Ann Stow

Why do quantified performance targets/quality standards frequently fail to deliver their goals? Three core contributing concepts: 1) Goodhart’s Law: “When a metric becomes a target, it ceases to be a good metric". 2) Campbell's Law: “The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures & the more apt it will be to distort & corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor". 3) The Cobra Effect: "Incentives can have undesired & unintended results, potentially harming the very thing that they were intending to improve". In order to mitigate for these three, we need to: - regularly revisit the aim - diversify the metrics (& introduce balancing measures) - choose metrics that are as close to the aim as possible - use qualitative as well as quantitative indicators - make it easier & more rewarding to improve the system rather than game it psychsafety.co.uk/goodharts-…. By @tom_geraghty (sign up for his weekly newsletter - it's a "must-read"). Graphics by @sketchplanator & @xkcd.

This is Frank and he has had a coffee stand at the top of the steps at Bethnal Green tube for as long as I can remember. When the new restaurant/coffee shop next door opened along with another high street outlet opening across the street, Frank suddenly found that his license from the council had been revoked and he was chucked off his stand. I believe it was to make way for these new shops to take his regular custom. They didn’t need him in the way of gaining maximum profit... so Frank was gone. Well the locals were having none of it and a petition started demanding his return. How dare they do this to him. How dare these people smash his business and leave him with nothing. After a lot of pressure the council backed down and Frank had his licence and pitch returned to him but sadly by that time Frank had sold his equipment to feed his family and try to survive. So the good people of Bethnal Green started crowdfunding and here’s the result... Frank back in business on his old pitch with brand new equipment and even a little hut now to shelter him from the rain... Brilliant!! He is truly the happiest man in East London and it’s wonderful to see. It really does show that if we all stick together, stand up to them and just say no... the little guy can win. If you’re in Bethnal Green come and have a coffee with this lovely man. 🧡

There are many "antipatterns" in common use in health & care. They are solutions or practices that create undesired outcomes. They're the opposite of good practice, which is solutions that have been proven to be effective. They're often used because they seem to work, but the larger context or long-term consequences haven't been considered. We should avoid anti-patterns. This article sets out three antipatterns for engineering leaders that are also relevant to health leaders: 1) Thinking that micromanagement is always bad 2) Getting caught up on finding the right measurement 3) Protecting my team from the reality & problems around them "so they can focus" review.firstround.com/unexpe…. Via @firstround @drewbarontini

⏳ Only 4x 2-4-1 tickets remain for The Employee Engagement Champions Event @ Everyman Cinema, Kings Cross, London - April 25 We're offering a 2-4-1 deal exclusively for you... Get Mine Now 👇 hubs.la/Q02pXzQ-0 #employeeengagement #happiness #teambuilding #conference

This happens often when we give a talk and get the audience evaluation back. 99% of the feedback might be positive. 1% of it is critical. We largely ignore the lovely comments from the 99%. We just dwell on the negative feedback. Life & work is like that too. It's why we need others to help us gain a broader perspective & to keep improving. Graphic by @FerraroRoberto