Archive for July, 2009

Challenging Times Dictate Challenging Past Standards by Jay Kuhn, President

Friday, July 31st, 2009

In most circles, business is down about 30 percent compared to last year. While most companies are doing their best to hang on, other companies are leveraging this time to grab market share. Successful growth has come from staunch non-acceptance of the status quo and an informed relationship with the marketplace.

A quick realization of the market changes and understanding what customers want is key today. Mediocre performance is no longer acceptable. During the past couple of years, our leverage was high due to a lack of capacity in the marketplace. It was a seller’s market and most of us were struggling to keep up with orders. The high capacity in the marketplace allowed us to overlook measurements that were lagging. Poor on-time delivery and sub-par quality were acceptable because customers had few options.

How quickly things can change! We are now in an environment where we are fighting for every sale. Our customers are asking for more concessions, and they have a multitude of options for suppliers.

Successful companies are those who quickly identified the coming shift in the marketplace and were able to adapt their businesses accordingly. They were able to radically transform their organization, so that the old “standards of performance” were no longer acceptable. Lead times were cut in half; anything less than 100 percent quality and delivery was unacceptable. Productivity levels were expected to increase.

All of these factors will have an even greater impact as business comes back from the recession. The competitors are amending their processes and incrementally making things better. Their measurements have gotten an up-tick because volumes are down, but they have not gotten in touch with their customers to understand expectations. They do not have a handle on how to gain business in these times. They have cut spending. Their employees are frustrated and looking for other opportunities.

Case Study #1

One client radically changed its business recently. Although business levels have been down, this company increased its ability to respond to the market – which is now more important than ever. Last summer, the leadership team believed it was at capacity and could not take on more business within its physical and labor constraints. It had poor inventory control that drove up levels of raw materials and finished goods. This had the detrimental effect of limiting the company’s ability to take on more business. This lack of confidence slowed sales efforts.

Fortunately, the company was able to transform prior to the slowdown. It is now paying dividends – making more money on 20 percent less sales, and positioned to handle 25 percent more business than previously thought possible. This has freed up the sales and R&D departments to generate more work.

The confidence to go get more work began with an understanding of customer needs. This led to changes in the business to meet these expectations. Poor inventory control metrics and perceived physical constraints in their building were no longer acceptable. In the old days, it was unheard of to keep an accurate inventory count. Now, 97 percent location and inventory accuracy is the norm. Any dip below 95 percent causes a team to investigate the cause and make improvements. The cash reallocated from being able to lower inventory has been used to invest in speeding up the R&D process. This allows our client to gain customers at a quicker pace and to take advantage of more opportunities.

Case Study #2

Another client is number two within their industry. While its main competitor has cut R&D out of its budgets, our client is working hard to implement new products. Last year, more than 80 percent of sales were attributed to products not available three years prior. This success was made possible because of a radical transformation in its operational methods, which allowed the company to cut its scrap in half and improve machine throughput significantly. This transformation started with a realization that historical numbers were not acceptable; scrap rates and utilization needed to be addressed. Production methods that had been in place for years were being questioned and transformed. The marketplace’s quality standards had risen, but the company’s quality process had not. Simple re-training was no longer enough to gain market share. Radical change had to permeate the group in order to improve product production.

It takes leadership courage to invest the time and money to transform your organization in poor economic times. This often requires traveling outside of your comfort zone and taking the time to learn enough about your customers to make the necessary changes. However, the companies that are doing so will continue to see results as their organizations improve.

Posted in Definity Solutions: Thought Leadership Articles, Transforming Your Business | Make a Comment »

Try-Storming: A Hands-On Approach to Identify New Solutions by Todd Eppert, Project Manager, Cincinnati

Friday, July 17th, 2009

In today’s demanding business world, we are constantly challenged to improve or die. This harsh new reality requires a fresh new approach.

In the past, when faced with a problem, leaders would gather their best thinkers in a large room to brainstorm. Everyone would be challenged to analyze potential solutions. They would share their thinking as a group and no idea was considered a bad idea. After many months of deliberation, they would reach consensus on a viable solution.

The speed of our current technology-driven, ultra-competitive marketplace no longer accommodates such an approach. Times have changed and so have the methods. So, how do we quickly and continuously evolve in order to grow and survive? We must learn to create and test solutions to our problems through Try-Storming.

Try-Storming is different than brainstorming; ideas are quickly generated and tested rather than thought about and analyzed for validity. The process is built on three basic principles:

· It is not important to create perfect solutions.

· Be action-oriented.

· Keep solutions simple.

These principles work hand-in-hand to develop effective solutions. When implemented correctly, Try-Storming can be used to continuously improve any business process.

It is not important to create perfect solutions.

Try-Storming is a simple concept based on the familiar principle, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.” When confronted with a problem or opportunity, you simply try a solution, measure the success, adjust and try again.

Sometimes, when it comes to problem solving and improvement, we can be our own worst enemy. We fear failure and are therefore threatened with the idea of Try-Storming a quick, imperfect solution. We feel compelled to create the perfect solution. Our fear-based response often leads us into the frozen state of “paralysis by analysis.”

The best way to create a great solution is through trial and error. Remember, it is through the process of trying, adjusting and trying again that we make incremental changes and continuously improve. If we spend time trying to create the perfect solution, it’s impossible to make incremental changes.

I know from my own experience that if it takes too long to implement change, people lose trust. Try-Storming is all about testing solutions in the real world and then adapting. The benefit of not spending tremendous resources creating the perfect solution is that if the idea does not work, it is easy to start over. Many times, I have seen individuals and teams test an idea, see improvements over old methods only to improve again and completely scrap the original idea. The key concept to remember when we are stuck trying to create the perfect solution is that many of the world’s greatest inventions came from failed experiments.

Be action oriented.

The second principle, which is perhaps the most important, is to be action-oriented. When businesses need change, leaders must lead. Actions speak louder than words! Modeling action first as a leader shows others that you and your business are serious about change. Getting out and trying new ideas shows that this effort is unique and important.

Try-Storming demonstrates action, which is different than most change efforts. Traditional change approaches are inundated with meeting after meeting to determine what should be done next. Roll up your sleeves, put on your coveralls and get to work with your team. Take an idea and implement it. Action will generate momentum. Whether the idea works is not important: it is more important to demonstrate action over analysis and discussion.

Momentum is a curious thing. Once it is moving, it is difficult to stop. Try-Storming is often the grease needed to generate movement. Action from leaders frequently has a secondary benefit. One idea turns into two, three or even five or six additional ideas. Others become involved and change moves geometrically, even exponentially. By being action oriented, ideas become reality and change moves forward.

A key concept to remember about action-based Try-Storming is that it takes much more energy than the traditional approach of brainstorming. However, the benefit is that change happens much more quickly. When faced with difficult business conditions that require change, there is no better tool than Try-Storming. The action that comes with it generates momentum, speed, support and eventually, solutions.

Keep solutions simple.

The final principle for using Try-Storming is to keep the process and solutions simple. Often, when faced with difficult problems, our natural instinct is to seek complex tools to solve the problems. Trial and error is just not very intuitive when faced with these challenges. However, sometimes trial, error and refinement is just what we need to attack the problem.

One potential challenge that leaders face when suggesting change is that many employees have seen the “flavor of the month.” They have seen the theories and methods employed in the past only to see management lose faith and go back to the status quo.

Be careful – if you choose to employ Try-Storming in its simplest form, you have the potential to unleash the untapped creativity of the entire organization. This is a force that cannot be stopped! It is also the force that will position your company to make the necessary changes for explosive growth.

Try-Storming Effective in Any Economic Climate.

In the today’s difficult business climate, the need for change is greater than ever. Try-Storming is a powerful tool that can help leaders and businesses accelerate the changes necessary to keep ahead of the curve. By combining the principles of action over analysis and simple over complex, we can move our businesses through the difficult times of today and tomorrow. It takes a lot of energy and effort to continuously improve. It takes persistence and dedication. At times we will fail in our efforts, but we must always remember – if at first we don’t succeed, try, try, again.


Posted in Definity Solutions: Thought Leadership Articles, Improvement Tools | Make a Comment »

Creating a Culture of Sustainable Change by Kevin Linehan, Project Manager, Atlanta

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

“We’ve tried that before, and it didn’t work.” That is a familiar mantra for organizations frustrated with the same old operational issues. So how do successful organizations get off the beaten path and on the road to success? That is the million-dollar question – sometimes the multimillion-dollar question.

Thriving entrepreneurs, dazzling athletes and legendary musicians all share a common approach. Most have failed many more times than their commonplace competitors, but they do not stray from a vision of success. They are obsessed with the paradox of “getting it right,” and “never allowing it to be right.”

Creating sustainable change requires that same mindset. It is not about making a change that sticks. Truly sustainable change is making change part of how you go about work on a daily basis. It is transformational change that will set you apart from the competition – change that takes you beyond that which has been done before. Recognize that this may result in short term failure. Yet, it is critical that you remain focused on achieving your ultimate vision.

Three key components drive sustainable transformational improvement in your organization:

1. Create a vision that people see as beneficial.

Your associates may not agree that you can get there…at first. They may initially challenge that anyone knows how to get there. However, they will agree that if you could do it, it would be great.

Take the “man on the moon” example. The effort to go where no man had gone, to do the seemingly impossible, started with a compelling vision. It was one that encouraged trial, hard work and inspired creative thinking. These components, most would agree, are attributes of high-performing organizations. Yet, without the vision, they only produce chaos. Vision provides direction and purpose to the work.

Too many leaders lose focus trying to “fix” all of the attitudes in their organizations. They focus on disciplinary action and policies, and overlook the vision needed to inspire people to achieve greater heights.

2. Establish a system for gauging and directing efforts.

Because innovation and change require vision, you need to have a system that encourages trial and error. Failure must be allowed, and it must be continually redirected toward achieving the desired vision. Establishing this system for continual improvement helps builds trust, confidence and accountability into the vision.

3. Celebrate successful endeavors.

The top performers in your organization have something in common: they enjoy celebrating the achieved successes. You may know this as the “work hard, play hard” mentality. But don’t worry, this hardly means that you or your performers will sit back and relax. Quite the opposite, their obsession with the next big milestone will keep them motivated.

The implications of a high-performing culture build upon one another. High-performing organizations attract and retain high performing employees. This dynamic ultimately drives down the cost of growth. The opposite is true for underperforming or even average cultures. They focus attention on the wrong behaviors, turnover top talent and drive up costs. All of these effects divert focus from the goals of growth and innovation.

To summarize, the next time you hear the words – “We’ve tried that before, and it didn’t work.” – take the opportunity to apply the sustainable transformational improvement approach. Step back and look at where you’re trying to go. Evaluate the disconnects between that vision and the proposed approach, and empower your performers to try new ideas. This transformational approach will deliver a culture of sustainable improvement, and extraordinary new levels of business success.

Posted in Definity Solutions: Thought Leadership Articles | Make a Comment »