Book excerpt: This important new book presents a systematic approach to analyzing and improving performance in organizations. The most promising approaches to systematic strategic needs analysis, competency model development, curriculum design, learning intervention design and development, and program evaluation are explained. The author shows, step-by-step, how best to implement competency-based performance improvement programs. In addition, case studies of three organizations (private and governmental) detail the actual experiences and benefits that these organizations realized in their performance improvement efforts.