Transparent Measurement Research Turnaround
Measure visible performance, spread expertise, and reward merit to lift the team.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 97%
The method combines comprehensive measurement with radical internal transparency and structured peer learning. Leaders first identify observable indicators spanning activity, quality, client contact, commercial contribution, and outcomes. Results are posted openly so competitive professionals can see where they lead or lag. Competition is balanced by a cross-promotion rule: each specialist must understand and mention colleagues' relevant work, increasing both collaboration and organizational reach. High performers then teach their concrete techniques to the rest of the team, turning individual strengths into shared capability. Merit-based recognition, equal compensation standards, flexible working support, and continued measurement widen the available talent pool without sacrificing accountability. The mechanism converts a collection of isolated experts into a visible, mutually reinforcing performance system.
Origin
Jack Rivkin applied the method while rebuilding Lehman Brothers' poorly ranked research department. The department reached first place in roughly three years, and Harvard Business School subsequently taught the turnaround as a service-organization management case. Extracted from Masters in Business.
Core principles
- 01Measure behavior and outcomes rather than appearances.
- 02Make performance information visible to create constructive accountability.
- 03Require experts to promote and understand colleagues' work.
- 04Turn top performers' tacit knowledge into shared training.
- 05Support flexible working when objective results remain measurable.
- 06Recruit overlooked talent through a genuine meritocracy.
How to run it
- 1
Create a blank-slate mandate
Establish permission to change staffing, culture, training, and operating practices rather than protecting inherited routines. Set a concrete improvement target so the turnaround has a shared destination.
Pro tip Use the poor starting position to challenge assumptions about what is sacred.
Watch out A nominal mandate without authority to change systems or personnel will stall.
- 2
Measure the whole contribution
Track activity, analytical outcomes, written quality, internal engagement, client contact, and commercial impact. Use several indicators so no single metric becomes a misleading proxy for performance.
Pro tip Combine leading indicators such as client calls with lagging indicators such as track records and client ratings.
Watch out Counting only volume can reward busywork and damage quality.
- 3
Publish performance visibly
Post the measurements so team members can compare their performance and identify where they need to improve. Keep definitions consistent and explain how each measure is calculated.
Pro tip Present the data as a development tool as well as an accountability mechanism.
Watch out Opaque or selectively applied rankings will destroy trust.
- 4
Force cross-promotion
Require every specialist to mention relevant colleagues and their work in client conversations and reports. This makes employees learn the broader team's capabilities while distributing attention beyond individual stars.
Pro tip Ask for a substantive reason for each reference so mentions do not become ceremonial.
Watch out Forced mentions without relevance will sound artificial to clients.
- 5
Turn excellence into training
Identify employees who lead on particular skills and have them explain exactly how they work. Use internal recognition and teaching to transfer practical techniques across the department.
Pro tip Choose narrow teachable practices, such as structuring calls or analyzing balance sheets.
Watch out Do not assume senior or experienced employees no longer need training.
- 6
Build a supported meritocracy
Recruit overlooked talent, standardize compensation around merit, and provide flexibility for family or personal needs. Continue measuring results so flexibility and accountability reinforce each other.
Pro tip Use objective output data to make flexible arrangements easier to defend.
Watch out Calling a culture meritocratic while retaining unequal rewards will undermine the entire system.
- 7
Reinforce collegial competition
Use off-sites, unconventional exercises, and shared development activities to prevent visible rankings from producing isolated rivals. Celebrate team progress alongside individual performance.
Pro tip Select activities that help people understand different working and thinking styles.
Watch out Competition without collegial reinforcement can encourage metric gaming and information hoarding.
In the wild
Rivkin inherited a research department described as poorly regarded and near the bottom of industry rankings. His team measured calls, stock records, writing quality, salesforce contact, client contact, and client ratings, then posted the results openly. Analysts had to mention colleagues' work, leading performers taught their methods, and the organization recruited and supported women on equal terms. The planned five-year improvement reached its target in about three years.
→ The department became the number-one-ranked research organization and the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.
A struggling client-success department could track retention, response quality, customer meetings, expansion revenue, and client feedback. It could publish a balanced dashboard, ask each manager to introduce relevant specialists during reviews, and have leaders teach specific renewal or escalation techniques. Flexible schedules would remain available because delivered outcomes, rather than desk presence, would determine performance.
→ The team gains clearer accountability, broader client coverage, and faster diffusion of effective practices.
Common mistakes
Reducing performance to one metric
A single activity count invites gaming and misses quality, outcomes, and collaboration. Use a balanced set of measures that captures the full contribution.
Publishing rankings without support
Visibility alone can humiliate low performers or create internal rivalry. Pair transparency with coaching, peer instruction, and collegial team-building.
Claiming meritocracy without equal treatment
Unequal compensation or inflexible practices contradict merit-based evaluation and repel overlooked talent. Align rewards and support with measured contribution.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for leaders rebuilding competitive professional-service or research teams whose output and client impact can be tracked.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal where performance indicators are unreliable, easily gamed, or likely to expose confidential individual information.
From the transcript
“We measured everything, and we measured it very openly.”
“We posted it so everybody could see it.”
“I instituted a rule that's at any time you were out with a client and you talked about what you were doing, and even in…”
From the episode
Masters in Business: Altegris Group CIO Jack Rivkin (Audio)
Jack Rivkin