Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less

• Those that significantly affect performance in a negative manner • Those that have little or no real effect on performance The critical thinking task for management is to identify which is which. Simply managing resources, h o w e v e r , i s n o t e n o u g h . Performance is shown to have limits using asymptotic analysis, which is a method of describing limiting behavior. This is illustrated by an S-shaped cumulative life-cycle curve, which is said to show essentially the same data as seen in a normal bell curve. The other benefit of using an S-curve as a universal model (logistic function) for performance is that it is derived from a law that states that “the rate of growth is proportional to both the amount of growth already accomplished and the amount of growth remaining to be accomplished.” The implications of this insight are enormous. Harbour summarizes this notion as: A performance life cycle will, after getting off to a slow start, rapidly accelerate and eventually hit some limiting threshold or wall and stop regardless of the resources expended at any given time. Management can sometimes thwart this paradox superficially through innovation. It does not change the process, but only adds a new beginning to the S-curve. The replacement of internal combustion engines with jet engines in Army tanks changed the horsepower to a weight ratio allowing for heaver offensive and defensive improvements to be added without degrading the vehicle’s mobility because of their weight. This change started a new S-curve that should be noted on the vehicle’s cumulative life-cycle chart. With this theoretical background, Harbour ventures off into the practical application of his theories. Sometime the case studies, anecdotes, and stories become more interesting than the point they are illustrating. He does provide summaries at the end of each chapter to reinforce the teaching point of each of his descriptive practical applications. At times the book seems to provide too much information about a single subject. Harbour is aware of this, but being an academic at heart and very passionate about his subject and the research time he and his colleagues have put into it, he is almost compelled to overstate his position. If the material seems overbearing, simply reading the chapter summaries will significantly expand the reader’s understanding of performance.