Measuring to learn whilst learning to measure

Purpose – A measurement system that strives to close the gaps between measures, vision and culture by aligning the cognitive and affective domains will address all the substantive measurement issues faced by leaders in complex organizations, thereby enabling the potential for organizational learning, enhanced decision making and sustainable performance improvement to be realized. This paper aims to explore the key technical (strategic) and social (cultural) issues that underpin the design and implementation of such integrated systems and the supporting tools and techniques available. Design/methodology/approach – This article analyses measurement systems and how they apply to decision makers. Findings – The paper identifies vision, culture and measures as the elements of performance that must be aligned, highlighting the key dangers of misalignment and necessary remedial actions. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the importance of an organization's vision, culture and measures, and the need for the measurement system to address the cognitive (learning to measure) and affective (measuring to learn) domains. It defines new roles for practitioners and highlights the dangers that these bring despite the potential benefits for decision‐makers.