As you no doubt know already, Harvard Business Review Press publishes several series of anthologies of articles previous published in HBR. This book is one of the most popular volumes in a series that anthologizes what the editors of the Harvard Business Review consider to be “must reads” in a given business subject area. In this instance, performance management. Each of the selections is eminently deserving of inclusion.

If all of the HBR articles were purchased separately as reprints, the total cost would be about $100 and the practical value of any one of them far exceeds that. Given the fact that Amazon US now sells a paperbound edition for only $2.57. That’s not a bargain. It’s a steal.

The same is true of volumes in other series such as HBR Guide to…, Harvard Business Review on…, and Harvard Business Essentials. I also think there is great benefit derived from the convenience of having a variety of perspectives and insights readily available in a single volume, one that is potable.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall, “Research into the practices of the best team leaders reveals that they conduct regular check-ins with each team member about near-term work. These brief conversations [i.e. strategic ‘touch points’] allow leaders to set expectations for the upcoming week, review priorities, comment on recent work, and provide course correction [if needed], coaching, or important new information. The conversations provide clarity regarding what is expected of each team member and why, what great work looks like, and how each can do his or her best work in the upcoming days — in other words, Exactly the trinity of purpose, expectations, and strengths that characterize our [i.e. Deloitte’s] best teams.” (Page 27)

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Those who read HBR’s 10 Must Reads On Performance Management can develop the cutting-edge thinking needed to achieve a decisive competitive advantage.

More specifically, they will learn the dos and don’ts with regard to HOW TO

o Learn where current performance management processes are falling short
o Overcome/eliminate organizational bias to evaluate performance fairly
o Sculpt employees’ jobs in alignment with their skill sets, interests, and ambitions
o Boost collaboration with cross-functional objectives
o Use people analytics ethically and transparently
o Help your people identify and leverage their strengths

However, ultimately, there are no personnel issues or customer issues; there are only business issues. The process to solve performance management problems should be guided and informed by design principles (i.e. thinking innovatively about innovation). Only then will business issues be fully addressed.

Finally, whatever their size and nature may be, all organizations need innovative thinking at ALL levels and in ALL areas of the given enterprise. That is, people who are solution-driven when focusing on a problem’s root causes rather than its symptoms. Peter Drucker nailed it: “There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all.”