Management information should not only be reliable, but above all relevant.

By Hugo Postma

Over 20 years ago, Oscar van Leeuwen developed the 'Spinning Top model'. A method to determine what information you need as a manager to properly manage your organisation. His ideas from back then are still relevant today. According to managers who use the model, it is the best there is in this field. Recently, a new English-language publication was published entirely devoted to the model.

What reports do I need to properly lead and manage my organisation? It is a question on the minds of many executives, and one that is currently more urgent than ever with the tsunami of digital data being poured over organisations and their executives.

Prof Oscar van Leeuwen has now been a professor for more than 20 years Administrative Information Management at VU University Amsterdam. He is also a partner at Improven. In the mid-1990s, he developed the Spinning Top model that helps answer this question. The model supports managers in designing exactly the right reports and underlying dataset for their type of organisation. To this day, no more complete alternative has emerged. Due to international interest, including at colleges and universities, there is now an English-language publication devoted entirely to the model. Van Leeuwen wrote it together with his VU colleague Jon Bergsma. A good time to ask Van Leeuwen what makes the Spinning Top model so special.

What do managers actually gain from working with the Spinning Top model?

Oscar van Leeuwen: 'In essence, it produces a situation where you can make better decisions as a manager. Better decisions means a better-functioning organisation and, if it concerns a company, a better result at the bottom line, more profit. Good information is vital for managers. That seems like an open door, but take the demise of ABN AMRO: as evidenced by The Prey of Jeroen Smit, people at that bank did not know exactly where profits and where losses were being made. There were also constant arguments between directors about results. So decisions were taken without having the right information. As it turned out later, the wrong decisions were made. That could have been prevented with a proper reporting set.'

You did a lot of research on management information in the mid-1990s, you also did a PhD on it, what prompted you to start working on this topic? What did you see around you?

Oscar van Leeuwen: 'Research from the 1980s and early 1990s showed that managers were not satisfied with the steering information they had to work with. I investigated why that was. One of the reasons was that the information received was one-sided and often irrelevant. Information was generated from one perspective. I then developed a model in which I integrated all the perspectives known at the time and also added new elements. To date, to my knowledge, there is no model that is more complete. Nor have I come across any new elements that I think should be included. Based on experience, I know that directors really like working with this model and are satisfied with the possibilities it offers to determine what information they need.'

"Research from the 1980s and early 1990s showed that managers were not satisfied with the steering information they had to work with. I investigated why that was."

Don't managers themselves know best what information and data they need to lead and direct their organisation?

Oscar van Leeuwen: 'You would indeed say that and if you ask a manager what information he or she needs, an answer usually follows immediately. But it is far from certain that this actually leads to the desired results. Managers' knowledge and skills vary and their full diaries often leave them insufficient time to think carefully about an answer. In fact, they often steer more by gut feeling. With the checklists that accompany the model, they have more overview and can make well-considered choices. It is a tool. The Spinning Top model combines all relevant aspects of an organisation that determine management's information needs. Those who use the model can be sure that nothing is forgotten and that what they use is actually relevant to have as information.'

What distinguishes the Spinning Top model from, for example, the widely used COSO ICF framework?

Oscar van Leeuwen: 'The COSO ICF framework emphasises the reliability of information. This is also stressed by regulators. Many accounting information and internal control systems also emphasise data reliability. And that is certainly also very important. But by emphasising reliability, they often lose sight of relevance. To manage, information must not only be reliable, but also relevant for steering an organisation. The idea that steering information should be relevant to managers is, by the way, widely accepted. But strangely enough, too little is still being done with it. The only method that offers a thorough and structured approach to this is this model, in which it is truly unique.

Incidentally, reliability is not a foregone conclusion either. While the COSO-ICF model offers a useful starting point, it needs to be worked out for everyday practice. Together with Jon Bergsma, I elaborated on this in the series 'Administrative Information Management‘.

"The idea that steering information should be relevant to managers is widely accepted. But too little is still being done with it."

The Spinning Top model covers aspects such as mission, critical success factors, goals, strategy, processes, structures, culture and management style. That's quite a lot. How do you tackle it if you want to get started with the model? How do you avoid getting bogged down in an abundance of information?

Oscar van Leeuwen: 'When I advise organisations on designing a relevant reporting set based on the model, I usually start by doing desk research focusing on the aspects of the model in combination with workshops. Once I have determined through my preliminary research what type of information might be involved, the relevant managers choose during workshops using the checklists from the model what information needs they actually have. When consensus is reached on this, we have a prototype made. This is evaluated several times. Only when the prototype works to everyone's satisfaction do we have the application built and rolled out.'

Are there any pitfalls during the implementation process? What could go wrong?

Oscar van Leeuwen: 'The biggest pitfall is at the end of the implementation process. It is important to make sure everyone knows how to use the application. So don't simply send around a link, but organise a plenary meeting where you present and demonstrate the tool and where everyone is given the opportunity - actually, you should say forced - to practice. If necessary, visit individual managers to spar with them for half an hour. That way you can be sure that the system lands well in the organisation.'

For more information on the book:

Oscar van Leeuwen and Jon Bergsma, The Spinning Top model. Designing relevant information for managers, 2017 A&W Publishing, Raalte, the Netherlands.

ISBN 978-94-90957-12-4