TOP STORY

Why private equity needs performance management  "Perform or perish." So writes BusinessWeek of the demands private equity firms make of companies they acquire. How do CFOs survive in this tough new climate? By replacing spreadsheets with flexible systems and best guesses with precise results.   —March 24, 2008

ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:

Recommended reading for performance management pros  

Whether it's cholera, cement, or America's favorite game, business authors are finding new ways to tell the stories of data-driven decisions. Here we give you our choices for the best titles (and great reads) that should be on every manager's bookshelf.   —March 24, 2008

How solid is your performance management platform?

Integration. Integration. Integration. Not to put too fine a point on it, but deployments only succeed if data, applications, and capabilities mesh. The key? Make sure to start with a platform like the one we describe here.   —March 24, 2008

Solving the complexity challenge, sort of (Part 3 of 3) 

Managing BI complexity in your own shop? You're not alone: the last of our InformationWeek exclusives delves headfirst into ETL, integration, and the impact BI can have on existing IT infrastructures.   —March 24, 2008

How (and why) BI can go wrong (Part 2 of 3)

Companies buy BI with the best of intentions, but run into trouble if they're not ready for change. Here's why deployments go wrong, and what companies must do to see ROI.   —March 24, 2008

What's up with your handshake? An interview with Mark Jeffries 

In which the communications consultant, soft skills coach, and three-time host of Cognos Forum discusses his new book, how to build your personal brand, and the importance of increasing your "nods per minute."   —March 24, 2008

ON FINANCE:

Strategic flexibility: Your defense against the downturn

Whether we're in for a "long slog" or just a "shallow downturn," finance leaders' outlook is decidedly downbeat. McKinsey says you can avoid disaster, and with performance management you can even come out ahead.   —March 24, 2008

The Fast Close and performance management: More than distant cousins (Part 4 of 5) 

The sooner you have acccurate actuals, the sooner you can measure your progress, writes Gary Simon. Here, he explains how the Fast Close can act as the "engine" of your performance management goals.  —March 24, 2008

Share price going down: The real cost of poor forecasting

Every company makes forecasts, but only one in five gets it right, says KPMG. And while these fortunate few see their share price go up, the rest see theirs head south. Here's how to avoid the same fate.   —March 24, 2008

ON BUSINESS:

Manufacturing: In praise of 30/70 and the loose-tight relationship

What does it say about successful companies that they never touch their own products? That they understand our flattened world, where collaboration is key, customers are partners, and performance management tools connect every single dot.   —March 24, 2008

Lean manufacturing goes beyond the shop floor

The practice took Toyota to the top of the automotive world. Now retailers, banks, and even airlines are discovering that less is truly more. A look at why that is and why you'll need analysis, plans, and dashboards along the way.   —March 24, 2008

Performance management and a more productive public service

The math is simple. In the next 20 years, governments will pay more in pensions than they raise in taxes. But between cutting services and starving programs lies a better way using reports, metrics, and the right information.   —March 24, 2008

"Green Wave": An interview with Andrew Winston

Green issues are business issues, says the author of Green to Gold. It's a question of cutting costs and risk. Here, the metrics you need to ride the Green Wave and the ways to create value when you do.   —March 24, 2008