Part II

REDESIGN.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

—Thomas Jefferson

I’ M A FIRM BELIEVER IN PROCESS, especially when it comes to designing performance solutions. When you begin a project of this nature, it’s important to follow an established design and implementation progression. A clearly defined process means you’ll be making the right moves in the right order, and you’ll also be able to keep the people you’re bringing with you on this journey in the loop. In other words, a strong process anchors your design team, keeps everyone on the same page, and helps the team know what’s expected, when it’s expected, and what’s coming next.

For all those reasons (and more), I’ve defined a simple five-phase process for us to follow. For each phase I provide the supporting steps and corresponding tools and techniques that I hope will allow you to design and implement your unique solution thoughtfully while still maintaining forward momentum. In a nutshell, the PM Reboot process looks like this:

The PM Reboot process

In this section, Redesign, we will cover the first three phases—one chapter each for Mobilize, Sketch, and Configure. We’ll wrap up by bringing the work of these three phases to life with real-world examples. Later, in Part III, Reboot, we’ll explore the final two phases of this process (Build and Implement), and take a look at the important topic of building buy-in and ensuring the adoption of your newly minted and designed solution. I should warn you that in both parts 2 and 3 I’m going to get a little geeky with you (let’s chalk it up to the engineer in me coming out). My mission is to walk you through a design process that will help translate the Fundamental Shifts into a carefully considered, ready-to-implement, and greatly improved performance management solution, and there’s no way to do that without getting a bit technical in places. Fret not, though, because both of these sections are supported by a comprehensive Toolbox, where many of the tools and templates are shared in detail.

One last note before we get started with the PM Reboot process: in the end, you may find that you’ve built something you may not want to call “performance management.” Depending on the choices you make to drive organizational performance, develop people, and reward equitably, your solution may not look anything like traditional performance management. In fact, I’ve banned the phrase at PeopleFirm. OK, maybe not actually banned, since that would go against our culture—but I am known for making a face whenever people use the term to describe our approach to the thing we call “Building Your Career.” This kind of rebranding can be a very good thing, especially if the process you’re using today is wildly unpopular with your team. There’s nothing wrong with an image makeover along with your redesign, so ask your team for their ideas on what name best describes your new solution.