The Four Horsemen of the Rebound

The Four Horsemen of the Rebound

“Hey Honey – our energy costs are down, so let’s have another kid.” This is the absurd logic behind studies linked to a Utility Dive post last week. The subject is the retread canard of the rebound effect, specifically the hoax [sic] that if you use less energy, you...
Performance Programs, Ouija Boards, and Mark Twain

Performance Programs, Ouija Boards, and Mark Twain

I could not compete with my former self and Gene Simons from last week, but I went back to the Gallup psychoanalysis barrel for more inspiration. I don’t want to write about myself unless it helps you understand why I’m so, uh, peculiar. Like Mr. Simons, I’m an...
Performance-Based Programs; Do You Have the Delusion?

Performance-Based Programs; Do You Have the Delusion?

Employees at Michaels get a free psych-x profile (it’s not my area of expertise) to determine personal strengths through Gallup. My top strength is “context,” which means I’m a historian. What does this mean? I observe history, including my mistakes, others’ mistakes,...
Performance Programs, Ouija Boards, and Mark Twain

Impact Evaluation, Bull Riding, Cookies

I’ve been doing a lot of program impact evaluation for the last few months. That comes with pluses and minuses. One of the minuses is that I needed to suspend writing this blog for a while. Pluses include problem-solving, working with staff throughout our...