I have gained some extra pounds since the beginning of this year and this has hurt my right ankle a bit. For the past 3 months, I have been planning but failing to have a continuous physical regimen that will bring my body to a comfortable weight …until I found my new buddy – my Wii Fit Plus! It has been more than a week of Wii Fit training and I have not missed a day of fun workout. I definitely feel much better now. There is no hidden secret why Wii Fit has been so effective. What keep me coming back are the daily body tests that allows me to monitor my progress as compared to the goal that I set. The Wii Fit performance dashboards are amazing control measures! 

If performance measures are so effective in driving personal results, how does it relate to business? This is what this article is about — my reflections on the business of my Wii Fit Plus experience. 

Set Your Goals and Charting Progress 

When I first played Wii Fit Plus, I was asked to set a goal for myself concerning my Body Mass Index (BMI). So I set where I’d like to end up — including the timeframe. Goals and graphs appear on the calendar so it’s easy to visually see my progress towards my goal. Another fun thing was receiving feedback from my personal Wii trainer – giving me pointers and encouraging me towards meeting my goals. 

In business, this can be likened to the combination of your strategic objectives setting and performance management system. Normally, you start the year off with a planning session. This is the time when you lay out your strategic plans and goals. Once you have those strategic plans, they are translated to tactical objectives and then into operational goals. Most organizations have multiple business units, divisions and departments, each with their own responsibilities, processes and applications. Those tactical and operational goals trickle downward to individual employees. As you can imagine, in such a complex organization, the question is: How can you monitor and measure your progress towards the organization’s business goals? How do you encourage each department to continue working towards meeting those goals? 

Business Intelligence and Performance Dashboards 

Wii Fit Plus provided simple graphs detailing my progress with my BMI, weight, Wii Fit Age and Fit Credits, as well as a calendar to monitor my training and goals. I was able to compare the calendar and graphs with my wife’s on the same Wii Fit Plus game, so both of us got involved. 

In my opinion, the graphs represent the Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Dashboard. The BI and Performance Dashboards are part of the company’s performance management system and is also the organization’s magnifying glass. It is composed of anything from daily operational reports to weekly tactical analysis and a single-screen cockpit that provides Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the business. Business Intelligence and Performance Dashboards allow the business to: 

• Monitor – supervise key processes using key performance indicators that prompt alerts when potential deviation and problems arises.
• Evaluate – analyze the possible causes of the problem by exploring relevant and timely information from different levels and multiple perspectives.
• Manage – direct organization and processes to improve decision, optimize performance, refine strategy and steer the business in the right direction. 

The best way that executives can drive their business today is through an interactive dashboard that contains both historic and forward looking measures. Using performance dashboards, executives can view and analyze information about business results and the activities they manage. For middle managers, it will help them view departmental business metrics at a glance and drill down quickly to smaller segments of actionable information. 

Business Intelligence and Performance Dashboards are powerful agents of change. They help business reach their goals. This is much like how my Wii Plus charts has helped me achieve my personal targets!

Photo courtesy of Wii Fit Plus and SAP Business Suite.