I’ve been writing a series of articles to explain to business owners about a consulting methodology called Human Performance Improvement (HPI) – a method of diagnosing and proving the causes of performance problems, along with how to create solutions for these problems.  The HPI methodology is one that Lucid Business Strategies uses to make sure that we provide real, sustainable change for our clients.

We use the HPI methodology because we care about one thing – getting results!  Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you cannot know if you’re getting results unless you measure them!  More importantly, you cannot know if you if are achieving the desired results unless you decide at the beginning of the consulting engagement what performance (Process? People? Organizational?  Perhaps impact on your community?) you are trying to improve, and how you will measure whether you have accomplished this or not.  One of the reasons we use the HPI methodology is that it requires that the consultant measures the impact of every solution (“interventions”) that is implemented and take corrective action if the results are not what is needed to correct the performance problem.

Notice the words “take corrective action” in the last paragraph?  This philosophy is worth its weight in gold!  In the HPI methodology, measurement is not goal setting!  Instead, measurement is a yardstick by which we measure the progress toward that goal.  If we are not making progress, then something is wrong.  We either have bad information (analysis), created the wrong interventions (design, develop), or we implemented the interventions incorrectly.  No matter which is the case, if we see that the interventions are not working, we begin an iterative process of learning why and taking corrective action.  This is the step in the HPI process that ensures that we have the best possible chance of making significant, long-lasting change, and improving the organization.

Other Articles of Interest

What is Human Performance Improvement?  Part One: “An Overview”
What is Human Performance Improvement? Part Two: “Finding the Problem”What is Human Performance Improvement? Part Three: “Identifying Specific Solutions”What is Human Performance Improvement? Part Four: “Designing and Developing the “Right” Solution”

To Learn More about Human Performance Improvement (HPI)
International Society for Performance Improvement: www.ispi.org