Page 251 - Performance Leadership

240 • Part IV Implementing the Performance Leadership Framework

much more IT know-how. Users want support of all kinds, from hand-
held devices on which to receive information to the ablility to buy their
favorite brand notebooks that could simply be connected to the cor-
porate network. Both the users and IT agree on how to measure the
reliability of the service, but this does not drive customer satisfaction
very much. The front office requires more flexibility.
Despite clarity on performance indicators and policies, the example
of the IT department shows that the intentions are equally as important
as the results. Different stakeholders have different intentions. And this
starts within the IT department, between development and operations.
Even with the right performance indicators in place, it will be a strug-
gle because both parts of IT have fundamentally different beliefs and
different cultures. Understanding the IT department’s performance net-
work creates a picture that can be used as a basis for the right discus-
sions. Natural behaviors will be better understood, leading to
stakeholder alignment, and a more optimized value chain.

Case Study 3:Athletixx Sportshoes
Performance networks are not static. Partners come and go, based on
new innovations and collaborations. Market dynamics change, affect-
ing the power of the various stakeholders. Because of fluctuations in
the economy, buyers’ markets may change into sellers’ markets or new
business models, and intermediaries need to reinvent themselves. Ath-
letixx Sportshoes (another fictitious name) shows the impact of chang-
ing market dynamics on the performance network.
Athletixx Sports is a global brand of footwear and sportswear. It
started as a brand specifically for soccer players, but it is now active in
many different sports. The company sponsors a rock band, and many
of the fans want to wear the same sneakers and shirts. The company
was very traditionally organized and operated a traditional performance
network (see Figure 12.7). (In reality the performance network also
includes other stakeholders such as regulators and activist groups, but
this is a simplified example. The numbers in the figure show where the
process starts at step 1 and how it consequently flows). Athletixx works
with contract manufacturers; they are supplied with the designs and
have to produce the products in high quantities to cater to the various