Core 4 - RESULTS (p. 109 - 124)

Have you guys ever heard of GE's stringent performance review process? Jack Welch was not messing around when it came to a 'rank and yank' style of talent management. You either make the grade or you get fired.

This chapter rounds out the 4 cores of credibility by emphasizing the necessity of RESULTS! Integrity, Intent, Capabilities...but RESULTS.

GE uses a framework of performance appraisal that considers four scenarios:

1) People who both deliver results AND live the values - these people are retained and promoted

2) People who neither deliver results NOR live the values - these people are let go

3) People who do not achieve, but who live the values - these people can be trained

4) People who achieve high results but do not live the values - these are the hardest of all to deal with! "They achieve the end that everybody wants, but they do it in a way that blatantly defies organizational values." According to "Neutron Jack" (Welch's nickname for his ability to eliminate employees while leaving buildings in tact), these employees too must go.

He says, "Clarity around values and behaviors is not much good unless it is backed up.  To make vlaues really mean something, companies have to reward the people who exhibit them and "punish" those who don't."

This is a bit of a surprising stance considering emphasis (necessity, demand!) of performance in today's competitive market environment. "To keep them on as they are is not only unsustainable, it is damaging to the organization and destroy credibility and trust." Can't we sweep some poor behaviors under the rug if the team member is bringing the critical results we need to prosper? Aren't we in business to prosper? What does it mean to prosper, anyway?

Since this (team members who violate values but produce results) is a prevalent and common organizational phenomenon, I'll lead this week's discussion with the simple question: Do you agree? Is performance (results) enough or is performance apart from (emotional intelligence) acceptable?

Another popular framework for evaluating performance is called the 9-box model of performance management:

What do you think about using this framework for performance (results) evaluation?