, everyone wins. The Trader gets a commission, the investor’s money expands and the company’s stock price increases. We are experiencing the consequences of derivatives traders who sold securities even though they knew the risk of failure was imminent.
So how can we anticipate unintended results of incentives? Ah grasshopper, I thought you would never ask. To anticipate the consequences of incentives remember that water, politicians’ and corruption always follows the path of least resistance. When planning incentives ask yourself, “What is the easiest way for recipients to achieve designated results while maximizing their reward.
In the case of the 17-century sea captains, they were paid for each prisoner that walked aboard their ship in England. To maximize their incentives, the sea captains took on as many prisoners as possible in England, withheld flood and starve some prisoners to death during the voyage; then unload the remaining prisoners and sold the surplus food when they arrived in Australian. It is perfectly understandable. You get what your reward.
Current examples include: Mortgage brokers who provided loans to people who could not afford them, the Banks that accepted the loans then sold them to investment banks who securitized loans creating mortgage backed bonds and sold them to commercial investors such as pension funds. Everyone along the derivative food chain recognized the tremendous risks involved. This actually increased the motivation to sell them as fast as they could into the next incentive driven organization. Traders received their commissions, Banks made unheard of profits. Pension funds bought the “high return assets to gain higher returns for their funds and of course collect fat pay checks...We are now suffering the negative consequences when politicians bail out large campaign contributors (Banks, Unions, etc) at public expense. You get what you reward.
The key to eliminating unexpected consequences for incentive plans is to define the desired outcome with four measurable e.g., criteria; quality, quantity, cost or time. A public uproar in England caused politicians to change incentives for sea captains ferrying prisoners to Australia. Rather than receiving payment for each prisoner who walked on board (quantity) in England, sea captains were paid for each prisoner that walked off the ship (Quality) in Australia. The change in incentive criteria from quantity to quality resulted in a 30% increase in prisoners healthy enough to walk off the ship in Australia..
A new incentive plan for today’s traders would create similar results. If trader’s security license would be suspended for participating in activities resulting in material loss to shareholders, clients or the community they would heed the red flags of risk and report extreme risk taking to the regulators. If indeed, those loses could be recovered with interest from the trader’s personal assets, less fraud and greed would be perpetrated In the first place.
Incentives are a powerful tool shaping the motivation of individual engaged in any task. So if you are not getting the results you expect remember, “You get what you.reward”..
Rod Waddell, CEO
Performance Path
Software, Consulting & Coaching Services
Website: www.PerformancePath.com
Visit Performance Path's website to find information on Employee Performance Appraisal Software, Coaching and Consulting.
As demonstrated by companies like Enron, and the banking crisis, businessmen and politicians have been misusing incentives four hundred years.
Line of sight incentives are useful when their results do not create unintended consequences. When Equity Traders are rewarded for finding and investing in growing companies, everyone wins. The Trader gets a commission, the investor’s money expands and the company’s stock price increases. We are experiencing the consequences of derivatives traders who sold securities even though they knew the risk of failure was imminent.
So how can we anticipate unintended results of incentives? Ah grasshopper, I thought you would never ask. To anticipate the consequences of incentives remember that water, politicians’ and corruption always follows the path of least resistance. When planning incentives ask yourself, “What is the easiest way for recipients to achieve designated results while maximizing their reward.
In the case of the 17-century sea captains, they were paid for each prisoner that walked aboard their ship in England. To maximize their incentives, the sea captains took on as many prisoners as possible in England, withheld flood and starve some prisoners to death during the voyage; then unload the remaining prisoners and sold the surplus food when they arrived in Australian. It is perfectly understandable. You get what your reward.
Current examples include: Mortgage brokers who provided loans to people who could not afford them, the Banks that accepted the loans then sold them to investment banks who securitized loans creating mortgage backed bonds and sold them to commercial investors such as pension funds. Everyone along the derivative food chain recognized the tremendous risks involved. This actually increased the motivation to sell them as fast as they could into the next incentive driven organization. Traders received their commissions, Banks made unheard of profits. Pension funds bought the “high return assets to gain higher returns for their funds and of course collect fat pay checks...We are now suffering the negative consequences when politicians bail out large campaign contributors (Banks, Unions, etc) at public expense. You get what you reward.
The key to eliminating unexpected consequences for incentive plans is to define the desired outcome with four measurable e.g., criteria; quality, quantity, cost or time. A public uproar in England caused politicians to change incentives for sea captains ferrying prisoners to Australia. Rather than receiving payment for each prisoner who walked on board (quantity) in England, sea captains were paid for each prisoner that walked off the ship (Quality) in Australia. The change in incentive criteria from quantity to quality resulted in a 30% increase in prisoners healthy enough to walk off the ship in Australia..
A new incentive plan for today’s traders would create similar results. If trader’s security license would be suspended for participating in activities resulting in material loss to shareholders, clients or the community they would heed the red flags of risk and report extreme risk taking to the regulators. If indeed, those loses could be recovered with interest from the trader’s personal assets, less fraud and greed would be perpetrated In the first place.
Incentives are a powerful tool shaping the motivation of individual engaged in any task. So if you are not getting the results you expect remember, “You get what you.reward”..
Rod Waddell, CEO
Performance Path
Software, Consulting & Coaching Services
Website: www.PerformancePath.com
Visit Performance Path's website to find information on Employee Performance Appraisal Software, Coaching and Consulting.
Monday, August 23, 2010
AdWords & Search Results
If you buy advertising on Google (AdWords) you do NOT rank higher in the Search Engine Results. Google's search results are called "editorial search results" - they are NOT affected by money. You will rank the same whether you buy advertising on Google or not.
Remember: There is a recipe for success and time is a main ingredient (instant success simply does NOT happen) - SEO, PPC, Blogging, Social Media, Video, etc. You can't have tunnel vision in regards to your Internet Marketing Plan and expect success.
Remember: There is a recipe for success and time is a main ingredient (instant success simply does NOT happen) - SEO, PPC, Blogging, Social Media, Video, etc. You can't have tunnel vision in regards to your Internet Marketing Plan and expect success.
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