1. Chaz Knauft
MBA 507 F14
Managers in today’s world face a new set of problems than those faced by
managers in past. In Moon Shots for Management, Gary Hamel explains some of these
problems, such as the ability to create organizations that are both adaptable and
resilient, and focused and efficient, and how can one inspire employees to bring
enthusiasm, passion, and innovation to work daily in an era of unparalleled
entrepreneurial genius. Hamel then lays out a case for twenty five challenges to help
reinvent management for a new, more volatile economic environment. One of the
challenges he proposes, is creating and developing holistic performance measures. As
Hamel states, current performance “measurement systems have flaws.” Often they
seem too concerned with short-term objectives such as profit targets, hours logged, or
customers added, and ignore other meaningful goals. Developing holistic performance
measure systems is a moon shot challenge that should, and can, be achieved.
One of the main flaws with current performance measurement systems is that
they put an overweighed emphasis on certain goals that seem to be potentially short-
sighted; this is often at the expense of long-terms goals that are more difficult to
quantify, such as ethics and values, and the process that leads to the desired outcome
(Srinivasan). Further, current performance management does not seem to be nuanced,
instead ignoring more subtle goals and interactions that are key for the survival of any
business. With that said, this does not mean a focus on certain short-term goals, such
as profit targets or productivity increases can be a bad thing; without a focus on such
aspects, many businesses would simply flounder or fail. Furthermore, there has been a
fragmentation of performance measure. Organizations are constantly searching for new
tools that will better track performance and offer solutions to improve it. While some of

2. Chaz Knauft
MBA 507 F14
these tools integrate well within an organization, far too often they can contradict and
undermine one another (Andersen). This fragmentation can flourish within an
organization, as management can view it as unfulfilled promise that has the potential to
be fixed. Along with organizations attempting to find new tools and programs to
implement, there is the problem of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole; that is,
organizations try to apply the new tools without taking into account the unique aspects
of their business. According to Daniel Schroeder, Ph.D., this makes one organization’s
performance measures similar to a different organization just down the street, and
doesn’t take into account the specific, special culture of the organization.
Through the development of holistic performance measures, we can bring long-
term goals, corporate culture awareness and organizational values, and employee
growth into the discussion of what constitutes system performance measures. With
respect to corporate culture awareness, Schroeder recommends performance feedback
based on “competencies” that are focused on what matters to an organization. For
instance, if an organization stresses customer service, the performance feedback
should not only look at whether or not the employee generated monetary value for the
company from his or her service, but how they stayed in touch with their clients, how
their clients wishes were acted upon, and how they gathered and used feedback from
their customer (Schroeder). By creating performance measures that go beyond a simple
profit target, or the total number of hours an employee works, an organization can
engage its employees in its culture while cultivating it at the same time. This ties in with
organizational goals and values. Most organizations have some specific, core values
that inform every decision that is made, just as many individuals do. Individuals often

3. Chaz Knauft
MBA 507 F14
judge themselves based on these core values. By tying performance measure to how
an individual employee exercised an organizations values, it can help bring about a
“sustainable effectiveness of the organization” (Srinivasan). Essentially, when
management can tie performance reviews to values held by the organization, they can
then begin reinforcing the values and behavior of their employees by having favorable
incentives in performance management to have employees act a certain way, which in
is line with the organizations core values (Andersen).
Holistic performance management can also be used to critique and improve not
only employee performance as related to a balance sheet, but also employee growth
and understanding of new concepts. According to Hank Boyer, the founder and CEO of
a management consultant group, a holistic performance management model should
have a different focus depending on where an employee is in his/her development. His
group breaks them down into the “Equipping Zone” and the “Correcting Zone”. The
equipping zone focuses on performance management of learning and mastering new
skills and concepts, which the correcting zone focuses on gap analysis and figuring out
how to help the employee overcome obstacles to restore and improve their
performance. In his model, most managers will spend about 80% of their time in the
equipping zone, teaching, observing, and giving feedback to their employees (Boyer).
The correcting zone of Boyer’s model is used when an employee is having difficulty
reaching goals, or fitting in with a company’s corporate culture and values. By breaking
down performance management along the lines of equipping employees with the proper
tools to succeed, and correcting them when they fail to produce the results desired by
management, managers can engage their employees in more holistic performance

4. Chaz Knauft
MBA 507 F14
management that gets to the heart of improvement, rather than focusing simply on
numbers. In addition to focusing on equipping and correcting, in order to properly
conduct, and have an impactful holistic performance management system in place, the
manager-employee relationship must be solid. While most organizations have a formal
evaluation once or twice a year, realistically, performance management is happening in
daily interaction (Schroeder).
An integral part of holistic performance management, then, is the building and
maintaining of relationships. When there is friction between individuals, groups,
management, and the organization for reasons such as lying, backstabbing, or unfair
blame, it can be felt throughout the whole of the work society. On the other hand, when
the feeling within an organization is of mutual admiration, support, and harmony, it can
often enhance the performance of the organization and the individuals involved in the
organization (Srinivasan). This can create a system in which a synergy can arrive where
it seems the different parts of an organization are greater than the sum of its parts.
It has been five years since Gary Hamel suggested the creation of a set of
challenges to attempt to bring management into the twenty-first century, and to maintain
its innovation in the future with his aptly titled Moon Shots for Management. Currently,
performance measurement is often a blunt force, rather than a nuanced tool; it puts
certain goals, such as profit targets, or hours logged, over equally important aspects of
performance such as values, understanding, and competency. This is why the need for
the development of holistic performance management is so important to the future of
management. While current performance metrics have their place, a new focus on

5. Chaz Knauft
MBA 507 F14
understanding of organizations core values, corporate culture awareness, employee
knowledge and growth, and the building and maintaining of relationships are what is
going to matter in the current and future economic climates. While the work of
developing and instituting holistic performance measures may have just begun, it’s
something that will truly innovate the way management sees their employees, and how
workers value themselves.

6. Chaz Knauft
MBA 507 F14
Bibliography
Andersen, Bjørn, Bjørnar Henriksen, and Wenche Aarseth. "Holistic Performance
Management: An Integrated Framework." International Journal of Productivity and
Performance Management 55.1 (2006): 61-78.
Boyer, Hank. "Equipping Your Staff to Succeed with Holistic Performance
Management." Boyer Management Group. 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Schroeder, Daniel. "Holistic Management." Milwaukee BizTimes 1 Feb. 2010. Web. 16
Oct. 2014. <http://www.od-consultants.com/pdf/Holistic-Measurement.pdf>.
Srinivasan, M.S. "The Total Performance Management: A Holistic
Perspective."IntegralMusings. 4 Apr. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.