2026-06-29
Use field reports for management decisions: make facts the material for decision-making
Management decisions drift from the field's reality because raw facts don't reach the top. The flow for turning the field's facts accumulated in reports into material for management decision-making.
Why decisions drift from the field
The classic way management decisions drift from the field's sense is that information gets over-summarized on the way up and the raw reality disappears. When only numbers remain in the end, the 'why it happened' behind them is invisible and the measures tend to miss. Even when you want to ask the field why a number moved, the person's memory may have faded and it can't be traced.
Reports are primary information before processing
The field's P, D, C and A are primary information not yet summarized. Each is small, but read together as a trend they reveal a field reality that numbers don't show. The report is a valuable source where the facts remain before processing. For example, if the same kind of stumble appears repeatedly in several people's C entries, you can form the hypothesis that it may be a problem of the system rather than of individuals.
Raise trends by week and by department
Rather than sending individual reports straight to management, bundle them into trends by week and by department. By tidying the grain, management receives not individual task reports but trends of what's happening in the field, in a form usable for decisions. When bundling, sorting by the purposes management uses, such as 'growing pain points,' 'ideas that are working,' and 'issues needing a decision,' makes it easier to read. Avoid wording that identifies individuals and convey it as a trend.
It coexists with a minimal-retention design
Using the field's facts for decisions and not hoarding data can coexist. Keep long-term storage of the source data in the customer's own Drive and limit our server's retention to at most 24 hours. Grasp trends by reading the facts accumulated on the customer's side, so it works without the server hoarding logs. A design that uses facts and one that doesn't hoard are not in conflict.
How to review whether it's working
Periodically look back at whether the trend reports are actually used in management decisions. A report that goes unread may have the wrong grain or angle. Have management reply with 'this is the viewpoint we want,' and adjust how you bundle, and accuracy can rise without adding to the field's burden. At the review, also note in a line what was actually decided and what was set aside after receiving the trend report. When the reasoning is recorded, you can explain it to the field later, and the field more easily feels why it writes reports. Also, when facts that contradict the trend appear, it is a good rule of thumb to report them too rather than hide them, since bundling only the convenient side can lead to wrong decisions.
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