Author: Richard Lannon

The 7 Wastes in Your Business – Finding Kaizen Opportunities

Written by Richard Lannon on September 21, 2015. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on The 7 Wastes in Your Business – Finding Kaizen Opportunities

As a business, you are either efficient and effective, or you are not. It’s quite likely that there are things in your business environment you’d like to see work more smoothly, more efficiently. There are many reasons for poor processes and less productive business environments ranging from:

Lack of clarity on the part of the business leadership and senior management,
Performance management system structure and the way people are rewarded,
Poorly implemented initiatives, and
Business leaders who micro-manage (not letting people under them do their thing and make decisions).

Any one of these can be affecting your process and productivity. One helpful way of looking at process and productivity is in terms of finding Kaizen opportunities. Kaizen refers to a philosophy or practice that focuses on continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, similar ideas.

When applied to the workplace, Kaizen involves all employees from the CEO to assembly line workers and refers to activities that continually improve all functions. It also applies to processes such as purchasing and logistics, which usually cross organizational boundaries.

Related Article: 7 Candid Questions That Need to be Asked

Generally, Kaizen looks at waste in some key categories with Seven Lean Approaches. These include:

Waste of Motion
Waste of Waiting
Waste in Transportation
Waste in Storage
Waste in Defects
Waste in Processing
Waste in Over Production

There are many examples of where the Kaizen approach can be applied from a staff driven perspective. From the manufacturing line of bottle cap disposal, making toast in the kitchen on a train, the health x-ray requisition approval process, to the location of office supplies storage. All these can be streamlined and standardized.

By improving standardized activities and processes, Kaizen aims to eliminate waste, thereby making your business more productive. And, as the Kaizen approach seeks to improve processes, productivity then is the yardstick by which you can measure your success.

If you can find ways to improve your processes, to become more efficient and effective, you will be more successful in your business.

Question: What work process can you focus on to improve to create better flow and enhance productivity?

Strategy Spotlight: 3 Organizational Structure Risk for the Business Enterprise

Written by Richard Lannon on January 26, 2015. Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Strategy Spotlight: 3 Organizational Structure Risk for the Business Enterprise

Recently I delivered a workshop on Risk Planning and Analysis for the Business Enterprise. I was asked about the various levels of risk within an organization. In response to that question, I explained that there are many levels of risk that could be organized along standard company structure. My preference is to use three structure approach – – strategic, tactical and operational.

Strategic Risk: Generally strategic risk is at the enterprise level and requires a business risk management enterprise plan. There are many models that can be used. At this level risk management, planning and analysis should be part of the strategic planning process. An enterprise risk management plan should be created that addresses strategic planning elements, cultural risk appetite and attitude, governance, stress testing, identification, measurement, response and control. These elements should be brought forward as a standard in the rest of the organization. On a regular basis the organization should complete an enterprise risk environmental scan to ensure they keep their business risk artifacts current.

Tactical Risk: This level of risk is at the project management level. Often it is part of the project management process for key approved initiatives. Its objective is the successful completion of the project while addressing risk concerns effectively and efficiently as possible. Often tactical risk analysis requires that the organization have a risk management plan that provides the guidelines as to how risk is to identified, qualified, quantified, responded, controlled and monitored. Guidelines should be provided by the business enterprise so that project teams do not create their own risk management standards.

Operational Risk: The here and now of any organization is the operational level. It is what happening with the frontline of the business from your customer facing employees, the manufacturing floor equipment and product assemblers, to the field maintenance people. Operational risk varies by company and by industry. One thing is for sure, operational risk needs to be aligned with business guiding principles to ensure people and equipment is functioning appropriately. For example, safety is a huge issue in a number of industries. Therefore, risk response mechanisms need to be put into operational place to minimize risk impact.

Risk management, planning and analysis are a huge discipline that impacts all levels of the organization. It is not something that is meant to be done neither in isolation nor with a single group. When you consider risk management consider all levels of your company. Maybe by putting together a solid risk management plan there will be a less of a need to carry a rabbits foot.

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Four Requirements That Make a Difference in Creating Solutions

Written by Richard Lannon on December 22, 2014. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Four Requirements That Make a Difference in Creating Solutions

Recently I was working with a group of 25 professionals in developing their business analysis capabilities. Business Analysis as a profession has gained a lot of popularity over the last 10 years. All sorts of professionals and consultants are focusing on creating a tool kit so they can help businesses make better decisions.

One challenge I often see is the lack of understanding of the various types of requirements that a business has and the ability to link those requirements. It concerns me as there are a lot of professionals and business leaders doing things that are in no way connected to the business needs and the key strategic agenda items.

The first thing to consider is the definition of a requirement and the second is to know the four key requirements and how to apply them.

A requirement is a condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a business problem or enhance an opportunity. It must satisfy a business constraint like a contract, standard, specification or formally imposed business rule.

There are four key requirements to consider when working on solving business problems or enhancing opportunities.

Business Requirements: These are generally high level statements as to what the business wants to achieve. They are inclusive of the business goals, objectives and needs. Often when considering the Business Requirements the values, guiding principles, strategic agenda items, strategic initiatives, stakeholders and outcomes must be considered. It is imperative that when creating Business Requirements that team understand what is on the strategic agenda of the organization and why it is important.

Stakeholders Requirements: These are bridge requirements. They are representative of stakeholder needs and they way they will interact with a business solution. This is often missed. Stakeholder Requirements require the business to capture key needs that link and align with the Business Requirements.

Solution Requirements: These requirements describe the characteristics of a solution that meet both the business and stakeholder requirements. Solution Requirements are functional and qualitative. Therefore they describe behaviour and environmental conditions that a business solution must have to remain effective. Everyone likes to just jump to solution requirements. This is a mistake. Solution requirements need to align with the business and stakeholder needs. Jumping to solutions negatively impact the business through ineffective use of time, money and resources.

Transition Requirements: These requirements are about implementation and change. They are the requirements needed in order to efficiently and effectively transition a solution that meets the business and stakeholder needs into the environment. They need to be well though out and require a plan of action that creates business success.

The thinking that goes into understanding business problems and opportunities crosses all professional and business leadership boundaries. It does not matter if you are in Human Resources, Information Technology, and Finance, Corporate Services or any other department. The reality is that understanding what a requirement is, gathering and capturing the right requirements, and linking requirements together is key to creating successful business solutions.

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Question Everything About your Business – 7 candid questions that need to be asked

Written by Richard Lannon on September 8, 2014. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Question Everything About your Business – 7 candid questions that need to be asked

Good questions are the key to successful planning and decision making. Throughout the business planning process we must consider strategic questions to help us understand the current situation, focus areas and our vision for the future. Strategic planning is an intensive process and should be a team effort – it should not be done in isolation.

A good place to start in the planning process is to focus on ‘what’ questions. What questions are extremely powerful tools for thinking about your business / personal strategy, goals and objectives. The key is to know which questions to ask and to be willing to take a candid look at your business.

Here are seven candid “what” questions that every business leader should ask:

What are the overall strengths and weaknesses of your business?

Strengths and weaknesses exist in all organizations and should include considerations for people, resources, culture, work processes, tools, supply chain, financial situation, etc. The list goes on and on. The important thing here is to start the process by first looking at your organization and its resources.

What are the overall opportunities and threats to your business?

Focus here on your external world, the things you cannot control but must be aware of. Some items could include a market shift, retirement and succession, competitive movement and changes, the global business climate (local, national or international), obstacles or climate and weather effects. We often miss the opportunity to do environmental scanning. Look outside your office to truly understand the opportunities and threats to your organization.

What political, economic, social and technological conditions impact your business?

What’s happening in your local business scene (economics)? Is there a product or service that people want or need to buy? Is technology impacting your team and their need for training? What important social change will impact the business? Are you developing leaders for tomorrow? Every answer should lead to another question. Dig deep, exhaust yourself and find people to help you through the process.

What do you want to achieve, protect, avoid and eliminate?

This question contains all the elements of risk planning. There are always things we want to achieve, protect, avoid and eliminate on a personal, team or organizational basis. What are they? Identify as many as possible and make a list. Examples vary but could include increased sales, keeping an established portfolio, avoiding trouble or accidents, establishing an employee health program or helping people drop a few pounds. The point here is that whatever is identified must be relevant to your business and its challenges.

What are the key challenges you face today, tomorrow and in the distant future?

We’re in an era where we must be predictive and adaptive business leaders and professionals. Strategic planning is about timeframes with past, present and future considerations. Establish what your work world should look like with timeframes. Planning used to focus on 3 to 5 year cycles. That has changed. Now we must keep our eye on short-term road trips with long term implications.

Where are we and how did we get here?

This question is a pure honesty question. Success and failures in every business should be reviewed periodically. It is used to establish your present situation and to help you accept complete responsibility and accountability for it. No blame-storming allowed. Outside forces might have contributed, but at some point decisions were made to set your direction. As a business leader, you were either active or reactive and there were consequences. Capture it, leverage it and be prepared to let it go.

What key initiatives are going to be placed on the strategic agenda of your business? Why are they important?

At some point you need to focus and make key decisions that will make a difference in your business. Building your strategic agenda is a different type of challenge and may require another approach. This may take ‘why’ questions, questions that focus on benefits and value. Before adding anything to your strategic agenda you must first clearly establish the benefits and values of those items.

Being honest about your business, the organization and its people is a challenge. When strategic planning it’s important to remove yourself from the natural tendency of coming up with solutions. Establishing solutions is the action part of planning. Consider engaging an expert strategic facilitator to help. Remember that you don’t plan to fail, you fail to plan and planning requires asking the right questions.

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Shift Your Business into Drive – Focus with a Balanced Scorecard

Written by Richard Lannon on August 4, 2014. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Shift Your Business into Drive – Focus with a Balanced Scorecard

To achieve a balanced business perspective consider using a Balanced Scorecard as part of your strategic planning initiative. A Balanced Scorecard is an approach that is used to align your business to the vision, mission, core values and strategy of the organization. The emphasis is to turn strategy into forward thinking actions that the senior team can implement against key performance indicators. To embark on a Balanced Scorecard, the company must have a mission and vision and know their financials, the present business structure and levels of employee expertise. They must also have extensive knowledge regarding customer satisfaction levels.

There are four key elements in a Balanced Scorecard: Customer, learning and growth, financials and business processes.

Customer: Research has shown that having a customer-centric view focused on satisfaction is one key to success. If the customers aren’t happy they’ll move on. Good or poor customer performance is a leading indicator for the future success or failure of a business. The ultimate question is this: What is the value proposition that you deliver on in your customer markets? Knowing your value as defined by the customer and having a clear understanding of what your customer is willing to pay is essential. This part of the Balanced Scorecard helps you focus on your markets and customers.
Learning and Growth: This part of the Balanced Scorecard includes your business culture, employee and business attitudes, self improvement initiatives and your investment in employee development. It is known that successful long-term businesses invest in the success of their people. High performance is driven by dedicated happy people. Most organizations today are operating on a knowledge platform. It is the unique knowledge of the people that keeps things going. Unfortunately, when people leave their knowledge leaves too and getting it back is painful. Things to consider include: employee satisfaction, retention, skills, experience and aptitude and the business’s beliefs, values and attitude. Ask yourself this: What kind of infrastructure is needed to foster long-term business success enabling us to grow and change to meet ongoing demands?
Financials: Data on company financials is important. The key is having the right kinds of data along with timely and accurate information. For management, just having return on investment information might not be enough. As data becomes more centralized, other financial data and key performance indicators become important. For example, consider cost-ease-benefit analysis or risk analysis to consider long-term impact. This is a slight shift that changes thinking.
Processes: This refers to the internal processes of the organization. Most businesses have a maturity line when it comes to processes. They are usually chaotic, reactive, proactive, service or value providers. These can all be measured. The management team needs to know what is working and what is not working in relation to the customers’ needs and the business mission. Understanding the present state of business processes allows for a focus on a desired future working state that will provide positive, measurable results for the business. The best people to do that work are the people who do the work. The key is to know what existing and future business processes must be focused on to excel as a business.

Having a Balanced Scorecard that is aligned to the mission, vision, core values and guiding principles of the business is an important part of your success. If constructed well it becomes part of a strategy map and a communication tool that allows you to easily share your work and progress with stakeholders. With a Balanced Scorecard you can forward think and create the success you deserve.

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