August 2010 Deep Insights

Guesstimates used as measurements are founded in subjectivity; framed through anecdotal evidence filtered by individual biases. They lead to excuses, long overdrawn meetings, continued misguided effort and always add additional burdens for everyone to carry.

The uses of guesstimates are a signal for organizations to dissect the issue at hand until hard objective measurements become visible. The process of dissection requires critical path definition and analysis, compartmentalization of the critical path value added activities, a division of the parts within each compartment, and the resolve of participants not to accept anecdotal analysis. Each compartment must be studied to determine its exact contribution to the whole and where its order falls on the critical path. When order is established, individual parts within a compartment can be more closely inspected to understand their contribution to the compartments participation in the whole. Compartment contributions must lead to successfully transferring finished quality products to the critical path for next steps. With dissection, statistical data can be collected building measurements to alert everyone that a crisis is brewing. It is not enough to know when a crisis occurs, measurements should forecast and sound an alarm, creating an environment, not of solving crisis but of forestalling.

Guesstimates will never allow forestalling activities to occur. Organizations must create a culture of forestalling activities with measurements that will forecast crisis, not report a historical event, their future success is at stake.

Deep Insights July 2010

Strategy execution reviews are an assignment to assess organizational performance but in today’s technology revolution an environment of transparency must permeate the organization. Is transparency culturally accepted? Are we at the right place at the right time? Have we kept current strategy as a number one priority? Do we monitor everyone’s contribution? Do we reward results over effort? These guiding questions should carry positive responses from Management and Employees.

Five steps are necessary to anticipate positive answers to these questions:

1)Execution of strategy begins with a navigational measurement process which will determine areas that require more resources before the organization falls behind.

2) The process of creating navigational measurements should begin by tracking the learning required to achieve successful execution. If the organization is not learning new skills to create processes that enhance customer perspective, the difficulty of reaching financial goals grows exponentially more cumbersome.

3) Forums must be designed to keep learning in everyone’s view. These forums will become an integral tool to keep focus on priorities and not allow crisis to hinder current activities required to successfully reach strategy execution.

4) Crisis is not an excuse to postpone but an opportunity to develop ambidextrous skills. Organizations must summon and reach deep to solve the crisis and stay in touch with the future strategy.

5) Public dashboards should display success or failure for all observers and be on display for all to view. There are no secrets; transparency promotes candid conversations which lead to collaboration and creative resolution for crisis and strategy execution.

Transparency is a way of life that allows organizations to achieve continued success. They develop ambidextrous skills dealing with day to day crises yet maintain their resolve to lead themselves into executing strategy for the future. Transparency becomes the stage for recognition of those who choose results over effort.

Deep Insights June 2010

Today the world of change is not limited to the space you occupy. Change also occurs in the space around you and it is this outer space that must be watched to identify what might be. What influence would an event in an outside world have on an outcome in your world? What discovery in a discipline adjacent to your world could alter your operating standards? When another society adjusts its people’s rights, will it affect your world? The fear of not knowing what you don’t know is present. If you are not addressing this issue by gathering information, you may suffer the crisis of “the unexpected surprise.”

Data gathering in the accelerated era of change requires everyone to be engaged. Leadership must challenge individuals to go beyond their daily chores to devote time and energy to research and identify pockets of collaborative data that will influence outcomes that have never before been possible. Yesterday is the data, NEXT is the action. Most organizations stop researching at historical events without taking the next step to understand how those events will predict their future. Organizations must realize the importance of everyone’s participation to enhance their ability and maintain creative solutions for survival under extreme change conditions. The significance of not being concerned about the speed with which change occurs is difficult to address because people can fixate on instant solutions that appear successful but soon show weaknesses or are no longer innovative. There is no time for celebration or relaxation. Leadership has a responsibility to maintain a constant vigil, driving weak signals to the forefront for continuous dialogue by everyone. The connections of your world to the world outside you are not always obvious. Only those with a broad information sourcing initiative will be capable of sustaining their product leadership.

Success is spelled in these words; everyone not someone, broad research not narrow, dialogues for collaborative connections, originals not copies, create don’t manage and lead do not follow.