On the virtues of the unexpected
Much of our life is spent living in the land of expectations met. What happened yesterday happens tomorrow. I drink the same coffee, use the same toothpaste, greet people with the same expressions. We assume the expected and value it. More people rate McDonalds high because they offer the same things everywhere than because it serves great hamburgers. Where it gets interesting is in the ways...
What does having a Credential or meeting a Standard mean?
Hal’s Blog- The word “standards” sounds great. We all want people whose standards are high. The real question is whether the standards forecast the desired outcomes.How Long Does Success Last?
Good nonprofits track and verify the number and kind of participants who achieve a gain—whether it’s landing a job, reading on grade level, or rehoming a displaced family. Great nonprofits track and support the number of participants who sustain that gain. In a few areas, like workforce development, the challenge of staying power is well known. Simply...Musings on Milestone Management
I spent two hours on January 10, 2020, morning with 80 plus bright eyed leaders and staff of nonprofits in Manatee County, Florida. Our subject was Milestone Management. Simply put, what do you look at that tells you that your participants are making progress that forecasts they will get to a result—whether a job, a house, grade level reading, or anything else important. I was again...Human-Centered Design: Part 1
In times of crisis, colleges should ask different questions than they do in a traditional strategic planning process. My client and friend Dave Haney wrote an article just published in Inside Higher Ed. Here is a long excerpt that speaks to our work together and the first three of his six principles of result-based strategic design. Next Tuesday, I will post the other three...What happened to results in considering performance?
A recent Washington Post article (6/10/20) looked at how and why funds to use farm surplus to feed hungry Americans led to awards to a San Antonio event planner and a health-and-wellness airport kiosk company. I know of one key reason: results and likelihood of their being achieved were not of the highest priority in selecting groups. When asked by the Post, USDA furnished...Attributes and Achievement
I keep seeing writings that speak to the power of attributes in forecasting achievement in most jobs. The latest was sent by a colleague at the Humana Foundation who had read a piece by Jeff Nally, head of the Nally Group, which focused on learnings from Dr. Paul Brown, a professor at the Monarch Business School in Switzerland. He summarizes Dr. Brown: “We’re hiring for the wrong...