Ed Morrison · BFD Learning Moment: Halifax Chamber measures its progress

February 3rd, 2009

A good example of a chamber using metrics to measure its progress and guide its strategy. The Halifax Chamber is not afraid of reporting the bad news:

  • Halifax off track on strategy

    • Browse the scorecard report

    In the old industrial economy, metrics performed a narrow function to maintain control. The industrial model separated the planning from the doing within large hierarchical organizations. Managers needed metrics to keep track of what was going on levels down within the organization. (At the same time, the distortion of industrial metrics by misguided cost accounting systems led many companies to misunderstand their competitive positions.)

    In a network-based economy, metrics play a different role. They help us characterize clear outcomes, and they are essential to learning what works.

    From the looks of it, the Greater Cleveland Partnership has yet to understand the difference. They appear to fear metrics, more than embrace them.

    Last 5 posts by Ed Morrison

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    Category: BFD
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    One Response to “BFD Learning Moment: Halifax Chamber measures its progress”

    1. Susan Miller Says:
      February 4th, 2009 at 10:11 am

      Thanks for the link, Ed. Another link at this site has this news quote: “Some have estimated that for every dollar government invests in this project, another five will be spent by the private developer.” (Gotta love the use of “some”.)

      http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1104535.html

      Not so in Clevehoga where government (taxpayers) will invest 1 billion to match a 20 million dollar investment from MMPI. How can we learn from that moment?

      Their port seems to have a failing grade, too. Aren’t we depending on the Port of Halifax for our port plans? Halifax as a feeder was among the “assumptions” for short sea shipping from as I recall.
      From yourfutureport.com: “Given the analyses in the previous two sections of this report, a Halifax-Cleveland Feeder service appears to be competitive from a transit time perspective on the Northern European, Singapore and Indian trade lanes, and while the Halifax-Cleveland Feeder does not hold a distinct relative cost advantage over the Port of New
      York/New Jersey, the feeder operation appears competitive with other port ranges on all trade routes with the exception of a Hong Kong routing.”

      Last time I saw the port’s plans a few weeks ago, Singapore and India were no longer being discussed and instead the port was concentrating on European trade routes.