The AI Edition of Performance Magazine – Print Edition takes on a challenge many professionals face but rarely stop to question: when we talk about artificial intelligence (AI), are we even speaking the same language? 

Across the issue, readers will find practical pieces focused on specific use cases, business-relevant applications, and emerging challenges. From machine learning basics and prompt engineering techniques to risks in AI adoption and the global regulatory landscape, the edition focuses on how professionals can work with AI in clear, grounded ways.

This approach reflects a core idea explored by the edition’s guest editor, Islam Salahuddin—a former data consultant and facilitator at Systaems with ongoing studies in AI. In “The Problem of AI Is a Problem of Language,” he argues that confusion about AI begins before anyone starts using a tool. He writes that while the field covers everything from robotics and autonomous systems to generative models and chatbots, many professionals speak about AI as if it’s a single thing. This creates misunderstandings that ripple through strategy discussions, tool selection, and expectations around performance.

Salahuddin outlines three areas where the confusion takes root: definition, taxonomy, and perception. He describes how researchers often try to sort these challenges out through frameworks and classification systems, but these rarely reach business audiences. As a result, terms like machine learning or deep learning either get used interchangeably or misunderstood entirely. 

Part of the problem, Salahuddin writes, lies in how quickly AI references shift. A few years ago, people talked about AI in the context of robots or smart devices. Now, many mean tools like ChatGPT, even though these represent only part of the broader field. Rather than offer a fixed interpretation of AI, the essay encourages business professionals to recognize how their own assumptions shape their understanding.

Where Technical Expertise Meets Language

Salahuddin’s piece sets the tone for the rest of the edition—not just in content, but in its call for clarity and critical thinking. That perspective emerges not only from technical expertise but also from his interest in how ideas are framed and understood. He approaches AI as someone attuned to the role of language in guiding perception, decisions, and strategy.

Drawing on over a decade of experience across data analytics, information design, and communication, he brings a thoughtful approach to how organizations use data for strategy and impact. He is also certified as a data analyst and trainer by Microsoft. His work spans the public and private sectors—from performance management solutions to research and training—always focused on making analytics more accessible and relevant.

Alongside his technical work, he remains engaged in writing and creative projects, often exploring the connections between data, storytelling, and culture. He believes that bridging disciplines—whether through visualization or language—is key to understanding today’s complex challenges.

Read his full essay in Performance Magazine – Print Edition, Issue No. 33 (The AI Edition), now available as a free digital download via the TKI Marketplace. Print copies can also be ordered through Amazon (standard printing and shipping fees apply).

In 2025, the global travel and tourism industry is projected to contribute USD 11.7 trillion to the world’s GDP, which represents more than 10% of the global economy, and support over 371 million jobs worldwide. The continued rise in international visitor spending, combined with ongoing digital transformation, underscores the need for data-driven decision-making across all levels of the sector.

In this context, performance measurement has become increasingly important. As technological advancements transform service delivery and customer expectations continue to change, key performance indicators (KPIs) may serve as crucial tools for managing financial results, improving guest experiences, optimizing service operations, and controlling costs.

To support hospitality professionals in navigating such developments, The KPI Institute has released the Top 25 Hospitality and Tourism KPIs – 2025 Edition. This publication highlights the most impactful KPIs based on global usage and relevance to industry practice. Whether it’s evaluating revenue per available seat hour or monitoring available square meter utilization, the report offers practical insights for professionals as they align performance measurement with organizational goals. To provide a glimpse into the report, here are five of the top KPIs included in the 2025 edition:

• $ Revenue per available seat hour (RevPASH): Measures the amount of revenue earned for each available seat per hour of operation. This KPI helps managers identify peak usage times and adjust pricing or staffing to maximize revenue.
• $ Total revenue per available room (TRevPAR): Measures the total revenue earned per available room, accounting for both room sales and additional services offered by the hotel. By tracking this KPI, hotels can better understand revenue sources and adjust pricing and sales tactics accordingly.

• $ Revenue per available customer (RevPAC): Measures the average amount of revenue generated from each customer over the reporting period. Understanding customer spending patterns and customer types through RevPAC can guide marketing and service strategies.

• $ Revenue per available square meter (RevPAM): Measures the revenue generated per square meter from non-room areas within a hotel, including workspaces, parking, meeting rooms, and event venues. This KPI reveals which areas generate the most revenue, helping managers decide where to better allocate resources.

• # Length of stay in hotel: Measures the average duration of a guest’s stay in terms of nights spent at the hotel. This KPI can provide insights into guest stay patterns to help hotels adjust pricing, manage room availability, or plan staff schedules more efficiently.

This report is part of the Top 25 KPIs – 2025 series developed by The KPI Institute. The series explores the application of the performance measurement framework and addresses challenges related to effective KPI implementation. It also features updated content and enhanced documentation form templates that present the most relevant information for each KPI to facilitate understanding, communication, and integration within performance management systems.

Explore the full report to gain valuable insights and enhance your organization’s performance measurement practices today. The Top 25 Hospitality and Tourism KPIs – 2025 Edition is now available for purchase via the TKI Marketplace. A printed version can also be ordered on Amazon. Get your copy today!

Is your organization prepared for the workforce of tomorrow? The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 reveals that 39% of core skills will change within the next decade. Analytical thinking, creativity, and strategic decision-making will become increasingly critical, while skills once considered essential may no longer meet organizational needs. Companies that fail to adapt risk falling behind, facing reduced productivity, disengaged employees, and slower strategic execution.

These trends highlight a decisive shift: organizations must go beyond traditional tools and processes. Success now requires access to collective expertise, proven frameworks, and strategies to reskill teams effectively. The KPI Institute, a global authority in strategy and performance management, emphasizes that professionals who engage with collaborative networks gain unique opportunities to benchmark practices, exchange insights, and accelerate performance improvements. Being part of such a community provides guidance, credibility, and a practical roadmap for navigating rapidly evolving workforce demands.

The KPI Institute offers structured programs designed to equip professionals for this future:

• Standard Program: Access to smartKPIs.com, KPI dictionaries, and exclusive research previews.

• Insight Program: Full research library access, analyst advisory support, and advanced performance management tools.

• Insight Plus Program: All Insight benefits plus complimentary certification programs, conference entry, and recognition as a professional member of the global network.

Joining The KPI Institute community connects professionals with a global network driving strategic performance standards. Members gain more than resources—they access peer learning, expert guidance, and a platform for continuous development. This engagement helps organizations adapt faster, align teams effectively, and implement evidence-based strategies that drive real results.

In a world where workforce skills are evolving at unprecedented speed, connecting with experts and peers is no longer optional—it’s essential. Explore which program best matches your professional goals and start leveraging the resources and community that will help you and your organization thrive: Sign up here!

Cassie Kozyrkov, Google’s first-ever chief decision scientist and founder of consulting firm Kozyr, is best known for championing decision intelligence—a field that helps leaders move beyond instinct and data overload toward clarity and structure. In an exclusive interview for Performance Magazine’s AI Edition, she argues that many leaders still get AI wrong by focusing on automation rather than decision quality.

Kozyrkov draws a sharp line between tool use and automation. She points out that the former empowers employees to use AI systems like ChatGPT or Claude to do better work, while the latter involves handing off decisions entirely to machines. Leaders often conflate the two, she warns, launching AI projects without asking whether they truly understand what outcomes they’re pursuing.

Instead of starting with data, Kozyrkov believes that a good AI strategy starts with intent. “The answers are cheap now,” she says. “It’s the questions that are valuable.” For her, prompting is a leadership skill—one that requires clarity about what success looks like and how to recognize it. Off-the-shelf metrics, like accuracy or speed, often miss the point if they’re not tied to the organization’s core priorities.

Kozyrkov also emphasizes the importance of technical fluency at the leadership level—not necessarily coding expertise, but enough knowledge to manage complexity and ask the right questions. She warns that a “non-technical leader who ignores the technology is a hazard” and that trust, especially in external vendors or automated systems, should always be earned—not assumed.

The conversation spans real-world examples, like AI-driven parking lot metrics and automation misfires, to broader themes of governance and accountability. Kozyrkov calls for what she terms a “new breed of leader”: someone who understands that in a world flooded with tools, what matters most is judgment.

Read the full interview in Performance Magazine – Print Edition, Issue No. 33 (The AI Edition), now available as a free digital download via the TKI Marketplace. Print copies can also be ordered through Amazon (standard printing and shipping fees apply).

Sales teams face nonstop pressure to hit targets, track performance, and respond to changing customer behavior. Metrics are everywhere, but using them well takes the right approach—and the right tools.

This roundup collects materials from The KPI Institute designed to help managers and teams get better at measuring, understanding, and improving sales performance. While some of these resources were created in earlier years, their content remains directly useful for today’s performance work. Expect practical examples, clear KPIs, and frameworks that still apply across industries.

1. KPIs for Sales Performance: This infographic outlines key metrics across the sales function. It highlights how sales KPIs support broader strategy and provides examples for tracking outcomes at multiple levels. Part of The KPI Institute’s cross-functional KPI series.
2. KPIs for Sales Cycle: Focuses on the process behind every sale—from lead generation to close. This resource groups KPIs based on sales cycle stages and helps with tracking both time and conversion at each point. Also part of the cross-functional KPI series.
3. KPIs for Sales Force: Covers metrics used to evaluate individual and team performance across sales roles. Includes examples related to activity levels, pipeline contribution, and revenue impact. One of several functional KPI infographics developed for targeted use in departments.
4. KPI of the Month: % Sales Conversion Rate: This infographic breaks down one of the most discussed KPIs in sales: conversion rate. It covers what the number really tells you, how to calculate it, and how to use it in context. Built for anyone who needs more than just a surface-level metric.
5. Top 25 Sales KPIs – 2016 Extended Edition: This report lists the most popular sales KPIs as used by professionals worldwide between 2009 and 2015. It includes two pages of documentation per KPI, plus articles on setup and selection. A reliable reference for refreshing your KPI framework or comparing current metrics to established ones.
6. The Sales and Customer Service KPI Dictionary: Covers over 220 KPIs across sales and customer service. Built for teams setting up measurement systems or fine-tuning existing ones. Includes formulas, category groupings, and terminology definitions that hold up across roles and industries.
7. Leveraging Data for Improving Sales and Marketing by Understanding the Customers: This article outlines how to use customer data to improve targeting, messaging, and performance. Focused on practical steps for translating insights into better sales and marketing alignment.
8. How Innovation Helps the Growth of Digital Sales: Explores how new tools and ideas are changing digital sales environments. The piece connects real shifts in buyer behavior with new ways of working in sales.
9. 5 Ways You Can Boost the Sales Value of Your Green Business: Gives practical tactics for making sustainable products more compelling to buyers. This article looks at sales messaging, pricing, and customer expectations tied to green business models.

These resources give sales teams structure, not just ideas. Whether you’re rebuilding your KPI system or trying to improve daily decisions, they offer real support for getting better outcomes from your efforts!

Performance Magazine has released its newest print issue, and this time, it focuses on one of the most defining changes in today’s workplace: AI in strategy and performance. Performance Magazine Issue – Print Edition, Issue No. 33 (The AI Edition) explores how artificial intelligence is influencing not just tools and workflows but the deeper layers of how organizations plan, execute, and evaluate performance.

The cover story features Cassie Kozyrkov, Google’s first ever chief decision scientist. Rather than echoing the dominant automation narrative, Kozyrkov calls for a return to disciplined thinking. Her reflections point to a core concern in strategy work today: how to make better decisions, faster, with the support of AI—not at the cost of human oversight. She draws attention to the difference between replacing judgment and reinforcing it, which frames much of what the rest of the edition explores.

Among the features is a practical explainer on how machine learning works, covering its core structure, main types, and underlying learning processes. Another article offers historical context that traces how AI has developed over time, helping distinguish durable progress from hype.

One article takes a closer look at the role of AI in strategy and performance, showing how machine learning models are being used to assess current conditions, simulate future outcomes, and support strategic direction. It also explores how AI contributes to performance management by helping set more accurate targets, cascade KPIs across levels, and monitor progress with predictive insights.

Several articles explore how AI is embedded in the daily flow of work. These cover its integration into familiar tools and platforms, the rise of AI agents, and the increasing importance of prompt engineering as a technical skill. On the governance front, readers will find a scan of AI regulatory developments around the world, focusing on how companies are adjusting policies and compliance mechanisms to match legal expectations.

The Interviews section brings in a mix of technical, academic, and legal perspectives. Alongside Kozyrkov are voices like Tarry Singh, Professor J. Mark Bishop, Frank Naussbaum, and Dr. Jon Truby, who discuss the operational, ethical, and structural implications of adopting AI at scale.

Closing the edition is a contribution from guest editor Islam Salahuddin, a data consultant and facilitator at Systaems. He is certified as a data analyst and trainer by Microsoft and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in AI. In his essay, he explores how much of the confusion around AI stems from language itself. Even the term “AI” can mean entirely different things depending on background or experience. This confusion, he argues, is especially present in business conversations, where abstract terms often blur rather than clarify. 

Performance Magazine Issue – Print Edition, Issue No. 33 (The AI Edition) is now available as a free digital download via the TKI Marketplace. Print copies can be ordered through Amazon, with standard printing and shipping fees applied.