Serious Performance Consulting According to Rummler

408 Pages·2004·3.02 MB·English

by  Geary A. Rummler

Serious Performance Consulting: According to
Rummler
by Geary A. Rummler ISBN:1890289167
ISPI © 2004
Geary Rummler illustrates "Serious Performance
Consulting" (SPC) through his last 35 years of
experience in this insightful guide. It demonstrates
how an efficient performance leader deals with
organizational performance problems.
Table of Contents
Serious Performance Consulting—According to Rummler
According to Whom?
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Part One - The NuPlant Case Study
Chapter 1 - Welcome to NuPlant
Chapter 2 - Performance Analysis Framework and Process
Chapter 3 - The NuPlant Case Study
Chapter 4 - Case Study Debrief
Part Two - The Craft of Serious Performance Consulting
Performance Analysis and the Internal
Chapter 5 -
Consultant
Chapter 6 - A Path to Becoming a Performance Consultant
Appendix A - NuPlant Project Findings
Appendix B - NuPlant Project Recommendations
Glossary
References
Additional Resources
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of According to Rummler
Back Cover
Performance Consulting is a role that is quickly gaining
popularity. In order for performance consultants to make a
significant difference in organization results, they need to
advance beyond their current focus on improving the individual
performer. Dr. Rummler, a leader in performance consulting for
35 years, calls this next level of the performance consulting
endeavor, “Serious Performance Consulting” or SPC.
In this book, Rummler illustrates what he means by SPC
through an extensive case study which illustrates both what a
serious performance consulting engagement looks like and
what a serious performance consultant does, including:
Going beyond the initial request for help to find a viable
critical business issue and a gap in results and to
establishing how success of the project will be evaluated.
Using a conceptual performance analysis framework to
generate hypotheses for possible causes of the gaps in
results.
Following an effective, systematic process for conducting
the analysis (i.e., test the initial hypotheses).
Identifying exemplary performance to establish the
difference between “is” and “should” performance and the
cause behind such differences.
Specifying a solution set that addresses all significant
factors that affect the gap in results.
The reader has an opportunity to experience the case study on
three levels. Chapter 3 presents the case study and is a high-
level walk-through of the project, with a week-by-week timeline,
from project design to final recommendations. It is structured
so the reader can drill down for more details on any of the
project findings and recommendations in the appendices. It
also contains a running commentary (“According to Rummler”)
on the project, where he points out what he thinks are
particularly relevant points for the performance consultant.
Other chapters present:
The underlying framework and templates used by the
performance consultants in the case study.
A brief recap of the project with comments on the project
approach and a summary of what Rummler believes can
be generalized from the case to most any performance
improvement situation.
A discussion of the special challenges the internal
performance consultant faces when doing serious
performance consulting and presents some strategies
and tactics that have proven helpful in meeting those
challenges.
Suggestions about what aspiring performance
consultants might do to learn and practice their craft.
Serious Performance Consulting—According to
Rummler
Geary A. Rummler, CPT
A publication of the International Society for Performance Improvement
and ASTD
Copyright © 2004, by the International Society for Performance
Improvement.
Copyright for the figures in chapters two and five held by Geary A.
Rummler and the Performance Design Lab.
ISBN: 1-890289-16-7
Printed in the United States of America
Published by
International Society for Performance Improvement
1400 Spring Street
Suite 260
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.587.8570
Fax: [phone]
Visit our website at www.ispi.org. To order books, log on to
www.ispi.org/bookstore.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by an information or retrieval system without
permission in writing for the copyright holders.
Dedication
This book is for Margaret, in appreciation of her understanding, patience,
tolerance, and support during 40 years of tilting at windmills.
About ISPI
The International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) is
dedicated to improving individual, organizational, and societal
performance. Founded in 1962, ISPI is the leading international
association dedicated to improving productivity and performance in the
workplace. ISPI represents more than 10,000 international and chapter
members throughout the United States, Canada, and 40 other countries.
ISPI's mission is to develop and recognize the proficiency of our
members and advocate the use of Human Performance Technology. This
systematic approach to improving productivity and competence uses a
set of methods and procedures—and a strategy for solving problems—for
realizing opportunities related to the performance of people. It is a
systematic combination of performance analysis, cause analysis,
intervention design and development, implementation, and evaluation
that can be applied to individuals, small groups, and large organizations.
Website:www.ispi.org
International Society for Performance Improvement
Mail: 1400 Spring Street, Suite 260
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 USA
Call: 1.301.587.8570
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: <[email protected]>
Certified Performance Technologist Designation The Certified
Performance Technologist (CPT) designation is awarded by ISPI in
affiliation with the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD)
to experienced performance improvement professionals whose work
demonstrates adherence to the 10 Standards of Performance Technology
and the Code of Ethics. For more information and to download
application forms, visit www.certifiedpt.org.
PerformanceX press
Published 12 times a year, PerformanceXpress is an electronic forum for
timely communication to professionals in the field of performance
improvement. The newsletter includes articles addressing current issues;
monthly columns focusing on trends, measurement, and job aids; and a
marketplace for promoting products and services. For the latest issue,
visit www.PerformanceXpress.org.
About ASTD
ASTD is a leading association of workplace learning and performance
professionals, forming a world-class community of practice. ASTD's
70,000 members and associates come from more than 100 countries and
thousands of organizations—multinational corporations, medium-sized
and small businesses, government, academia, consulting firms, and
product and service suppliers.
ASTD marks its beginning in 1944 when the organization held its first
annual conference. In recent years, ASTD has widened the industry's
focus to connect learning and performance to measurable results, and is
a sought-after voice on critical public policy issues. For more information,
visit www.astd.org or call 800.628.8723 (international, 703.683.8100).
1640 King Street Box 1443
Alexandria, VA 22313-2043 USA
Tel [phone].683.8100
Fax [phone]
www.astd.org
According to Whom?
According to Geary Rummler, who has been doing performance
consulting for 35 years. He has completed more than 125 successful,
significant projects in the areas of sales, service, manufacturing, new
product development, strategy implementation, supply chain
management, order fulfillment, information technology implementation,
and customer service in both the private and public sectors.
Rummler has developed a robust, effective, and proven performance
consulting methodology. The initial models were developed in the 1960s
with Dale Brethower at the University of Michigan. His models were
applied and enhanced at Praxis Corporation with partner Tom Gilbert
during the 1970s. During the past 20 years, first with the Rummler-
Brache Group and now the Performance Design Lab, he has applied his
models at the organization, process, and job levels and has continued
refining the models and developing numerous practical analysis tools.
He strives to communicate these models and the consulting methodology
by teaching hundreds of individuals through a series of workshops and by
publishing the methodologies, most notably in a book co-written with Alan
P Brache entitled Improving Performance: Managing the White Space on
the Organization Chart (Jossey-Bass, 1995). Having been printed in six
languages and having sold more than 150,000 copies, this book has
served as a practical guide for tens of thousands around the globe who
manage organizations, processes, and jobs.
Among his other accomplishments, he has earned master's and doctoral
degrees from the University of Michigan, served as president of the
International Society for Performance Improvement, and was elected to
the board of directors of ASTD. In 1986, he was inducted into the Human
Resource Development Hall of Fame. He has also been awarded the
Distinguished Professional Achievement Award from the International
Society for Performance Improvement (1992), the Enterprise
Reengineering Excellence Award from Enterprise Reengineering
Magazine (1996), the Distinguished Contribution Award for Workplace
Learning and Performance from ASTD (1999), and the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Organization Behavior Management
Network (1999).
Geary Rummler and his wife, Margaret, live in Tucson, Arizona. They
have three great sons and daughters-in-law, as well as four fantastic
grandchildren.
Readers may contact the author through:
Performance Design Lab
PO. Box 64640
Tucson, AZ 85728-4640
Telephone: [phone]
email: <[email protected]>
website: performancedesignlab.com
Foreword
Performance consulting has enjoyed rapid growth in the last several
years, enticing numbers of professionals from a variety of fields to
describe themselves as performance consultants.
Unfortunately, not everyone using the performance consultant
designation has the knowledge and skills to do the work of performance
consulting; the job requires much more than a business card with a
trendy title.
This book invites you to join an accomplished performance consultant on
a project journey during which you will discover how the work of
performance consulting is done. As experienced travelers know, voyages
to unfamiliar locations are enhanced by advance preparations that
include learning about what visitors may experience in a new locale.