So many want to control and manage, while so few want to be controlled and managed

We seem to have forgotten that «a target is not the target». Performance is not about hitting a given number. What we want is the best possible performance, given the circumstances. Setting targets is one way of achieving this, but not the only way, and often not the best way.

'The budget is in the best case totally unnecessary, and in the worst case actively harmful'. Jan Wallander - former CEO Handelsbanken (RIP)

19-20 mars kjører jeg en todagers Beyond Budgeting masterclass i Oslo. Påmelding her bit.ly/3NkvSNl

Beyond Budgeting starts, but does not end with challenging budgeting. It challenges traditional management; that employees can't be trusted and that the future is predictable and planable.

Control is expensive. Trust is free. Do the math. Don't throw everybody in jail just because someone abuse it, but deal firmly with trust abusers.

Handelsbanken UK with record results. Here is UK CEO Mikael Sørensen:

'Our results reflect the success of our unique management model, with a never-ending commitment to customer satisfaction. We have never used short-term incentives like sales targets or individual bonuses.'

Individual bonus is nothing but managerial laziness. It is easy to dangle carrots, it doesn’t take much leadership.

Individual bonus is nothing but laziness. It is easy to dangle carrots, it doesn’t take much leadership.

Going Beyond Budgeting is not just about changing what we do. It is even more about changing how we think, which is the hardest part.

There are many issues with targets. How do we know upfront, with a lot of uncertainty, what the right number is? What we really want is the best possible performance, given the circumstances. This can only be assessed afterwards, not decided upfront.

A budget guarantees that planned cost is spent, but sadly not that planned revenue is earned.

If your management model assumes that the future is predictable, you are in big trouble. If it also assumes that your employees can’t be trusted, you are in even bigger trouble.

We have forgotten that «a target is not the target». Performance is not about hitting a given number. What we want is the best possible performance, given the circumstances. Setting targets is one way of achieving this, but not the only way, and often not the best way.

Detailed budgets are great for managers who don't like to make decisions. Someone decided for you. You even have someone to blame!

If individual bonus is so important for motivation, how come executives need the biggest dose? Shouldn't these be some of the most exciting places to work?

Those believing Beyond Budgeting is just about budgets are just as wrong as those thinking Agile is just about software development.

It's crazy that the avg employee can't order a $300 office chair without a manager's sign-off! It's time to stop infantilizing employees. Pushing authority down pays BIG dividends. Here at 2 pieces of recent evidence, from KKR and AJPH, that buttress the case.

Keynote at Regional Scrum Gathering Balkans in Belgrade today. Great audience at a great conference in a great city!

Great turnout at our Beyond Budgeting Roundtable meeting in London today. Merck presenting their great award-winning Beyond Budgeting case.