Operations Archives - Lighthouse Consulting Services

ERP Help for Companies Drowning in Data But Thirsting for Actionable Insight

By David Shaffer, ERP Practice Head, Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC

Do you feel it is “sink or swim” with the tidal wave of data that is hitting your business? “Data, data everywhere, and not a drop to help us think” is a common lament.

by thisisengineering-raeng

But there is a tremendous opportunity you might be missing that competitors are taking advantage of, including interactive dashboards. These highlight key performance indicators – clearly and concisely – so executives can make decisions based on data and reality and not in a vacuum.

These capabilities are powering a next generation change in how the deluge of data can help you make better decisions. Consider these quick examples:

A men’s grooming product maker successfully implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) to better track inventory and financial data.

A rapidly expanding confectioner used ERP to standardize thousands of chocolate-making processes and restructure an ineffective warehouse management system that could not keep pace.

A manufacturer of chemical products, which are used in electronics, automotive, and housing industries, implemented an ERP system to avoid human errors and to be able to automate workflows for increased productivity.

In each example, ERP was used to harness data.

Today, any business can obtain ROI with effective systems and processes that promote growth strategies.

Companies, regardless of industry, need to recognize the ever-growing need to integrate responsive information with optimal best practices within day-to-day operations. In the past, the selection of appropriate systems has been confined to those who have large budgets, resources, and time to do extensive evaluations and due diligence. That is no longer the case.

ERP Is The Mortar In The Brick Wall

To use a masonry metaphor, an ERP system is like mortar, the cement-like mixture of sand and lime that keep bricks in place. You can think of an ERP system working like the mortar that binds together the different computer systems for a large organization (your bricks). Without an ERP application, each department would have its system optimized for its specific tasks. With ERP software, each department still has its system, but all of the systems can be accessed through one application with one interface. The systems stand together like a strong brick wall.

by jonathan kemper

Please understand that the appropriate evaluation and selection of systems is equally critical and important to the success of the mid-size, growing business. Based on years of evaluation, support, and success, we have developed a proprietary process that brings the same value and benefits of past selection without introducing extensive costs. Our belief is that hard-earned dollars should be directed toward solution implementation and not toward selection.

We recommend a process that incorporates a series of integrated steps that quickly and efficiently highlight the following:

• Scenarios that mirror operations in order to test the viability of proposed solutions

• Accountability for vendors that align implementation of value applications with operational efficiencies

• Selecting software solutions that follow business processes from ordering through fulfillment rather than just specific application areas

Implementation And Project Management

To help position our clients for success, we created an ERP selection process called Quick Start, developed with the expertise of consultants who bring business and system knowledge to the selection process. Our team recognizes the value of your investment and have first-hand understanding of the impact effective systems and processes can have on meeting growth strategies.

by alexanderstein

The Quick Start process encompasses several key interrelated steps that build upon each other and are directed toward the selection and implementation of the Information System that meets your requirements. The process focuses on your unique and key business flows rather than the nice-to-see demonstrations that many vendors focus on during demonstrations.

We recommend the following steps to select an ERP system:

1. Begin The Right Way. Get a qualified consultant who has traveled this road many times. Start with an initial kickoff meeting to set expectations, including an outline of preliminary observations gathered through an interview and site walk-through evaluation process.

2. Make A List; Check It Twice. Based upon the preceding interviews and data gathering, develop and review a list of key requirements for the new system, comprising needs that are distinctive for strategic growth. Create a list of key requirements and key business scenarios. Receive suggestions based upon observations for possible operational efficiencies.

3. Set The Scenarios. Develop key business scenarios as a framework for software demonstrations Unlike most selections that focus exclusively on application capabilities, recognize that businesses rely on the flow of information across departments. Scenarios reflect overall flows from order through fulfillment.

4. Assure Accurate Scenarios. Review the key scenarios with interview participants to assure accuracy.

5. Round Up The Vendor Suspects. Distribute requirements and scenarios to select software vendors. Identify possible solutions based upon experience and software vendor feedback from distribution of requirements. Assure that vendors understand the need to demonstrate the scenarios.

6. Demo That System Please. Participate in vendor demonstrations. Obtain consultant support to help your team in evaluating the potential fit of vendors. Assure that demonstrations are addressing the scenario requirements. Consultant should assist your team to evaluate the best fit.

7. Plan The Implementation. Review the recommended implementation plan. Some negotiation is required at this point.

8. Support Project Management. Have consultant provide interface between your company software implementation team and the vendor. The consultant should support the implementation of best practices.

Final advice

The selection process must put you in control over the software vendor by assuring the proposed solution meets the process scenarios, and the consultant can help maintain that delicate balance of power. A selection process typically can be completed within an eight-to-ten-week window. Utilize consultants that are able to integrate business understanding with the value creation associated with information systems. Make sure the funds are spent on the right things, which translates to software delivery rather than consulting evaluations.

by Campaign Creators

If you are open to a conversation about an ERP system, improving manufacturing workflow, or how our in-depth work style and personality assessment could help your team, including pricing and the science behind the tests, please contact us at 310-453-6556, extension 403.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, Santa Monica, CA, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com and our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

David Shaffer, who heads up the full-service business consulting ERP practice at Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, is recognized for his ability to effectively integrate all aspects of the business, including financial management, information systems, infrastructure, and operations. David assists companies from executive strategic planning through operational and business process improvement opportunities to the selection and integration of management information systems solutions. His range of company support includes start-ups through Fortune 500.

In addition to a full-service Business Consulting Division, Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style & personality assessments for new hires & staff development. LCS can test in 19 different languages, provide domestic and international interpersonal coaching and offer a variety of workshops – team building, sales and customer service training, negotiations training, interpersonal communication, stress and time management, and leadership training.

To order the books, Cracking the Personality Code, Cracking the Business Code, and Cracking the High-Performance Team Code, please go to: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Now Is The Time To Streamline Operations For Products & Services

By Tony Kayyod

Now is the time to take a hard look to eliminate non-value-added work to your workflow processes. For over forty years I have helped all kinds of organizations do just that by improving productivity and profitability.

Think of it in terms of your personal productivity. Imagine you are sitting at home, and you know you need gas for your car. Naturally, you don’t want to leave from home to go fuel up your car and then return home. That is a waste of time and energy. Streamlining the process would be to stop at the gas station on the way home from somewhere else.

The gas station metaphor is about eliminating a wasted trip. But in the business world, wasteful workflow processes are much less visible than that trip to the gas station. Historically, many businesses have learned to accept the non-value-added work throughout the enterprise. That is a gross miscalculation.

When you calculate the cost of your product or service, it does not make sense to pay for items or effort the customer does not value. When you streamline, you identify the process steps that the customer doesn’t see value from. After you identify and map the process, the question is how can I eliminate these unnecessary steps? That’s the power and promise of streamlining.

Take A Lesson From Amazon, The King Of Streamlining

For example, Amazon did that to brick-and-mortar retail stores. Amazon just reasoned that the physical coming to a retail store and the driving away with merchandise was not a value add for most customers.

Amazon started with books, but the aim was always to be the giant of all retailing. Amazon is right for millions of people. Sure, some people still want to go and touch the product in the store to buy. But if you know what you want, it’s easier to buy it online from Amazon. Free shipping with Amazon Prime made the price competitive. So, that’s the streamlining and the Internet allowed Amazon to do it.

According to an opinion piece in The New York Times, Amazon is different than most businesses. Here is an excerpt from the article “The Secret of Amazon’s Success” that ran November 19, 2018 by economist William Lazonick, president of the Academic-Industry Research Network:

What is it that makes Amazon different from other large companies? Certainly, the sheer range of the products it sells and its market power are unmatched in corporate America…But there is another difference that is much less appreciated yet has been more significant in shaping its path: Amazon’s resource-allocation strategy — in particular, how it chooses to use the profits that it earns. It is one of very few large American corporations that is choosing to retain its profits and reinvest… Instead of squandering its profits on buybacks, Amazon has been reinvesting them in its business and its employees. That strategy is reflected in spending on research and development, where Amazon is far and away the world leader.

What could you do to invest in streamlining your workflow to simplify or eliminate unnecessary work-related tasks to improve the efficiency of your processes for what you make or what service you offer? To obtain a return on investment, of course you need to invest. Streamlining processes will require the usage of modernizing techniques, technology, and consideration of other possible approaches.

Get Rid Of Those Constraints

For decades I have consulted in constraint management. This is all about finding and exploiting the constraints. How do you release more of what customer values in a process? How do you allow that value to come out?

Processes and workflows are similar, but they are not the same. A process is a set of repeatable activities that need to be continued to complete a specific goal that an organization has set. Workflow is series of repeatable activities that need to be continued to complete a specific task.

In the past they called improving processes and workflows lean manufacturing, which only concentrated on manufacturing. It was all about removing the bottlenecks in manufacturing that didn’t always allow more enterprise-wide throughput. This was all about cutting the fat and eliminating the waste in manufacturing and not in the support functions.

Principles from lean manufacturing have been applied to the world of services too.

When I worked at General Motors, I was the chief engineer of electronic sensors and actuators. In that position, I worked with thousands of people to improve our lean manufacturing. After leaving GM I have worked with many businesses to streamline because the benefits are huge.

The Benefits Of Streamlining Processes & Workflows

Streamlining gives you the three mores; more productivity, time efficiency, and profitability. Here is how:

More productivity. Employees are more able to reduce waste of motions & to focus more on the quality of what they are producing when unnecessary tasks are reduced. Employees become more productive when workflow processes are streamlined. Employees benefit when they have clear measurements and expectations.

More time efficiency. Streamlining results in better time management. Employees can concentrate on the more important value-added tasks. Data entry and processing can be done automatically. Using automation and technology to deal with the mundane tasks helps humans focus on what they are best at, which is problem solving. No one likes to waste time and energy on the routine.

More profitability. Streamlining give you more funds to allocate elsewhere or drop to the bottom line. Streamlining can decrease the amount of paper your workplace uses. This will likely save your business money so you can allocate funds elsewhere. Ultimately more sellable throughput doesn’t require as much resources since they are freed up.

Training And Onboarding

Here is an important team building question: Have you included a work-style assessment as part of your hiring process? Do you have a tool to help you understand somebody’s personality and how that fits in with the team? Do you have a library of interview questions available to help understand how somebody will thrive in your hybrid work environment?

Once you find that right candidate, does your onboarding process provide specific job training for a new hire?

Streamlining is a journey, not just a onetime process. Your workflow processes might be improved by technology, but you are only as good as the team working the process.

Onboarding is the first opportunity to get the right soft skill sets in embedded in the various positions. Depending on the scope of job roles and responsibilities, there are different skill sets needed. That might mean skills training for everything from say, leadership development, all the way to something basic, such as time management and effective communication.

Skills training across a wide spectrum is an important part of my work. Often employees that come into clients don’t come equipped with the right skill sets. I have found the better the skill sets, the better the opportunity is for them to be more productive. In addition, the soft skill training opportunities help retain talented employees by preparing them for more responsibility & career growth.

You can improve skill sets through either video conference training, prerecorded training, or in-person training. The length of time varies as does the depth of the subject matter varies.

One of the hot training topics today is global sourcing. Yes. This is mainly because of the supply chain constraints that are so much in the news. Engineers and/or buyers at many companies don’t know how to find and develop new “global” sources. This is a skill that can be taught to improve throughput.

Tony Kayyod is a senior Lighthouse consultant specializing in streamlining workflow processes with over 35 years of combined industry and leadership experience in customer-driven turnkey projects. Formerly, Tony was an automotive industry executive responsible for directing global footprint in manufacturing, engineering, supply chain and warehousing, as well as Chief Engineer for Sensors and Actuators at General Motors and Delphi Automotive. Tony holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and an MBA from Jacksonville State University. For more information, please reach out to Dana Borowka, MA at (310) 453-6556, ext. 403 or dana@lighthouseconsulting.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, Santa Monica, CA, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style & personality assessments for new hires & staff development. LCS can test in 19 different languages, provide domestic and international interpersonal coaching and offer a variety of workshops – team building, interpersonal communication, stress & time management, sales & customer service training and negotiation skills as well as our full-service Business Consulting Division. To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code”, “Cracking the Business Code” and “Cracking the High-Performance Team Code”, please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Improving Your Odds For A Successful Manufacturing Workflow Strategy

By David Shaffer

When it comes to succeeding with manufacturing workflow, we are drowning in data but starved for wisdom.

That thought was first put forth by futurist John Naisbitt 40 years ago in his classic book Megatrends. Naisbitt the futurist was indeed a prophet.

His prophecy is true because today even with the ever-expanding use of technology, there is an overabundance of data. The challenge is to disseminate that data into information that can be acted upon to achieve the organization’s mission.

The overall mission and foundation of business today, as it was 40 years ago and undoubtedly will be true 40 years hence, is to maximize customer service. Today this is also referred to as the customer experience.

Great business thinkers like the late Peter Drucker said that without customers, there is no business. Giving the customers what they want, when they want it and how they want it is an ongoing challenge. Simply put, keeping the customer satisfied requires improved manufacturing workflow.

Because improving your manufacturing workflow is about keeping the customer satisfied, the best manufacturers are obsessed with it. These organization’s want to make themselves as easy as possible to work with from a supply chain, distribution and services standpoint. The good news is applications including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) have greatly improved manufacturing workflow.

However, almost daily you can read or hear of information systems like ERP not fulfilling manufacturing workflow expectations established at the time of acquisition. In fact, despite the most diligent efforts in defining requirements, evaluating options and selecting systems, the probability of higher-than-expected investments and system implementation issues are extremely high.

If it sounds like the odds are stacked against you, there are ways to improve your odds. ERP needs to be seen as an investment, rather than an expense, and therefore you must find ways to maximize the return on investment (ROI).

How To Improve ROI

Improving your manufacturing workplace is a bet, a gamble, a wager. Author Damon Runyon once said: “The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.”

No business plans to lose its bet on ERP. It is fair to assume that all participants in the implementation of technology are focused upon improved manufacturing workflow results for their individual and collective departments. The aggregate of these improved results should be focused on, and result in, improved results for the company as a whole.

Specifically, a concise definition of measuring improved results as a positive gain in the implementation of technology. If there is nothing to gain then there is obviously no reason to change.

If you want the biggest gain, bet on quality. To all organizations, quality is what is expected. To that end, in the absence of standard operating procedures, the result is variation in process and by definition; variation is the enemy of quality. By determining the least wasteful method of performing a task, quality is improved, cost is reduced and on-time delivery is the final result. By performing a task the same way each time assures consistency and eliminates variation.

As workflows are identified and the standard operating procedures are put in place, the success of these procedures will be directly determined by how effective an organization is at answering the following questions:

• What are the required inputs?
• How were you trained?
• What do you do?
• How do you know your output is good?
• What feedback do you receive?
• Who are your customers?
• What keeps you from doing error-free work?
• What can be done to make your job easier?
• What would you change as the manager?

It is hopefully fair to assume that all employees want to do a good job and would rather do an activity right the first time and not be faced with rework or quality issues. Standard operating procedures, as information or product, are passed from one group to another allowing for consistency in both input and output, resulting in improved quality and happy customers. That is a winning parlay.

Those Pesky Competitors

For a significant number of businesses however, changes are dictated externally by competition, customers, and vendors and for publicly traded companies, possibly the shareholders. This external pressure, when coupled with potentially internal conflicting goals tends to increase anxiety levels and can further contribute to poor system selection and/or utilization. How often is it heard that if we don’t change we will lose? The Internet and e-commerce are recent examples of technology forcing many businesses to react.

One of the ways businesses have tried to deal with change and the expected pressures is through strategic planning. When done correctly, and shared appropriately throughout the organization, the strategic plan becomes a roadmap and a source of reference throughout the year. By establishing a Target Operating Model (TOM) that reflects the strategic plan, the selection of the appropriate ERP can be measured against its alignment with the TOM along with value derived.

Procedures And Policies Are Linked To ROI

It is assumed that the procedures and policies associated with a new system will be integrated as part of the implementation process. Vendors of technology and software will do their best to provide the appropriate operational training however are not generally in the business of assuring that the organizational infrastructure can absorb the change. That is left to the management and implementation team.

Recognizing that a new system carries risk as well as rewards, the management team is functioning under its’ own level of pressure and may not be the best in soothing the concerns, issues and change being felt by the employees. The good intentions associated with the new system may indeed be counterproductive without the corresponding balancing of the attitudes, goals, objectives and concerns of the people that comprise the organization.

Implementing The Strategy

Regardless of the status of the current information technology, that is utilizing an existing system or entering into the selection process of a new one, it is essential that the TOM and value to be derived are clearly defined. That is, just how will we as an organization measure the ERP value and, equally important, how will our customers measure us to decide if we are in fact successful in implementing our strategy. In addition to this measurement is the strategic plan. It must be reflective of where we want the business to be and how we will measure our success.

Finally, the integration of technology and infrastructure are essential to maintaining the balance of maximizing customer service. We must place equal emphasis on understanding and implementing positive attitude as we are in implementing technology.

Defining and achieving improved results is critical to the on-going success of most businesses. To invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in technology and systems without recognizing that tools are only as good as the operator is a formula for disappointment. It has been said that the majority.

Monitor And Communicate Progress

Many organizations struggle with the implementation of key initiatives; accountability is frequently a major stumbling block. By assigning Project Managers and the consistent use of project chartering, project plans can be well defined, resourced and monitored. The aggregate results of the charters collectively address the implementation of defined key initiatives. It is customary that on a weekly basis, each Project Manager reports the status of their charter so that combined project plans are managed by a single source. That is, for quality and consistency the overall progress of the initiatives is maintained in a central repository accessible to the entire management & leadership team.

There are many ways to distill strategic planning into execution. Chartering is a great way to focus on execution while creating accountability & buy-in throughout the process.

If you are open to a conversation about improving manufacturing workflow or how our in-depth work style and personality assessment could help your team, including pricing and the science behind the tests, please contact us at 310-453-6556, extension 403.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, Santa Monica, CA, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

David Shaffer, Senior Consultant with Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC, is recognized for his ability to effectively integrate all aspects of business including financial management, information systems, infrastructure, sales management, sales strategies and operations. David assists companies from executive strategic planning through operational and business process improvement opportunities to the selection and integration of management information systems solutions. His range of company support includes start up through Fortune 500.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style & personality assessments for new hires & staff development. LCS can test in 19 different languages, provide domestic and international interpersonal coaching and offer a variety of workshops – team building, interpersonal communication, stress and time management, leadership training as well as our full-service Business Consulting Division. To order the books, Cracking the Personality Code, Cracking the Business Code, and Cracking the High-Performance Team Code, please go to: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Cracking the Strategic Planning Code – Ideas from the Experts

By Larry Cassidy, Marc Emmer, Diana Ho, Brian Oken, Steve Phillips & Paul David Walker

When the topic of strategic planning comes up, some individuals get very excited about the planning process while others consider it just a waste of time. With so many different styles and approaches, we thought that we’d ask a number of experts for how they approach this topic and the top three key points to think about before your next strategic planning meeting.

Larry Cassidy

Strategic Conversation

My view of so-called “strategic planning” is that today it is less an event and more an ongoing conversation. The most effective organizations are evolving, and for me that moves viable strategic thinking away from being an annual event and toward an ongoing conversation.

The idea that we can somehow nail down where and how things are (and, projected, where and how they will be into the future), and then craft a lasting response, is ineffective. The world in which we operate is constantly changing; thus, we too must participate in that same game, which requires a continuing and continuous conversation.

As that applies to crafting strategy, I recommend frequent sessions in which the “team” comes together to discuss the future. For each session, step one is to identify the most important questions which must be answered; step two is to arrive at agreement on the answers; and, step three is to define action steps based on those answers (what, why, who, how, when, resources and milestones). As you prep for these ongoing sessions, consider:

Inviting more of, rather than less of, your management and supervisory team. Interesting ideas often come from the “less likely” participants. And participation invites a sense of “ownership.”
Requesting from the attendees, in advance, the questions they feel are the most important to the firm’s future. You may be surprised at what you get.
Building each session around a few key questions, using multiple breakout groups to discuss each question, and mixing people and functions within breakout groups for each topic discussion (thus creating fresh energy and different chemistry around each question).
And, inviting a few key outsiders to participate in each session (good strategic thinkers, creative types, folks who will challenge and “stir the pot”). You will find their input tends to raise the bar for those on your team.

Marc Emmer

Strategic Planning: The Entrepreneurs Dilemma

There is one thing that almost all entrepreneurs have in common; they want to grow. Yet determining where and how to grow can prove elusive, even to the most savvy strategists.

Often, management teams face gut wrenching strategic choices. While growing a core business incrementally offers a high probability of success, companies with a singular focus are subject to concentration risk that inhibits enterprise value. The more the company grows, the bigger the problem becomes. A diversification strategy reduces concentration, but growth far afield from one’s core competency, increases the probability of failure.

Often, entrepreneurial companies also lack the talent to focus on transformational business model innovations that could drive competitive advantage. Unfortunately, many companies create a 12 month forecast within their core business, and pass it off as a strategic plan. A well thought out vision balances the short term and the long term and clarifies the company’s value proposition and strategic priorities.

Here are some success factors to consider before engaging in strategic planning:

Market Analysis-A thoughtful review of trends in the industry that will impact future demand.
A level of preparedness on the part of the participants so that they are in a position to make fact-based strategic decisions.
A process that enables execution on strategic objectives.

As we approach the time of year when many companies formalize their business strategies, it is important to structure a framework that ensures that management takes the time to think, both about the core business and potential disruption. Great companies weave strategic thinking into their management DNA and then convert strategies into actionable measurable tactics that drive results.

Diana Ho

The Art of Strategic Planning

Strategic planning has fallen in and out of favor numerous times since my earliest days as a planning facilitator. While my experience base and process toolbox has grown over the years, so has my “beginners mind.” Rather than bringing a methodology that works for all, I approach each planning engagement as a blank slate, pay attention, listen deeply and design each process based upon the unique characteristics of the client organization.

Every organization has a strategic plan whether they know it or not. The opportunities embedded in a “strategic planning process” include a) making the plan explicit, b) aligning expectations, c) leveraging resources and d) building a skilled planning- and accountability-minded team. The process of planning is equally as important, if not MORE important, than the resulting “plan;” and the effectiveness of any planning process is directly correlated to the extent that it is aligned with the leadership/power structure of the organization. So design the process well, Grasshopper!

When considering external resources, decide where your needs lie along the continuum of “expert” (who will tell you what your process and strategy ought to be) and “facilitator” (who will leverage your organizational resources, ask questions, provide options, build capacity and hold your feet to the fire).

Three things to consider before having a strategic planning meeting:

What is the organizational “appetite” for planning; should we be thinking in terms of a “planning meeting” or a “planning process and mindset?”
Who needs to be at the table?
What are the organizational and personal rewards and consequences for planning or not planning?

Brian Oken

Strategic Planning for the Rest of Us

If you’re like most of us, you’re leading a small to medium-sized business with limited resources, no time and a million things you need to get done. To get the best results, I believe you should narrow your focus, engage your team and make your efforts count.

But before you proceed with any group planning activities, you should:

Be clear about what you want for your business. Do you want to grow market share, sell in the near future, build a legacy…?
Have a competent management team in place.
Decide whether you’re going to use an outside facilitator or Do-It-Yourself.

Here’s my approach to strategic planning:

Be focused and realistic. It’s impossible for any group to successfully accomplish more than 1 or 2 strategic goals a year because of all the associated projects and tasks. If you try to do too many things at once, it will dilute your focus and compromise your results. Remember, you want to actually achieve these goals.

Generating great financial results is a team effort. Your plan and strategy (and the reasons for them) must be presented in such a way that everyone in your company can easily understand them. The plan must also connect daily activities to company goals. This is the only way your employees will feel connected to your overall vision. People need feedback and need to know their efforts are making a difference. Be transparent about your results and celebrate your successes!

Implementing a strategic plan is a methodical approach and an ongoing process to help you and your team work smarter and get better results. But in order for this to happen, your plan must drive the agenda of your staff meetings and be referenced and updated on a regular basis. Once you see how an effective plan can help you achieve your goals, I doubt you will ever operate without one again.

Steve Phillips

The Strategic Planning Meeting – Turbo charge your approach!

Strategic planning is by its nature, time consuming and hard! Assessing the environment and the company and then positioning and aligning resources takes tons of effort. So much effort that many Fortune 500 companies just don’t do a good job. And… it’s these companies that rarely hit their potential. But true strategic planning, (like what McKinsey or BCG does) can easily cost $1M or more. So what is the answer? How does a company do great planning at a small fraction of the cost? I think a turbo charged approach meets most everyone’s needs. It’s quick, uses your best people, gets everyone bought in to the implementation of the plan, builds-in an accountability system, and gets it mostly right. Think of it as a leveraged approach.

So what is the process for a turbo charged approach? It’s easy! I find it most useful to use a third party (not the CEO) to organize the process, collect and analyze the data, set the objectives and outcomes for the meeting (with the CEO) design the agenda, and to facilitate the meeting. In this way, people can do their work and the third party can do all the leg work. Then when it’s most important, everyone can meet and use their time together wisely.

So how to approach turbo charged strategic planning?

Pick a third party to organize and drive the process. It can be a senior level consultant (like me 🙂 ) or an internal specialist but it should not be the CEO or President. They have much better things to do than the leg work that it will take to make the meeting effective.
Collect valid data. Some folks like to collect both external data and internal data but some are fine with just picking the brains of their top folks on what we really need to do next to be most successful. (Remember, this is a leveraged “turbo charged” approach). I suggest the third party personally interview participants for about 60 minutes each. This should be plenty of time to assess what should be done next year.
Create a specific and detailed agenda based upon what you learned from your data analysis. This should also include the specific outcomes and objectives for the meeting and detailed agenda items. Too many times people just put topics on the agenda without ever fully considering: the type of item, the champion of the item, the outcome of the item, the process for the item, the time line for the item, the pre-work needed to be ready to efficiently use time, etc. Creating a great agenda is an art and time consuming. There are many considerations and it often takes much longer than anyone expects but when done right, huge amounts get accomplished in the meeting seamlessly and the group actually enjoys the process (and if I have my way, walk out of the room a more effective team. See #5).
Use a professional facilitator for the meeting. I am not just saying this because I am one. I am saying it because it works a thousand times better than not having one! I would much prefer to be maximizing everyone’s time and using each person’s brain in the room rather than have one of those folks worrying about lunch, the air conditioning or making sure the conversation stays on point. A pro will pay for themselves a hundred times over.
Use the strategic planning meeting to tune up your team. There is no question that teams outperform groups of individuals on complex tasks about 99% of the time. It used to be that we did “teambuilding”. Now I find the best way to build your team is while they are working on a real project. A professional will know how to do this seamlessly and effectively and at the same time you are setting up your plans for the future. It’s a win win win win. Better strategy, alignment, direction, and teamwork!
Do quarterly follow-ups to create a built-in accountability system, adjust the plan as needed, speed up the team, and continue to develop toward high performance. It only takes about 4 hours for the quarterly meeting to meet its objectives but most groups try to leverage or maximize their precious little time together. High performing teams will rotate who is in charge of each meeting and give them total freedom to run the session where and when and how they see fit. They can be at client sites, hotels, new offices, wherever will work for the theme of the day. Most groups put in place a ¾ day or all day quarterly meeting and use the extra time to develop everyone, either with team building, leadership development, site tours, or expert panels or guest speakers. It is a day everyone looks forward to. And then once a year, usually 4th Q, we do a longer retreat to close the year formally and kick off the next, all in alignment with the executive committee and shareholders meetings.

So there you have it. A leveraged approach to your strategic planning. Pick a third party to run the process, collect and analyze data, create a specific and detailed agenda, hire a professional facilitator to run the meeting, and create a built-in accountability system that ensures people stay on track and in alignment. This process works like crazy, takes very little time, is not terribly expensive, uses your people where they are best and does not waste their time. It creates ownership and buy-in, decreases resistance and makes full implementation almost assured, creates strategic alignment, builds your team and helps them to achieve and stay at high performance. It gives you a full opportunity to participate as a leader, makes everyone smarter and leaves your organization aligned, agile, collaborative, and highly productive.

Paul David Walker

Understand Present Reality

There are flows of intelligence that manifest as multidimensional streams of cause and effect at every level of life. These flows have momentum and move forward with or without you. In business these flows are formed by market wants and needs. As you consider your business strategy, it is important to understand these flows and position your company to use these flows, like a surfer at the sweet spot of a wave, to move forward accurately. It is pointless to try to swim against the current. As you ride these flows forward you will be able to see opportunities as they emerge before your competitors. The objective is to find emerging trends that lead to a window of opportunity, as we do with our clients illustrated here.

The Right Plan For You

It is dangerous to develop a strategic plan that does not take into account your companies true capabilities. If a surfer chooses a wave that is too big for their skills they will be drowned or seriously hurt, the same is true of a company. It does not serve well to develop a business strategy that requires more resources, talent, or momentum than the company can realistically achieve. Find a place in the flow of your market that acerbates you, not one that will drown you and your company. Once you succeed and gain power and skill, develop a bigger plan.

Explosive Targeted Actions

After understanding your place in market trends, build a simple focused strategic plan. Then eliminate all activities that do not support that plan. Make sure every executive understands that this is not a drill. It is a road map for all actions. Paint a compelling picture of the outcomes at every stage in your plan and develop the courage to act. Teams with clear missions, a sense of urgency, the stillness of a master, and explosive targeted actions are the ones that will win in the 21st century. Those that hesitate will lose. To summarize:

Understand present reality
Develop the right plan for you, not a grandiose fantasy
Commit to explosive targeted actions

Larry Cassidy has been a Group Chair with Vistage International (formerly TEC International) for over 27 years. He currently works monthly with more than 50 Southern California executives, in three chief executive groups and one group of key executives, regarding all aspects of their businesses. Larry can be reached at hndicapper@gmail.com and 714-460-3090.

Marc Emmer is President of Optimize Inc. a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning. Marc is the author of Intended Consequences, Design the Future you Wish to Create. Marc can be reached at marc@optimizeinc.net or at 661-296-2568.

Diana L. Ho is a seasoned facilitator/executive coach, percussionist, book-binder and kick-ass project manager. She began her career in retail merchandising and was Vice President and division head in a Los Angeles management consulting firm before founding Management Arts in 1995. Contact her at DianaHo@ManagementArts.com or 310-475-6563.

Brian Oken has a 20 year track record as a successful President/CEO, having effectively guided organizations through aggressive revenue growth to sustained profitability. Throughout his career, he has been involved in managing, operating and strategically positioning companies in the public and private/family sectors. He is well known for improving the profitability of organizations while also creating great places to work. Prior to opening his own firm, Brian spent two decades running manufacturing and service based businesses as President and CEO. His accomplishments include significantly growing income and cash, being listed on the Inc. 500/5000 fastest growing company list, engaging in international strategic alliances and the launching of numerous successful new products. CEOs, Presidents and business owners call on Brian as a trusted advisor to help grow their companies, make better decisions with greater returns and create the highest performing workplace cultures. Brian can be reached at boken@informalcowboy.com or 310-466-2804.

Steven Phillips, Ph.D., Founder and CEO. In his relentless effort to deliver uncommon results, Dr. Steven L. Phillips has built an enviable reputation for his senior team consulting service that focuses on results-driven off-sites for senior leadership, strategic planning, and executive leadership. Dr. Phillips has helped thousands of individuals and organizations establish new levels of teamwork, transformation, and performance, all specifically targeted toward bottom-line results. Dr. Phillips has extensive experience as an Organization Development professional. For many years he served as a SVP Chief Talent Officer for a privately held 1B company with 10,000 employees. As a consultant, he has worked with Senior Executives at Microsoft, PepsiCo, Viacom, Mattel, Boeing, and many others, helping individuals, teams, and entire organizations successfully implement change. Steve also works one-on-one with Presidents and CEOs helping them strategize for powerful and successful leadership. Additionally, Dr. Phillips creates customized team development activities for executive teams designed specifically to shorten cycle time to high performance. Dr. Phillips’ best-selling books are used in corporations throughout the world. His latest book, The Senior Leadership Off-site Playbook, is soon to be released. Steven can be reached at sphillips@phillipsassociates.net or 310-456-3532.

Paul David Walker, Founder & CEO of Genius Stone Partners was part of building the first leadership firm to align Strategy, Structure and Culture, and has been a business leadership adviser to the CEO’s of Fortune 500 and midsize companies for over 25 years. He is the author of Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations, two other books, and will publish a new book called Invent Your Future. He has succeeded by unleashing the genius of the people around him and is known to be a visionary leader and master of collaboration. Paul can be reached at pauldavidwalker@geniusstone.com or 562-233-7861.

Inspiration and Techniques for Building Championship-Level Performance
Lighthouse clients have one thing in common – all are committed to boosting the performance of their organizations. So, we are pleased to introduce our clients and friends to Boaz Rauchwerger — speaker, trainer, author and consultant. We highly recommend Boaz to you. Ask him to deliver one of his inspirational programs at your next executive retreat or strategic planning session.

One of our favorite Boaz programs is “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”. It helps you build on the strengths of everyone’s individual differences. This program helps you discover five steps to get everyone to join the building crew and resign from the wrecking crew. This is a very powerful and inspirational program that receives rave reviews every time.

• Master five techniques to inspire others to perform like champions
• Six recognition techniques including the powerful “good finder” program
• Learn four ways that your team can gain a competitive advantage
• Identify the three prerequisites for maximizing the team’s results
• Learn the two forms of keeping a daily score so everyone wins

Who is Boaz?
Over a 30-year span, Boaz, author of The Tiberias Transformation – How To Change Your Life In Less Than 8 Minutes A Day, has conducted thousands of seminars internationally on goal setting and high achievement. He has taught over half a million people how to supercharge their lives, their careers and how to add Power to their goals. His innovative program, for individuals and corporations, is a simple and highly effective process for high achievement. He was voted Speaker of the Year by Vistage, an international organization of CEOs and business owners. How to contact Boaz – Want more information on Boaz’s Power Program, including “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”? Just click here and we’ll be in touch.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, Cracking the Personality Code and Cracking the Business Code please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Streamlining Distribution

By Ted Margison

As the economy slowly heads forward, most companies need to get more done with the same resources.

Streamlining operations means eliminating activities that don’t add value and putting in place controls to make sure transactions get processed quickly and effectively.

Eliminate Non-Productive Activities

Everyone is really busy – they’re already overloaded, or are they?

“Why does it take so long to turn around orders?” asked the CEO, “Everyone says they’re working as hard as they can but how can it take so many days?”

“Your company is doing credit checks when orders are received and again when they are about to ship. Since your customers are Fortune 500 companies, do you really need these credit checks? If you skipped these checks you could save 2-3 days” the consultant replied.

“Of course we don’t need to do credit checks on our customers. Why on earth are we doing them?

“Apparently, several years ago you sold to smaller companies that had credit issues. To ensure credit checks got done the controller had all orders credit-checked.”

“We could probably handle 25% more business by eliminating these delays. We can stop that practice immediately.”

A lot of companies think they have a good grasp on how they operate but reality is different. Several years ago I began asking consultants ‘Have you ever asked someone how their company operates and found out later that what you were told does not match what really happens’. Without exception, the answer was ‘yes’ for every project they ever worked on.

A critical part of streamlining is making sure you understand exactly how you really operate, and eliminating all the activities that don’t add value. Usually, there are several opportunities to immediately free up resources. The following example is one that occurs in many companies:

“How are things coming with the new system?” asked the VP.

“I was really struggling with one thing but I finally figured out how to do the Flash report on the new system” the consultant said.

“What Flash report?”

The one Adam does. He spends about eight hours a week pulling together data from different sources to create the Sales Flash report.”

“Oh, that one. We stopped using that months ago.”

Well, now Adam has time to work on other efforts.

Make Sure Things Stay On Track

As you get busier and busier it is easier and easier for things to ‘fall through the cracks’.

♦ Did the customer sign-off on requirements?
♦ Did the job get re-scheduled?
♦ When are the parts going to arrive?
♦ Did the change-order get approved?

Some demands might come from new customers or be for new types of products and services, resulting in considerable variation in the demand requirements. As such, not only do your personnel have to handle more transactions, they have to handle a lot of different processing requirements. This is where proper controls for managing transaction processing are invaluable. ‘Transactions’ are quotes, sales orders, purchase orders, service orders and so on.

“We get about 2,500 quote requests per month. Of these, we auto quote about 800 a month” the Customer Service person indicated. “The rest go to Engineering, so they are really swamped and turnaround takes a long time. Unfortunately, it is taking so long we get a lot of customer complaints and lose a lot of business – we only close 15% to 20% of our quotes.”

In a subsequent meeting with Engineering, “We work on major quotes – about 25 a month”.

Wait, what happened to 1,675 quotes? It turned out that these were going to some clerical personnel in another department that had no formal processes or tracking for these quotes. Two-thirds of all quotes were falling through the cracks.

Even worse, the people processing these quotes were only looking at how long it had been since the product was last sold and then trying to guestimate a cost and price based on a more recent sale of similar products. They didn’t take into consideration if the job was a government job or a commercial job, nor if there was one delivery or multiple deliveries. When a job was run for a government quote the cost overrun was extremely large, causing serious repercussions with the government agencies. Also, no one was tracking costs for preparing the quotes, which ended up being a problem for the government agencies.

In setting up new processes we addressed the issue of ‘transaction management’ – how do we manage the workflow to ensure things are done in a timely manner and cost-effective manner. In this situation, ‘cost-effective’ covers ensuring processing costs are properly recorded and cost risks for the transaction (e.g. potential for penalties, lost revenue, lost profit) are properly covered.

In this situation, the most expedient solution was to use a shared spreadsheet document to track the processing of quotes. A separate worksheet was used for each type of job – government versus commercial. Within each worksheet, columns were set up for each department to record the date and time they received the quote and initials for when they completed their portion. Managers could quickly see what should be coming to their department and what was sitting too long in one department.

Certain conditions could result in extensive analysis which would require special handling and delay turnaround of the quote. For example, if the requested item was no longer available but the ‘replacement’ item might need to be certified, the quote was ‘red flagged’. This allowed the managers to zero in on problem quotes.

In summary, the basic steps for ‘transaction management’ are:

♦ Identify transaction characteristics that change how a transaction is processed and the steps required to process the transaction.
♦ Identify the role for each department (or person), involved in processing a transaction.
♦ For each department role, identify the following:
♦ What is needed to manage the schedule for processing the transaction:

─ Identify key ‘milestone steps’ for processing a transaction (based on its characteristics) and the desired timeframe for reaching that milestone
─ Identify critical steps and potential red flag conditions

♦ Identify what is needed to manage costs:

─ How to ensure costs are properly recorded
─ How to avoid excess costs (e.g. expediting costs, penalties)
─ Identify critical steps and potential red flag conditions.

“We should be able to book an extra $4 million this month.”

“How’s that?”

“We have some jobs that weren’t quite ready at the end of last month but should be good to go now.”

“Are those the ones we were waiting for sign-off from the customer?”

“Yes.”

“Did any one follow up with the customer to get the sign-off?”

A few minutes later … “Oops.”

Final Thoughts

According to Dana Borowka, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC and author of the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code”, hiring the right people is key to future growth. If you would like additional information on hiring, please click here to see an article on this subject.

Ted Margison is a Senior LCS Consultant and has over 30 years experience in operations management and process improvement. Ted worked for Ernst & Young in their manufacturing & distribution practice and then headed up one of PriceWaterhouse’s manufacturing & distribution practices on the west coast. You can contact Ted at ted@lighthouseconsulting.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code” please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Does Your Quality Need Tweaking?

By Jerry Feingold

Want to improve your company’s quality?

Adding inspection staff or blaming the operators or service providers won’t help.

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]A[/dropcaps] friend of mine called to tell me that the expensive stove he just bought had a serious defect. It seems that the factory painted over contamination and the paint was now flaking off. That got me thinking about the subject of quality: Quality of a service as well as quality of a product.

Most companies rely on some form of inspection to assure quality. It could be a person in an office whose job is to check over the work of people, see if there are any errors and perhaps add a signature to show that the work was approved or that could be in the form of an inspector at the end of the assembly line whose job it is to find defects.

Unfortunately that’s not a very good way to assure quality. Let me illustrate this point. Let’s pretend that you are the final inspector in a factory that produces heart pacemakers. And let’s pretend that the following paragraph in the box represents a pacemaker. Let’s say that every letter “F” represents a fault or a defect. Your job is to find all the “Fs”. Give yourself two minutes to find all the Fs. See how many you can find.

According to the United Federation of Petroleum Retailers, the files kept by most fuel purveyors lack the organization necessary to run a successful business. This surprised Fred Ferguson of Ferguson’s Fuel Depot. He felt that his files were among the best of any filling station he had ever seen. Of course, Fred knew that not all of what he had stuffed into the shoeboxes under his desk was important, but still, frequent and effective filing was the key to his bookkeeping system. Fred, quite insulted, immediately cancelled his subscription to the United Federation of Petroleum Retailer’s magazine, the Fuel Filler’s Forum, for the remainder of the fiscal year.

If you found them all, you know there were 32. If you didn’t find them all, your pacemaker customer will drop dead. It’s very unusual to find all 32 Fs. Most people miss the Fs in the word “of.” Studies have shown that on a simple product, inspectors are only able to find 75% of the defects.

Besides not being effective at finding defects, there’s another problem with relying on inspection as a means of eliminating defects and improving quality. First of all, inspection is expensive (you have to pay the wage of an inspector who adds no value to the product or service). Secondly, the inspectors are not only required to FIND the defects, they are also responsible to take the time to CATEGORIZE the defects and even to find the person to BLAME for the defect. Unfortunately while the inspector is doing all those things, whatever was CAUSING the defect is still going on and nobody is addressing that.

At the beginning of World War II paratroopers were getting killed because their parachutes weren’t packed properly and wouldn’t open when the ripcord was pulled. The rate of these failures was alarming. The general in charge did a really smart thing. He announced to the parachute folders that every week 10% of the parachute folders would be picked at random and be required to jump out of an airplane with a parachute they had just packed. As you could imagine the defect rate plummeted.

Adding a final inspector to the parachute folders would not have done much good. Neither would adding an inspector to the stove factory. The contamination on the metal that was painted over was probably invisible.

It’s easy to blame the painter. Just like it’s easy to blame the clerk whose error was found by the auditor or checker. But that’s not getting to the root cause of the problem. Edward Deming, the famous Quality guru believed that all inspection should be eliminated from a factory or office. His point being that the process should be designed so that it isn’t even possible to make an error. For example, it’s impossible to insert a floppy disc incorrectly—they only go in one way. At the fast food restaurant, the cash registers have pictures of the product so that the clerk won’t key in the incorrect charge or give the wrong change.

Some companies got the idea that if the operator in the factory had to actually put his signature on the product, that there would be fewer defects. We’ve all purchased garments with the little tag, “Inspected by Number 37.” And that was the garment with the missing buttonhole.

None of these work very well. Remember trying to find the 32 Fs?

It is Management’s job is to give their people processes that work. The stove factory needed a pre-cleaning step prior to painting to be effective. Inserting an inspector or rewarding the painter for defect-free paint jobs would not work very well.

Management’s job is also to make it very clear what the customer is expecting.

The bottom line is that in an effort to improve the quality received by the customer, management often attempts to either add more inspectors, seeking out offenders for blame or to incentivize the producers. The effort has to be put into improving the processes themselves so that variability and ambiguity are eliminated.

There’s an old saying, “Tell me how I’m measured and I’ll tell you how I’ll behave.” A survey by the American Productivity and Quality Center found that only 38.7% of employees thought that there were good, fair performance measures where they worked. People want to be measured. They need to be measured. The only people who don’t like to be measured are the poor performers. Metrics are used in factories to control the workforce. These metrics include simple things like pieces per hour or percent defective pieces per day. Use of metrics such as these not only give the employees an idea of what’s expected of them, it allows management to react to the situation, correct any problems, understand how to improve, and to establish improvement objectives.

While applications of metrics are common in a factory, they are not typical in an office. As a result of having no metrics, quality problems remain hidden and improvement efforts never get off the ground.

America is transcending from the manufacturing age to the service age, much like we did before, going from a farming economy to a manufacturing economy. About 90 per cent of jobs in the United States are in the service industry but most of the books and articles about quality focus on factories. That’s because it’s easy for someone to notice a problem with a product, it’s much more difficult to pinpoint a service problem.

A good way to kick off a service quality improvement effort is to be sure your employees understand what is important to the customer and what metrics are in place to monitor those. There are only two important metrics; how long did the process take and was it done correctly the first time. All metrics are just variations of those two concepts.

Metrics to improve quality in an office could include such things as:

• Percentage of bid errors
• Number of unpaid invoices over 20 days old
• Percentage of lost business
• Percentage of unanswered phone calls in four hours
• Dollars not paid versus dollars billed
• Time between order receipt and order entry
• Time between request for service and delivery of that service
• Percentage of rush orders
• Number of customer complaints

Take the Quick Quality Quiz!

Here are some questions to help you analyze where you might want to raise your quality bar:

• In what areas do some of your competitors provide better quality than you do?
• What would happen to sales if your quality were better?
• Is it possible that your specifications are too loose? How about too tight?
• Are your suppliers part of your team? Do you work with your suppliers to help them provide the quality you need?
• Are your people working on the right things? Are the right things being measured? Is action being taken on facts and data?
• From a quality standpoint do you know what your customers think of your performance?

If you have additional questions on how to improve the quality of your service or product please contact Jerry Feingold at (805) 643-4216 or by email jerryf2870@aol.com or take a look at http://www.continuousimprovements.com/.

Jerry Feingold is president of Continuous Improvement Consultancy offering services in the application of Lean techniques. His consulting service specializes in the Kaizen approach which emphasizes a “let’s go do it” approach that is quick hitting, highly focused and unleashes employee creativity dramatically. He has worked in Japan, England, Scotland, Switzerland, Austria, France, Denmark, and the U.S. assisting companies to become competitive on a Global basis. His clients include a wide variety of companies from, service providers, consumer and commercial products, military contractors and food processors.

Jerry Feingold’s books, Getting Lean and Lean Administration introduce lean business concepts and practices in a readable, comprehensive and easy-to-follow format. Getting Lean is written in the form of an entertaining novel that draws on real world experiences to show readers the steps to creating a Lean Enterprise. Getting Lean describes the concepts and processes of lean manufacturing in a practical and uncomplicated manner, so that every member of the workforce can understand these concepts. Lean Administration is a wake-up call to companies that pride themselves on being Lean. Unfortunately, these companies measure their success on manufacturing improvements, but have overlooked the rest of the enterprise where the majority of waste exists. Lean Administration, provides a roadmap and requisite tools for improving the critical administrative functions in an enterprise. Fun to read and highly instructive, this book proves conclusively that Lean isn’t just a manufacturing tool, and illustrates how leaders must drive change throughout the organization- not just the factory floor.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, Cracking the Personality Code and Cracking the Business Code please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Ethics and The Bottom Line: Ten Reasons for Businesses to Do Right

By Rushworth Kidder

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]A[/dropcaps]s the Institute for Global Ethics develops its Corporate Services activities, executives everywhere ask us the big question: Can business really be ethical? What they’re asking is: How can I be sure that acting ethically won’t damage my bottom line? Can I make a real profit and still exhibit real ethics? We think they can. Here’s why.

In his book The Moral Sense, James Q. Wilson reflects on his decades of research into the criminal mind and raises a pithy question. “What most needed explanation,” he writes about that experience, “was not why some people are criminals but why most people are not.”

The question, in other words, is not, “Why do some people do bad things?” It is, “Why doesn’t everyone?” Why don’t most people opt for the immediate rewards of duplicity, fraud, and theft? Given a choice between the hard slog and the easy grab, why not go for the latter? Why abide by the constraints of a moral life when, as the old adage goes, the devil has all the good tunes?

One way or another, these are all forms of the age-old question lying at the heart of moral philosophy: Why be good? It’s a question asked by small children eyeing the cookie-jar, truckers pressed for time on late-night trips, athletes who notice that the referee isn’t looking, shoppers given too much change, and politicians wanting to line the pockets of their friends.

It’s asked in modern corporate life as well. The culture of short-term rewards, the exigencies of the quarterly report, the pressure from unscrupulous managers, the glut of overseas competition—there are excuses aplenty for the moral shortcut, especially when the stakes are high and careers are on the line.

Can the case truly be made that, despite the apparent advantages of unethical activity, a corporation’s bottom line will be significantly benefited by ethical standards and practices?

During years of public lectures and corporate presentations on ethics, I’ve fielded versions of that question by the score. Sometimes they come from executives who are already in a lather of enthusiasm, sold on ethics and only wanting more ammunition for their arguments. At other times they come from furrowed-browed cynics, keen to ferret out the logical flaw and prove that ethics is only for the naive. But most often they come from good people yearning to be convinced that ethics is congruent with a healthy bottom line.

To answer them, I find I talk a lot about shared values. Companies searching for effective ethics programs are increasingly moving beyond a compliance orientation and toward a values-based approach. What they’re finding is that a consensus on a set of core, shared values—especially moral values—lays the basis for ethics programs that bring significant benefits to their organizations.

But they’re not interested only in soft, fuzzy, and intangible benefits. They need to see results. And in at least ten ways, they’re finding that sound ethics can have practical impact on the bottom line.

Shared values build trust. Any company benefits from a high level of trust among employees. That trust translates into faster decisions with less churning. Since decision-making is time-consuming and costly, that means immediate savings to the bottom line. Just as important, however, is the quality of the decisions. In a company that has come together around a common set of values, managers are more apt to react in the same way. A shared-values company, in other words, reflects a consistency in response. Companies without that consistency can find themselves challenged by debilitating levels of suspicion, envy, and back-stabbing.
Consistency leads to predictability in planning. Shared-values companies are more able to do serious strategic planning—and have some certainty that the plan will be carried out. The clearer the sense of predictability based on shared values, the clearer the ability of executives to prepare accurate forecasts and implement strategies based upon them—especially across the far-flung collection of business units that makes up the modern multinational. Absent such predictability, what confidence is there that top management will not suddenly shift gears and dismiss months of careful thinking? In that case, why bother to think carefully?
Predictability is essential for crisis management. Having common expectations about decision making, shared-values companies are able to react more quickly to severe situations and sudden emergencies. They can respond rapidly, without having every move delayed while it is checked back with headquarters. If the values are sufficiently explicit, managers will trust in right doing rather than stonewalling—and will know that they will be rewarded for so doing. By contrast, managers in firms in which the values are foggy or absent often learn the tough lesson that, in times of crisis, no good deed goes unpunished.
Confidence in such rewards builds loyalty. A culture of shared values creates the basis for a flattened management structure, giving increased autonomy to managers in the field. Shared-values companies can deliver more power to more people, thereby increasing the pace of business, the allegiance and commitment of those with a stake in decision making, and the likelihood of developing excellent future leaders within the company’s own ranks. As firms become increasingly global, there is clear benefit to promoting top executives from various parts of the world. Such a practice will be successful in the degree to which the promoted executives’ values are aligned with those at headquarters and widely shared.
Companies are as good as their people. Developing clear statements of expectations is vital to successful hiring and promotion. Those expectations should include a sense of character shaped by the core values of honesty, responsibility, respect, fairness, and compassion. Those five values, which our Institute’s research suggests are cross-cultural and universal, reflect themselves in the moral integrity of leadership. By developing screens for employment and promotion based on core values (as well as on competence and performance), human resource managers can have greater confidence that employees from different backgrounds will fit well into the corporate culture. Without those screens, any firm risks building a base of bright, vigorous, smooth-talking, hard-working individuals who, lacking a moral compass, drive up the levels of employee turnover, absenteeism, cynicism, and dishonesty.
Consumers care about values. Increasingly, customers are holding companies to account for their products and services. A shared-values company sees no difference between its own values and those of its customers. Result: Smoother handling of problems related to damaged products, returns, wrong labeling, missent orders, conflicts over sales territories, and so forth. Such companies put the customer first not only to improve the sales record but in recognition that the firm and its customers are one in values, attitudes, and expectations. Managers without that sense of shared values can easily imagine that the customers are out to “get” them—and that, in defense, they better “get” the customers first.
Shareholders also care about values. America’s socially conscious investment movement, at $650 billion and rising, already accounts for some ten percent of the nation’s invested funds—up from zero in 1970. Increasingly, investors want to be part of “good” companies, not just profitable ones. As high-quality competition narrows the differences among products and services, companies that do things ethically, and are seen to be doing so, will have powerful advantages in attracting shareholder investment. Companies already recognized in this area can improve their standing in proportion as they are known, praised, and given awards for the strength of their values and ethics programs. By contrast, companies that hit the headlines for unethical practices can build investor aversions and brand disloyalties that may take decades to overcome.
Ethical leadership forestalls oppressive regulation. The best preventative to red tape and external rule making is a respected, proven track record in self-regulation. The reason: Ethics, which can be defined as “obedience to the unenforceable,” is fundamentally different from law, which requires compliance with enforceable rules. In corporate life, as in every other part of society, laws arise when self-regulation collapses. But no company is an island. It is very much in any corporation’s interests to exemplify high ethical standards that can be emulated across the industry. Otherwise, when a close competitor goes belly-up in its ethics, everyone else in that sector risks the heavy hand of increased regulation.
Effective partnerships depend on common values. In alliances and acquisitions, especially overseas, shared values are essential. Nothing is more difficult than trying to blend two corporate cultures whose values are at odds. A shared-values company will have in place procedures and programs for identifying potential ethical differences; for working through them; and for emerging with a core of shared values, a common mission, and a similar set of goals. The greatest danger in alliances is that, despite the consummation of all the legal and financial details, the cultures simply won’t align because nobody bothered to look hard at core values.
Ethics is a form of insurance. A thriving ethics program provides the comfort of indemnification. Like any insurance, it costs something to maintain. Yet no serious executive would be without insurance. And none would measure success by charting the return from that expense. Quite the opposite: Success flows to those companies that never file a claim because they escape the hurricanes, floods, fires, and other devastations that drastically reduce business. Similarly, a well-tuned ethics program provides insurance against the moral lapses and ethical meltdowns that have damaged so many companies in recent years.

So does ethics affect the bottom line? Well, try arguing that it doesn’t. You’ll have to start by convincing yourself that trust, planning, and crisis management don’t affect your ledger at all. Then you’ll need to demonstrate that empowered personnel have nothing to do with success, and that neither customers nor shareholders are worth worrying about. Finally, you’ll need to be clear that regulation carries no costs, that growth through partnerships is financially irrelevant, and that insurance is just a waste of money.

Frankly, it’s easier to make the case that ethics has a powerful, practical, and immediate impact on profitability.

Dr. Rushworth Kidder is the founder of the Institute for Global Ethics, an independent nonprofit organization working in educational, corporate, and public settings to advance ethical action worldwide. Website: www.globalethics.org © Institute for Global Ethics

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code” please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

It’s Time to Get Back to Basics!

By Dana Borowka, MA

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]T[/dropcaps]here seems to be a great amount of underlying fear and tension in many organizations right now. You can see it by watching the news or talking with people. Many individuals are asking, ‘Am I doing enough to prove my worth?’, ‘Will we make it through these tough economic times?’ and the questions go on and on. A long time friend and experienced business person once told me that when things aren’t working like they used to, then something needs to change. He shared the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Sometimes by just making a minor change or seeing things from a different perspective can make all the difference in the world. In the movie, Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams’ character asked his students to stand up on their desks and look around the class room. His point was to do what it takes with your immediate resources in order to look at things differently to change your vantage point.

In today’s business environment, we always need to take a fresh look at how we do things or service our market place. It doesn’t take a big budget to do so. Many times just going back to basics and taking the complexity out of a situation can provide new and exciting ideas. Let’s take a look at some of those areas that you can explore with your team:

♦ Focus – Instead of focusing on the fear, be open and brainstorm with others on how to be more efficient, to reach out to others internally or in the market place in order to do the best job we can do and then go beyond norm. That doesn’t mean to work yourself into a frenzy but rather to listen – to be open minded – to gain empathy – be compassionate to those who need a helping hand – to focus on what is the primary need today and – to be flexible to see what might be needed 6 to 12 months down the road.

♦ Appreciation – A simple thank you can go a long way. Showing appreciation for others can help them to feel valued and encourage them to open up so that they can share valuable ideas that they have to offer. Saying thank you to the delivery person, a client, a truck driver, senior management, or a business owner is a wonderful thing to do. Everyone needs to be shown appreciation because everyone has something to offer. That’s right – everyone!

♦ Customer Service – Always keep your customer in mind. If for one moment anyone in your organization is putting the internal process over the customer’s needs you have a problem! The process always needs to first meet the customer’s needs. Otherwise you may not have a customer to enter into the process in the future. Every contact needs to be friendly, warm and value driven – those three points will create a retention environment as well as positive word of mouth. A number of years ago, the airline industry did a study that showed for every dissatisfied customer, that customer tells 300 people about the incident whereas a good experience is only shared with 30 people. We need to work really hard at providing really great experiences!

♦ High Quality – Whether you are in the service industry or manufacturing, everything we do is of the utmost importance. It reflects pride, respect, value, honor and yes, appreciation for the recipient. It demonstrates concern and trust for those who have entrusted you to help them with providing a service or a product.

We’d love to hear from you regarding other qualities that can be added to the list of ‘basics’. These ideas may seem very simple, but sometimes as the saying goes, less is more, and the simple ideas can be the most transforming ones. At your next staff meeting, test out the waters… ask some questions around these four areas and see what kind of response you get. Here are a few questions:

– How have you shown appreciation to others recently?
– What is your key focus for the next 30-90 days?
– What is your key focus for the next 6 months to a year?
– How is the quality of our work doing?
– How do we know if our quality is as high as we think it is?

Those are just a few questions that can be used as a spring board to explore the basics of doing business in today’s environment.

Dana Borowka, MA, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC and his organization constantly remain focused on their mission statement – “To bring effective insight to your organization”. They do this through the use of in-depth work style assessments to raise the hiring bar so companies select the right people to reduce hiring and management errors. They also have a full service consulting division that provides domestic and international interpersonal coaching, executive onboarding, leadership training, global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training, operational productivity improvement, 360s and employee surveys as well as a variety of workshops. Dana has over 25 years of business consulting experience and is a nationally renowned speaker, radio and TV personality on many topics. He provides workshops on hiring, managing for the future, and techniques to improve interpersonal communications that have a proven ROI. He is the co-author of the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code”. To order the books, please visit www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

Are You Making the Most Out of this Business Time Frame?

By Dana Borowka, MA

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]M[/dropcaps]ost individuals and organizations are very concerned over the short term business outlook. Today is the day to look beyond… to look at the many opportunities and the open horizons that can be in store for you and your organization. This is the time to rally the people that you work with and begin to collaborate and gather ideas in the following areas:

• Improving efficiency
• Marketing and sales
• Opportunities for acquisitions
• Operational processes
• Cost efficient ways to do things differently
• Identify specific traits in people that you’d like to add to your team
• How to better mentor staff members

Those are just a few areas to explore. Looking out into the future you’ll want to take advantage of some of the fresh talent that will be available. However, you’ll need to be very selective as to who you’ll want on your team. Managing down just doesn’t work any longer. Understanding the strengths of an individual will help to promote a positive environment where people will want to share ideas that might not have been considered in the past. This is the time to build a positive reputation so your company is a magnet for attracting top talent.

Thinking Outside of the Box

I was at a restaurant recently and asked to see if an item that I didn’t see on the menu was available or if I had overlooked it on the menu. The restaurant didn’t have the item, but the staff response set me back. The server stated, “Our goal is to think out of the box. To do what we can to please the customer so that positive word of mouth is shared and that will result in more business for us!” Isn’t that what we all want… team members that will think out of the box… positive word of mouth about our business… to increase revenue. What we all need are people like that on our team. So the million dollar question is… how do we get staff members to think along those lines and how can we attract people like that?

What is Driving Your Top People

Learn what is driving your top talent people. If you help them to succeed you’ll create a high level of retention and become a magnet for recruiting. Here are some action items for you to consider:

Use an in-depth work style and personality assessment during the hiring process and for current staff.
Use the data to manage, which in turn will reduce the learning curve for new hires and help to better understand current staff members.
Place individuals in positions that they can succeed in based on their strengths.
Take the time to constantly mentor and create plans to help individuals grow.
Identify traits of individuals that you want in your organization and target those individuals through specific messages in ads, on the web, through networking and association gatherings.

For your A players (your major contributors), play to their strengths and help them grow. Don’t ignore them just because they are doing well. These are the individuals that if they don’t feel engaged in helping the organization to continue to grow and improve, they’ll leave.

For your B players, nurture them through mentoring so they can become A players down the road. For your C players, measure and possibly remove them if they are eating up your time. Never spend 80 percent of your time and energy on the people who are producing 20 percent of your results.

Peel the Onion

But don’t write those C players off too fast. A small hotel chain had reservation reps that were not meeting the volume level that was being required. The manager thought they were just C players and was a very unhappy camper with his team. That person was placed in a different department and a new manager came in who sat down with each individual and then with the group. She discovered that 24 hours before a guest was going to arrive at the hotel property that a high percentage were calling in to verify the reservation and to get directions. This used up valuable call time, so as a team they brainstormed together and came up with a brilliant idea. Since the reps were asking for email addresses why not send an email confirmation 24-48 hours prior with a fun page welcoming the individuals and include links for weather and directions.

Guess what happened? Calls were reduced and the reps were able to take more calls for new reservations with less hold time. All because the manager took the time to ask questions to peel the onion back to identify the underlying issue. When the reps were asked why this topic hadn’t been addressed in the past they simply responded, “No one asked and we never thought of it”.

Set Your Sights on the Future

Make the most out of this business time frame by helping others in your team to be successful, build a positive reputation, ask your team for ideas and contribute to the well being of the entire organization, train staff to mentor others and be on the look out for adding fresh talent to your team! Remember, it is important to be precise in what you are looking for and do a thorough job interview by asking probing questions, doing reference and background checks and utilizing an in-depth work style and personality assessment.

This is the time to set your sights on the future, deal with the present by supporting your team and ask for input. Set your organization on a course for long term success by using proactive and collaborative mentoring, management and vision. We’d love to hear about your successes.

Dana Borowka, MA, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC and his organization constantly remain focused on their mission statement – “To bring effective insight to your organization”. They do this through the use of in-depth work style assessments to raise the hiring bar so companies select the right people to reduce hiring and management errors. They also have a full service consulting division that provides domestic and international interpersonal coaching, executive onboarding, leadership training, global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training, operational productivity improvement, 360s and employee surveys as well as a variety of workshops. Dana has over 25 years of business consulting experience and is a nationally renowned speaker, radio and TV personality on many topics. He provides workshops on hiring, managing for the future, and techniques to improve interpersonal communications that have a proven ROI. He is the co-author of the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code”. To order the books, please visit www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

Are You Getting Full Value from Your System, or Could Your System Use a Re-alignment?

By Ted Margison

[dropcaps type=”circle” color=”” background=””]A[/dropcaps] company was considering replacing the three systems they were using to run the business. One system handled financial information, a second handled production and a third handled service calls. The company felt that it would be more productive to consolidate into a single system.

The controller, who started with the company around this time, joined in the interviews to meet people and get a better understanding of how the company operated. Thirty-two (32) systems were identified. On top of this, he found the financial performance reports management had been using did not come from the corporate financial system but from isolated Excel documents. Thirty-two systems sounds like a lot, but someone recently told me that they had worked with a Fortune 500 company to consolidate databases and uncovered over 3,000 different databases (many of which were in Excel).

Right now, the odds are this is happening to you. How does this happen?

Over time, the organization goes through changes. Personnel changes occur, functional needs change and roles and responsibilities change. Often times, people forget what they were trained on because they only perform the function once or twice a year. Sometimes personnel changes mean the new person is not fully trained on all aspects of the system. As changes occur, people are not sure how to handle them within the current system and because they need to get something done now, they begin to look for workarounds such as using Excel. The greatest problem is that it goes unnoticed until it becomes so overwhelming that processes collapse. The issues with workarounds are:

• Data are being entered into multiple systems – potential for keying errors
• Extra time and effort is required
• Potential for the various systems to get out of sync
• Users tend to rely more and more on the workaround systems which then become the operational systems.

There are times when the current system simply does not handle a new requirement so, it’s either modify the system or use a workaround. The first step should be to check with the software vendor to determine if this requirement is addressed in any new release that the company has not installed or is in an upcoming release. If the requirement will be addressed in a new release due out in a few months then the interim workaround solution need only be a relatively inexpensive, temporary solution. If the vendor does not have any plans for addressing this requirement contact other companies using the software system to see if they have addressed this requirement. The key question here is whether to create a solution outside your current system or modify your current system. If you do any modifications, review them with the software vendor to ensure they will not impede implementing future releases from the vendor. If you create an external solution make sure you identify any points of ‘connection’ with the current system and develop controls to keep the systems in sync.

Challenges with New Implementations

Maybe you have just implemented a system and so this can’t be a problem, can it? Hopefully, the implementation effort went well with a smooth transition. However, more often than not, transition is not smooth so, users hold onto the workaround systems they were using because they still need to get things done and they are not fully comfortable with the new system.

Security is often a major concern during implementation. Great care is taken to ensure users are restricted to just the functions and reports that apply to their job. I have seen numerous implementations where users are using workaround solutions because the system does not provide a report they need or perform a task they need to do; only to find out that the system really does meet their needs – the functions and reports had been hidden from the user. IT had based the set-up of user menus on perceptions of what was involved in a job position. Unfortunately, perception does not always match reality.

• When implementing new systems try to keep open access to as many functions and reports as possible (taking into account appropriate segregation of duties).
• As accountability is defined, or re-defined, for each person, ensure the functions and reports are aligned accordingly.

Past problems are often carried forward to the new system: “The reports that come from our corporate system are the lifeblood of the company. We need to ensure that each report is reproduced in the new system exactly as it is now.” the CEO directed. “Talk to everyone and make sure you understand exactly how each report is used so that we can be sure the new system can produce them.” Actually, 98% of all information on the corporate system reports was thrown out. Users took selected bits and pieces of information from the reports and put them into Excel documents along with data from other sources to produce reports for management. Converting the corporate system reports would perpetuate the need for workaround systems.

A major problem with new implementations is too much change all at once – users get overwhelmed and return to familiar tools (workaround systems). Traditionally, implementation focuses on identifying a desired new way for how to do business and then rolls out the new system. One Friday night the current system is turned off and on Monday users start with the new system: new tools, new concepts, new terminology, new processes, new workflows, new roles and responsibilities and even new organization structures. Is it any wonder that this heralds a period of disruption, despite preparation efforts? This ‘big bang approach’ to change is too much for organizations. Major changes take time to institutionalize and usually involve a culture change.

Sometimes, when new systems are being implemented companies modify them to exactly fit the current operations, eliminating flexibility. When operations need to change, the system is unable to adapt without heavy modifications. When this happens – workarounds!

• Avoid doing extensive modifications during initial implementation – implement ‘as vanilla as possible’. Take six months, preferably twelve, to learn the different ways of using the system to handle various issues that arise.
Have users log issues they have difficulty addressing with the system and identify what they did to handle each issue.
• Review any desired modifications with the software vendor to determine if this fits into their R&D efforts. Avoid any modification that restricts your ability to implement new releases from the software vendor. You are better off to create an external sub-system that interfaces with the new system.

Solution Approach

Survey each employee to identify which systems they use and how they use them (this includes manual systems). In particular, ask them what issues cannot be addressed by the primary system and which systems, or tools, they use instead.

For business management efforts have each manager identify key controls, such as ensuring on-time delivery. Have the managers identify what information is needed and where they expect the information comes from. Then have each employee identify what system they use to provide each piece of information. On an ongoing basis, have employees identify situations in which they could not use the current system and had to use an alternate tool.

Review the surveys and logs to determine:

• Potential risks with current workarounds
• Which workarounds can be addressed by current system or new release
• Which workarounds need a more formal solution

Looking to Replace the Current System

If you have decided that your system needs to be replaced, take heart – this is not as daunting as it might appear.

Finding the right software package is straightforward. Packages can be divided into ‘solution classes’; identifying a few key requirements of your operations will determine the right solution class. Any package in the solution class will meet your key functional requirements. The next step is to pick the right vendor and the package that has an intuitive ‘look and feel’ to your users – it will be easier for users to understand this and use this system. This is where the product demonstration is important. Be sure that the demonstration focuses on your business; in particular, ‘a day in the life of’ your company.

Do not spend all your time and money on finding the right package. Implementation is key. Try to implement as close to your current operating environment as possible. Make sure you identify the current workarounds and determine how to address them with the new system. Do not make massive changes in processes, roles and responsibilities. Once the new system is in place, focus on accountability. Ensure that accountability is properly defined for each employee and restructure process, roles and responsibilities to align with accountability. Adjust the system as well to align with accountability.

Ted Margison is a Senior LCS Consultant and has over 30 years experience in operations management and process improvement. Ted worked for Ernst & Young in their manufacturing & distribution practice and then headed up one of PriceWaterhouse’s manufacturing & distribution practices on the west coast. You can contact Ted at ted@lighthouseconsulting.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code” please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

By David Shaffer, ERP Practice Head, Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC

ERP Is The Mortar In The Brick Wall

Implementation And Project Management

Final advice

By Tony Kayyod

Take A Lesson From Amazon, The King Of Streamlining

Get Rid Of Those Constraints

The Benefits Of Streamlining Processes & Workflows

Training And Onboarding

By David Shaffer

How To Improve ROI

Those Pesky Competitors

Procedures And Policies Are Linked To ROI

Implementing The Strategy

Monitor And Communicate Progress

By Larry Cassidy, Marc Emmer, Diana Ho, Brian Oken, Steve Phillips & Paul David Walker

Larry Cassidy

Marc Emmer

Diana Ho

Brian Oken

Steve Phillips

Paul David Walker

By Ted Margison

Eliminate Non-Productive Activities

Make Sure Things Stay On Track

Final Thoughts

By Jerry Feingold

By Rushworth Kidder

By Dana Borowka, MA

By Dana Borowka, MA

Thinking Outside of the Box

What is Driving Your Top People

Peel the Onion

Set Your Sights on the Future

By Ted Margison

Challenges with New Implementations

Solution Approach

Looking to Replace the Current System

In-Depth Work Style Personality Testing

Talent Development

Lighthouse Consulting Partners, LLC

Translate

Follow Us

Latest Posts from our Blog