The Kort House

Random thoughts of the one not in charge.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@TownsUsa Kearney, Nebraska

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@TaraBull Correct.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@ThoughtCrimes80 Never see a cop. Always see cars swimming in and out of traffic at 90 + mph.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@RealJamesWoods Anyone think for themselves anymore? Or bother to do any research ? Or we just regurgitate whatever bullshit whatever side decides is the buzz of the moment? Post something relevant.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@PressSec @CNN And you are a lap dog to a horrible human being. Both things can be true I guess.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@SenWarren Racism is up. Sexism is up. Hate against LGBTQ is up. Blatant disregard for life is up.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@megynkelly You don’t have to like Women’s anything if you don’t want. You just have to not be a dick.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@KatieMiller He didn’t say he didn’t love America. He said it was complicated. Not agreeing with a government you believe is doing wrong, doesn’t mean we don’t love America. In fact, it’s just the opposite. We love America so much it sucks that America doesn’t match our values any more.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@1RickLewis @MailOnline Gotta be the hardest gig for any musician. Singing a super hard song that everyone has heard a million times in front of millions of viewers. No chance you’re getting out of there without critics. He’s no Whitney Houston but it sounded just ok to me.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@VicLombardi @Broncos The days of waxing on about snow bowls are over. Snow makes a bad product and dangerous conditions for the players. I’m all for a retractable roof.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@Tyler_Polumbus I wanted the points. Thought it was too early to go for it.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@JDVance When historians look back on this, you’ll be remembered as being on the wrong side. It’s never too late to become a decent human being.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@I_CU_boy Always take the points that early in the game especially when you’re ahead.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@SenatorRicketts Sending masked men to profile and terrorize communities is not enforcing immigration. Funding this hate is putting you on the wrong side of history. It’s ok to go against your party . Money isn’t worth your dignity.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@tedcruz Wow not headed to Mexico this time. You’re a brave, brave man.

[Simons @Simon_Ingari]

"Why does our top performer get the worst reviews?" the boss asked.

I was reviewing their annual performance data.

"Show me," I said.

She pulled up the ratings.
Diana: 2.8 out of 5.
Below average on "collaboration."
Low marks for "team player."

"What's her actual performance?" I asked.

"Exceeded every target.
Landed our biggest client.
Trained three new hires."

"So why the low scores?"

"Her peer reviews are dragging her down."

I scanned the comments.
"Too direct."
"Challenges ideas too much."
"Not supportive enough."

"Let me talk to Diana," I said.

"I used to give honest feedback," Diana told me.
"Said our pricing model was broken.
Got dinged for 'negativity.'"

"What happened with the pricing?"

"They finally fixed it six months later.
After we lost two major accounts."

"What else?"

"I questioned why we needed
eleven approvals for a simple contract change.
Manager said I wasn't being collaborative."

"Are you still giving feedback?"

"No. I learned my lesson.
Now I smile. Nod. Say everything's great.
My reviews are improving."

"But nothing's actually improving?"

"We're making the same mistakes.
Just with better vibes." She chuckled.

I went back to the boss.

"Your review system doesn't measure performance," I said.
"It measures compliance."

"That's not true."

"When was the last time someone
got promoted for challenging bad ideas?"

Silence.

"When did someone get rewarded for preventing a mistake?"

More silence.

"You've trained your best people to stay quiet.
And your mediocre people to stay nice."

A few months later, they redesigned the system.

Added a category: "Constructive Challenge."
Points for identifying problems early.
Rewards for preventing costly mistakes.

Diana got promoted.

"What changed?" I asked the boss.

"We stopped confusing agreement with alignment.
Stopped mistaking silence for harmony."

"And?"

"Turns out our 'difficult' people
were our most valuable.
They actually cared enough to speak up."

Here's the truth about performance reviews:

Most companies don't reward performance.
They reward performance theater.

The person who says the meeting was great
beats the person who says it wasted an hour.

The person who agrees with bad ideas
beats the person who prevents disasters.

You think you're measuring contribution.
You're measuring conformity.

And your best people?
They've already figured out the game.

They're just deciding whether to play it
or find somewhere that values truth over comfort.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

Presidential.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@KelbermanNFL Done

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@MLFootball Sounded normal to me.

[The Kort House @AndrewAKort]

@GoBigRedCast Happy for A&M. Still gutted it isn’t us.