3 Review(s)

“A handy guide for the manager who, when faced with a maze of possible strategies, needs a clearly defined and impartial explanation of how to develop his or her business.” – Engineering and Technology “This is not an ordinary primer on management tools. With Hope as co-author, there is a deeper level of analysis. His critique centres not on the tools but on the people who use them. Ultimately, his book amounts to a strong critique of managers. [It] will challenge their prejudices about some management tools at least and force them to consider whether the weaknesses they perceive lie not in the tools but within themselves. Beyond Performance Management is Hope’s last book, as he died shortly before it went to press. He will be missed for his plain-speaking and incisive, unsparing critique of modern management, at a time when those qualities are very badly needed.” There's a bewildering array of management tools out there. And they all promise to help you excel at the toughest parts of your job: defining your organization’s strategic direction, managing customers and costs, and boosting workforce performance. But just 30 percent of these tools deliver as intended. Why? As Jeremy Hope and Steve Player reveal in Beyond Performance Management, while many tools are sound in theory, they’re misused by most organizations. For example, executives buy and implement a tool without first asking, “What problem are we trying to solve?” And they use tools to command and control frontline teams, not empower them — a serious and costly mistake. In this eminently useful, clear-eyed book, the authors critically review dozens of well known management tools — from mission statements, balanced scorecards, and rolling forecasts to key performance indicators, Six Sigma, and performance appraisals. They explain how to select the right tools for your organization, how to implement them correctly, and how to extract maximum value from each. Brimming with rigorous analysis and solid advice, Beyond Performance Management helps you swiftly gauge the value of each management tool and navigate the increasingly crowded field of offerings — so the tools you select deliver fully on their promises. About the author Jeremy Hope is cofounder of the Beyond Budgeting Roundtable (BBRT) and has authored numerous books and articles on performance management, including Reinventing the CFO (2006). Steve Player is the director of BBRT North America and co-author of Future Ready (2010).