Leading Indicators are used to get an idea of what might happen in the future. For example, air pressure may indicate something about the weather to come. The load factor in some industries may indicate the profits to come.
Many appraisal systems place an equal emphasis on leading indicators as on Key Result Areas (KRA). KRA is / are the final attributes that the Leading Indicators result in.
For example, high load factors result in higher profits in hotels, airlines, software industry. Profits depend also on many factors other than load factor. So now we briefly understand what a Leading indicaInd is and what a KRA is and how they are related.
For example, high load factors result in higher profits in hotels, airlines, software industry. Profits depend also on many factors other than load factor. So now we briefly understand what a Leading indicaInd is and what a KRA is and how they are related.
As to why Leading Indicators should be used in appraisals, I have never been sure. Would we judge our law and order situation based on how well the police have computerized their systems and how many CCTV cameras they have (both are Leading Indicators)? Or do we judge based on how safe the region is and how many unsolved crimes are in the area (KRA)? Some people prefer the Leading Indicators to judge, sometimes even in place of the KRA.
This article evaluates US airports based on their KRA's. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-of-the-biggest-u-s-airports-1542204004. Do check the article and see if there are leading indicators being used to evaluate an airport.
This article evaluates US airports based on their KRA's. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-of-the-biggest-u-s-airports-1542204004. Do check the article and see if there are leading indicators being used to evaluate an airport.
Recently, a friend of mine was complaining about her new prescription glasses. She had gotten an eye test done couple of weeks back and found that her eye power had increased.
She told me that with her new spectacles things were still blurred. I asked her what the issue was, whether she wasn't happy with the frame. She said the frame was ok but the lens was not. The lens was thicker than those in the glasses she previously wore.
I know her to be a queen of Leading Indicators.
"So?" I asked her. She indicated that perhaps the lens was not of right thiickness and hence her vision was (likely to be) blurred.
Aah. The Leading Indicator had triumphed again over the actual KRA. How she determined whether her vision was blurred was not by checking whether she could or couldn't see things well. It was by looking at Leading Indicators such as how the lens was made.
Since I have seen her use Leading Indicators, not even in addition to but, often in place of KRAs I could guess what might have happened.
I had previously suspected that Leading Indicators served another purpose, a nefarious one. This was to indicate the presence of a poor condition for the KRA even if the actual value of the KRA was acceptable.
"Since you raised your voice, you must be angry" is another example of such a (incorrect) focus on Leading Indicator.
Usually anger is indicated by a loud voice. Though plenty of people do not raise their voice even when they are in a rage. And many people are excitable and use a loud voice when they are discussing something interesting.
The Key Indicator focused person attributes it to the KRA. He implicitly assumes that the Leading Indicator ALWAYS leads to the KRA. If the voice is raised, then the person must be angry. If the lens is heavier than before, then her vision must be blurred.
Maybe when a person is extremely focused on sensory information he uses these info, which he has no trouble acquiring, to avoid spending the effort to make a decision ("is he really angry, even if his voice is raised?", "Is my vision really blurred, even if my lens is thicker than before?")
These decisions requiring S2 take too much effort and hence a lazy person takes the easier S1 way out. He goes by the raw sensory information and compares it with data and rules stored in his memory ("if someone is angry, his voice will be raised") to reach a decision.
For an intro into S1, S2 read https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2017/10/thinking-fast-and-slow-daniel-kahnemann.html
It's one thing for a princess to toss and turn, unable to sleep and then find the cause to be a pea in her bed. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Pea)
It's quite another for a queen to detect a pea in her bed and hence conclude that she didn't sleep well.
Laziness takes us places.
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