Never waste a good crisis!

This came from a web site on implementing Lean Manufacturing...  

When hard times hit, the usual reaction is to cut cost in every possible way.  Rarely do managers propose new improvement programs or the acceleration of existing efforts. BUT, A CRISIS is often the best time to lead with change.  If what got you here is not working, why would more of the same or even less of the same be better?  Change - doing something different - is the only reasonable answer.  We are familiar with the definition of insanity - doing the same thing and expecting different results- well...

So what is the problem?  The Paradigm or philosophical or theoretical framework, the way we look at the world, the way we twist whatever is really there to fit our preconceived paradigm is the root cause of the problem.  Any past success makes a paradigm even harder to change or shift.  

Our Thoughts…

A slow economy resulting in lower company revenues has impacted us all.  We don’t know how long this will last, but we do know there will be some winners.  That leaves us with a challenge ‘What will it take to be one of the winners?’

There are plenty of articles talking about technology and product innovation, isn’t it time to be innovative about our business.  I like to say that companies are a collection of processes.  The business rules that are followed within a process make up your paradigms.  Are there problem processes?  Are there processes that once worked well but no longer do?  It is time to review those processes to determine what works and what doesn’t.  It is time to be innovative – how could you do it better? 

Look at the key components of your processes – customer touch points; hand-offs; and your internal business rules.  Be innovative: How can we change/improve our process to work better with our customers?  How can we make sure that hand-offs are successful?  Can we modify/change our business rules so that we can be one of the winners?

We are thinking that our challenge is to provide services to help you work through your processes and turn them into winners.

Your Thoughts…

Are you working on your plans to be one of the winners?  Does that include revisiting your processes to improve the customer touch points, hand-offs and business rules?  Can we help?

More on Six Sigma & Efficiency…

During my research on Six Sigma, I discovered a written piece that I thought was informative. The author put forth 6 themes for Six Sigma and I will share them with you.

1. Genuinely focus on the customer [deliver customer value]
2. Manage with data and facts [not opinions and assumptions]
3. Processes are where the action is [focus on managing and improving processes]
4. Proactive management [define ambitious goals and review them frequently]
5. Boundary-less collaboration [break down barriers and improve teamwork]
6. Drive for perfection / Tolerance for failure [you will never get there if you don’t try]
   

Our Thoughts…

When your company is flying high, you don’t really have the time to focus on the basics [like delivering customer value] - You do have the time when sales are down.

Many companies have failed because they forgot about delivering customer value. As an example, Microsoft is hoping that Vista is going to deliver customer value - The difference between success and failure will be measured in $ Hundreds of Millions.

Processes are where the action is. Companies are made up of a bundle of processes and if you are looking to get lean [cut costs] then this is where you make it happen.

Throughout this decade, companies are looking anywhere in the world for the necessary resources to run their company. We see companies doing engineering in the US, manufacturing in China, assembly and test in Mexico. This kind of geographic company depends on the ability to collaborate in a boundary-less fashion.

When a company is in its hay-day, like Google is now, they are in the mode of driving for perfection with a tolerance for failure. When a company is in a downward cycle, like SGI, there is very little tolerance for failure. That tentativeness will not bring back a company to prominence.

Six Sigma is all about Efficiency. And, processes are where the action is.

Your Thoughts…

Has your company embraced any of these 6 themes? Have you uncovered other themes that you believe have made your company more Efficient?

Efficiency has been my topic for many of these ‘Ideas’ newsletters. Even though a company may not actually say their objectives for 2007 are Efficiency, its components [increased revenues and/or decreased costs] are always mentioned as candidates.

If your company is in manufacturing, you may be embracing Six Sigma principles to become more Efficient. The main thrust of Six Sigma is to reduce manufacturing defects [which will decrease costs]. And, half of the 6 steps to Six Sigma deal with process. They even have a couple of different 6 step processes to define and improve their processes [DMAIC & DMADV].

Our Thoughts…

Six Sigma is about Efficiency.

Since our focus is on defining and improving business processes [not just manufacturing processes], we have come up with a ‘process loop’ that is very similar to the Six Sigma DMAIC process.

The DMAIC process is: define, measure, analyze, improve and control the process.

We see the process of improving processes as a loop:

1. Define the process - Confirm the definition is correct by testing it, edit and retest, measure
2. Automate the process - Where can you automate? Where could you eliminate steps? etc.
3. Manage the process - Implement the solution and manage your processes
4. Integrate the process - Integrate your process with other processes/software where feasible
5. Monitor the process - Monitor the process against people changes, environment changes, etc.
6. Improve the process - Implement the improvements in the definition

The last step calls for you to edit your process to input the changes. The process loops from step 6 back to step 1. This should be an ongoing process.

Note: Most Six Sigma writings state that Zero defects is unachievable. However, these same writers recommend continuous process improvements. The Six Sigma Academy contends that ‘black belts’ can save companies $230k per project and they can complete 4 to 6 projects per year.

The savings are there - it is all about Efficiency.

Your Thoughts…

Has your company embraced process improvements? Have you uncovered strategies that you believe have made your company more Efficient?