I certainly agree that every valued municipal client of Performance Concepts Consulting needs to have a well conceived set of strategic priorities. These strategic priorities achieve relevance when stapled to the right concrete actions/initiatives. The intended impact of strategic priorities and their stapled actions/initiatives should be secured by setting results based targets that are tied to key performance indicators. The final result should be organization-wide alignment around a limited set of priorities, and an org culture focused on getting the RIGHT things done and doing things RIGHT.

The problem I have with traditional community based strategic planning involves none of the above objectives. The problem I have is one of execution. So many strategic planning exercises become mired in process, ...]]> http://performanceconcepts.ca/strategic-planning-avoiding-the-pitfalls/ In the Canadian EMS world, everybody who is anybody knows about the risk posed by emergency department traffic jams when ambulances try to transfer patients.  Delays are significant.  90th percentile response times suffer as vehicle deployment patterns erode throughout the day.  The problem is endemic across Canada – witness the recent media expose in Edmonton concerning response time erosion, and the series of “Code Red” stories about zero ambulance availability in Ontario.  Performance Concepts master planning engagements in Ottawa and Thunder Bay have documented the problems in excruciating detail.

Non-emergent transportation poses a similar challenge in many jurisdictions.  As far as Councils and taxpayers are concerned, EMS units featuring highly trained paramedics are deployed to respond to serious medical emergency calls for service – not routine transportation of patients to hospital tests or diagnostic imaging appointments, or even medically necessary patient ...]]> http://performanceconcepts.ca/ems-risk-non-emergent-transport-sucks-the-air-out-of-code-4-response-times/ Thanks to “Boom, Bust and Echo” we have all learned that demographics explain 2/3 of everything – what a great line from the noted guru David Foot!  Canadians are getting older one year at a time. Front-end baby boomers are on the cusp of becoming senior citizens.  Thus the coming “Aging Tsunami”.  The implications of the Aging Tsunami for Ontario’s municipal EMS services are sobering indeed.  EMS practitioners have known for some time that frequent-flier patients are composed primarily of the old and the super-old. The challenge has been quantifying this reality and communicating it to Councils, municipal CAOs and Ministry of Health senior officials come budget time. Requests for service, ambulance call volumes and staffing requirements have escalated beyond assessment growth in growth municipalities.  Even in low growth or no growth municipalities, call volumes have grown steadily year-over year.  ...]]> http://performanceconcepts.ca/the-aging-tsunami/ Well it is a Sunday during the NFL playoffs.  My beloved Steelers have been eliminated, but it occurs to me that football can deliver insights for those of us interested in organizational performance. Football teams follow the classic plan-deliver-evaluate model of results based management every week of the season.  Teams carefully manage their inputs (players) as well as outputs(scripted plays) and outcomes (e.g. 3rd down conversions). Huge emphasis is placed on execution of process by eleven interacting employees focused on well understood “desired results”.  Clarity of purpose and clear lines of sight between tasks and results permeate the culture of football.  Adaptable planning that reflects changing circumstances is a must-have during the season and during a game – the much discussed “half time adjustments”.

I guess my point is football and other sports provide us with a useful and fun archetype ...]]> http://performanceconcepts.ca/football-as-a-performance-metaphor/ Greetings!  Todd MacDonald here from Performance Concepts Consulting.  I hope this blog becomes a place where municipal clients, interested stakeholders, academics, students and consulting colleagues gather to share ideas, compare notes, argue constructively, and grow together.  I am very excited about the dialogue and discussions to come! The sky is the limit in terms of topics – management guru stuff, operational stuff, performance measurement, strategic planning, change management, local government politics/leadership.  I will jump around when posting – various municipal services or various management tools, techniques or issues.  Personally and professionally I want this blog to be an incubator of ideas and business opportunities – after all the firm is called Performance CONCEPTS!  So by all means jump in and react to my posts or initiate a discussion.