A test is only as good as the application of its results

December 7, 2011

I love data.  My business partner, Leslie, loves making data useful.  We always debate about what data matters and what is just nice to know.  Whenever we’re discussing a client’s assessment, there is always a moment in the conversation where she asks me, “What can the client do with that result?”  As someone who loves [...]

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There is no one-size-fits-all with data!

November 17, 2011

We just completed a comprehensive study for a team and spent a day discussing the findings. Their task was to digest the information and determine how they would communicate it to other interested parties. Like any big, high-visibility project, lots of folks-around-the-edges, and leadership teams were itching to hear the discoveries. The answer seems simple—total [...]

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Don’t let your client die in the Infrastructure Battle

October 31, 2011

We’ve all been there…the beginning of a project when you talk specifically about the performance the client expects. You’ve said the meeting will be detailed and a tad grueling…but within minutes your client is flinching, looking for caffeine and reading her smart phone hoping that an urgent meeting demanding her attendance beckons. She’s battling uncertainty [...]

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Clarifying criteria – was it a vacation or a trip?

October 18, 2011

A good friend of mine makes the distinction that some getaways are vacations and others are trips. Well…not as if this isn’t a decadent problem to ponder “gosh…as I sit sipping umbrella-laced drinks, is this a vacation, a trip, or a dream?” I decided to craft my vacation criteria and in doing so found the [...]

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Why is my four year old taking 60-item assessments?

October 11, 2011

I just finished Jeff Gitomer’s The Little Red Book of Selling.  Great book with entertaining, blunt advice.  In the book he says to get writing about things you are passionate about.  So I’m following directions… My son just had his first standardized test.  He is four and a half years old and is in parent-paid [...]

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Bad survey + slimy consultant = Garbage data and overly salty fries

September 16, 2011

What is it with customer service these days? Is there a slimy consultant offering up advice based on faulty data collection? I just returned from holiday where we were given numerous “ Tell Us How We Did” surveys along with the check. While I appreciate the request, and am all for capturing customer voice, I [...]

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Are you set up for sustainability?

September 7, 2011

I was talking to a civil engineer returning home from a water reclamation project in Honduras. A college was working in partnership with a little town that had lost their water system during the last string of hurricanes. They worked for a year and were able to bring one tank online. Everyone high fived, the [...]

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What Chompers the Dolphin teaches us about asking for opinions

August 31, 2011

My son recently disagreed with a decision I made about him watching more television.  He left the room in a huff and I figured that was the end of it.  A few minutes later he came in with three stuffed animals (to be more specific – Chompers the Dolphin, Killer Whale, and Blue Elephant).  He [...]

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Can you handle Guilty Knowledge?

August 23, 2011

You toss and turn and finally decide you really want to know why things or people aren’t working right.  Alas, you get the data and the reality hits: “Now I KNOW what is wrong, and NOW I have to fix it.” Here you go…your reward for seeking the truth?  Guilty Knowledge. We prepare our clients [...]

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One more time: How do you make assessments stick/work/have meaning/make a difference?

August 2, 2011

We get this question all the time. There are books, movies and even songs written about it — it’s called commitment. You have to be committed to the implementation associated with measurement.

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