Benchmarking and its Value

BENCHMARKING AND ITS VALUE By Larry Lapide, VP and GM, Supply Chain Strategies, AMR Research For those of you who are older and follow New York City politics, Mayor Koch was one of the most colorful, among its long line of mayors. One of the things that made him famous was that he would always ask: “How am I doing?” Interestingly, this tactic went a long way to supporting his image of an effective mayor because it demonstrated that he cared about what his constituents thought about his job performance, and in turn, that he would change if he got back an answer that said he wasn’t doing well. In fact Koch’s view is not much different than most people, except that most are not as open and blatant about it as he was. For the most part, everyone is inquisitive about how they are doing in their job, in their friendships, and in their relationship with their significant other. It’s natural for people to want to know about this. How often have you: • Asked a colleague at work: What does the boss really think about me?” • Asked a friend: “Does so-and-so really like me?” • Looked over to see what others are doing when you are completing a form or taking a test. WHAT ...