Executing Change – getting it right
Change is inevitable. If you stay still, change will occur around you.
You know deep down you have to change, you plan the change however execution fails. More than 80% of projects fail to make the proposed change.
Change is inevitable. If you stay still, change will occur around you.
You know deep down you have to change, you plan the change however execution fails. More than 80% of projects fail to make the proposed change.
You know the process – you work on the business case document (more than 40 pages) to explain why change is required. You get the funding (most companies spend up to 30% of their cash inflow on capital projects to deliver change. But then you get to delivery, things fail.
The change doesn’t happen, it’s not well understood, there is resistance. The business case benefits are not delivered. After failed projects, people get despondent with the whole process and don’t ever both.
Why can’t organisation deliver change well? Well depends on where you work but I am going to focus on the 3 things you require to ensure you deliver.
3 things to ensure change will occur:
1. Executive Sponsorship – you need an Executive Sponsor that can support your business case and ensure where there are roadblocks they help clear. If you can get a couple of supports on the Executive team, this will help your case.
2. Budget & Resources – you need enough money to deliver the change and dedicated resources to help (that are not also trying to do BAU). When budgets squeezed and every project gets hit 20% cut, no that’s not ok you need to ensure you have sufficient money to deliver.
3. Build momentum & excitement – you need to build momentum and excitement across the team, division and organisation around the change – what does it mean for them? Why the change will help them and get support.
Other considerations that need to be considered to improve project management
Companies need to consider their business case process. People spending months building business case, is not a good use of time or energy. A business case document over 40 pages+ will not be read again or by many people and doesn’t help assess the delivery of the project. Could you do the business case in 4-5 pages.
Do less projects but deliver them well. Do less projects and then focus on delivering them well.
Don’t be scared to show RED, project off track. Everyone wants there project to be green, but can’t get things back on track or help if it’s status is not correctly represented.
Centralised PMO structure needs to be provided to the business to have consistency across projects, but should not be running the projects. Business SME should lead and run the project. Working out the project model is critical, otherwise it’s all about governance and nothing gets done.
For the money that companies spend on projects, getting them right and delivering the change that is required is critical for strategic success of the organisation. Companies need to rethink their process for projects and be honest on what works in the current project.
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The people that shaped me & what they taught me
The people that shaped me & what they taught me
When you look back, there are people that have made a big difference in your life. Maybe you see it more when you look back, rather than when you are in the thick of it. People come in and out of our lives and sometimes we don’t go back to say thank you to the people that have shaped us.
The people that shaped me & what they taught me
When you look back, there are people that have made a big difference in your life. Maybe you see it more when you look back, rather than when you are in the thick of it. People come in and out of our lives and sometimes we don’t go back to say thank you to the people that have shaped us.
On a day of reflection, I wanted to think through the people that shaped me and what main key learnings were. Rather than name people, I thought I would paint a picture of the kind of people in my life that shaped me & what I learnt along this journey of life.
I am 43 and have a lot of living to do but don’t want to forget the people that shaped me and what I have learnt. As you read this, think about the people that shaped you and what you have learnt.
Take the time to reflect…..
Highschool Teachers
You are in year 10 and you need to pick your subjects for Year 11 and 12 and what uni degree you want to do. Who the hell knows? My Accounting teacher was passionate, entertaining and very encouraging and I really enjoyed accounting and picked up the basics quickly.
It was something I had never considered as a career, but my Accounting high school teacher shaped me. She gave me extra attention and help and gave me the confidence for being able to do really well in the subject. On our year 11 and 12 exam she met us with special pencils for the exam - it was a really nice touch.
First Corporate gig
I did an internship out of high school at a CA firm to do audit. A big transition of travelling to city, clients and earning 14k per year to do audit for small business and councils. I learnt so much. I enjoyed the experience, and it really encouraged me to go to university to do the degree so I could come back to one of the big 4 firms. It gave me a goal to focus on.
This gig gave me an open door when I went for graduate jobs which meant I got to pick Arthur Andersen (the year they were taken over by EY). My graduate experience at EY was exceptional & has set up my career. Paths lead to other paths.
Partner sponsor
An experienced partner at EY took me under his wing. He coached, encouraged, challenged me and gave me opportunities to work on stuff outside of audit that I loved. It gave me opportunity to travel, present, lead high profile projects globally and work on some great accounts / projects. He always challenged me and supported me. It’s been 12 years since I left EY and we still keep in contact.
He is a great bouncing board. His best piece of advice is life is a marathon not a sprint, so slow down….I have listened and maybe now as a bit older see the importance of this advice. Having someone to help you navigate a large Corporate as a sponsor is important, so you don’t get lost.
Great leaders & leadership development
EY leadership is a big area of focus; which means you get annual 360 feedback, leadership development training and an opportunity for feedback on how you lead your teams. You get to work with a range of manager / leaders on different assignments and learn how you work best, who you like to work with and their style. You learn from the good managers and bad ones as well and you shape the kind of leader you want to be.
In a Big 4 environment the people that survive are A class. It’s a competitive environment so to make it you need to be pretty amazing, so you get to learn from a lot of leaders at different levels.
Training opportunities meant that you got to consider what kind of leader you want to be and really map out an action plan each year on how you are going to improve.
Female role models
As a female, this is important, having female role models. Partners at EY, CFO, or senior Finance people in client sites. These role models help you work out what is possible & these evolve over your journey.
As I moved into Corporate, I focused on finding female role models that I could bounce off to continue to build my confidence. I also wanted to be a role model for other women who are on their career journey.
Team members
I have built some super amazing teams through-out my career, what we have delivered, the fun we had and the relationships we have built will always stay with me as I continue on my journey. Keeping in contact with people that you built relationship with, beyond work.
I have met some amazing people and I genuinely care about people and helping and supporting them in their career or their life. I am not good as keeping in contact but when people reach out I’m always very happy to help.
Mentors
Having a couple of mentors (informal) that you can call when you are stuck, need advice or just need a kick up the arse. Life’s journey isn’t always what we expect, but it’s imperative that we take the time to build mentor relationships that work across the journey.
Terrible leaders
After working for a terrible leader (that’s a very long story), you learn what a bad manager/leader is. How to ensure you never work for someone like them again and how you never want to be like them. You learn not what to do. It also has helped me realise that working for someone I respect and I can learn from is so important.
Over time, you build your own confidence and path. It isn’t always what you expect or where you thought you were going to go, but along the journey there are many people that shape who we are. We need to consider / acknowledge these people and their contribution & consider how you give back to others.
Writing this has encouraged me to reflect on how lucky I am to have so many people that shaped me, have contributed to my success and happiness. I want to ensure I say thank-you to them and consider how I can continue to give back.
You might want to explore other thought leadership articles
The secret sauce of change
❝ Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end❞
- Robin Sharma -
Love this quote on change. It’s a good reminder that change is hard. That is why people are good at change
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end”
Love this quote on change. It’s a good reminder that change is hard. That is why people are good at change.
Data doesn’t lie
80% transformation (change) programs don’t deliver the required outcome.
78% of people in organisations (generalisation) don’t want to make change
Organisations that effectively make change, have an improved customer and employee experience & a better financial outcome.
Every organisation is working to make change – new product, new sales strategy, new investment, new plan, new operating model, new ways of doing things. Change is what continues to add value to organisations.
Organisations that effectively make changes are more customer centric, employees like working at these organisations and have a better financial outcome. So, it’s a no brainer. We need to create an environment in an organisation for change to occur and for it to be celebrated.
While nothing I have said above is really revolutionary or something you didn’t know, why is making change so hard? What is the secret sauce to make meaningful change?
SECRET INGREDIENTS TO SUCCESS
Culture – if you don’t have the right culture in the organisation, you will not be able to make the change. Culture takes time to develop and when done well, is co-developed with the organisation to get their buy in and create the culture they want in an organisation. The person I have seen do this the best is Collin Ellis.
Leadership – strong Executive leadership, where people are not scared to fight for what is important, to have challenging conversations and to take the job of navigating teams and organisations through change, as their number 1 priority. If you don’t have this, you are not going to success.
Why – being clear on the why. Why are we making change. What is it going to improve – for our customers, employees and the way the brand / product is perceived in the market?
Linking the activity with the why is critical to get buy-in.
Champions – build a strong champion network across the organisation that have Executive team support to implement a change agenda. Strong personalities to push through the hard bit and resistance piece and drive the change agenda.
Agility – as you are making change, your plans might change and you need to pivot quickly, not a 6 month review but on a day by day basis to ensure that the change doesn’t lose momentum and people don’t give up that the change will occur.
Celebrate change – making change however small should be celebrated by the CEO and leadership team. People should be encouraged to make changes in their teams, roles and outcomes. Saying change is important, is one thing but then celebrating or recognising people for change is another.
Time & money – without time and money, nothing happens. Time (resources) need to be allocated to make change. Giving people time out of their day-to-day work to do the change journey. The structure might be dedicated resource on change program or space in role(s) to have time to work on the change, not getting too lost in the business as usual.
Money makes the world go round. Funding needs to be allocated to change programs. Doesn’t need to millions of dollars, but flexible funding to make incremental changes or a larger change program is critical.
When I think about change, sometimes we overcomplicate things.
That is where the concept of continuous improvement works well. What is the key changes an organisation, department or team need to make to improve the customer experience, product, operational efficiency or to stay ahead of the market.
Having a funding model that is aligned with your planning, ensures that small, incremental changes (continuous improvement) can get done in an organisation.
Not all projects need to be large big bang, sometimes small incremental changes will have the biggest impact. See articles and documents written by Whiteark around Continuous improvement and Simplification that you might find interesting / helpful / inspiring.
If you have some other ingredients for secret sauce, please post a comment, DM me or reach out, I would be interested to chat further.
Article by Jo Hands, Whiteark Founder
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Have you got head in sand?
Have you got head in sand?
No seriously, have you?
Whether you like it or not, the world has changed. Priorities have changed, life has changed, the way we work has changed and we are never going back to ‘normal’. There is no going back, we need to create the new.
Have you got head in sand?
No seriously, have you?
Whether you like it or not, the world has changed. Priorities have changed, life has changed, the way we work has changed and we are never going back to ‘normal’. There is no going back, we need to create the new.
In 2020 when COVID landed, I was as shocked as anyone that I would see something in this in my lifetime (makes me sound old, I know). But it came into our lives (and hasn’t left) and has changed the way we used to know the world.
COVID has impacted everyone differently and there is always a bittersweet story to tell. I can’t complain; I haven’t had anyone I know die of COVID, and I might be a minority.
COVID has created perspective:
I wrote an article last year around perspective. Check article here. I note that perspective normally comes from a bad situation. So how has COVID created perspective, let’s see:
The concept of working in office 5 days a week, has changed
The concept or reality of flexible working, has changed..
The normalisation of having children in zoom/teams. calls or home while you are working has changed.
People are rethinking their careers/jobs and what is important (i.e. the great resignation, war on talent)
Employees are demanding more, and with the war on talent they are getting what they are asking for and more.
Employers that have a clear EVP are well ahead of the companies that haven’t invested in the people experience side of things. It’s not a piece of paper or words – it’s reality.
Amount of people moving out of the city; to the country or more regional. This includes people moving out of Melbourne and Sydney to Queensland etc.
People got a taste of different life, slower life, easy lifestyle and more time spent with their families.
People are looking for a change in lifestyle
Perspective and change creates opportunity. So many new jobs, roles, life changes ….how have you created your new. If you don’t take this opportunity to create your ‘new’ you, you will have missed an opportunity.
What is your reflection from COVID? How has it changed your life, work or other?
Employers who are pretending the world hasn’t changed, are in for a significant amount of pain! Employers need to ensure they pivot to ensure they can attract and retain great talent in this very tight market.
Proactive approach to culture and employee engagement including flexibility is becoming really critical.
Article by Jo Hands, Whiteark Founder
Have you got your head in the sand? If yes, this might be the time to sit up and work out what you want/need to do different for personal and work!
At Whiteark, we have been helping our clients with new ways of working, employee engagement activities including role clarities etc. We have watched our clients embrace the new normal and helped them through the transition.
If we can help you, reach out for a no obligation chat to Jo Hands on 0459826221, or jo.hands@whiteark.com.au
Read more articles written by Jo Hands
Effective hybrid working starts with company culture
Colin D Ellis, an award-winning speaker, facilitator, and best-selling author has recently released his new book – ‘The Hybrid Handbook’. Colin covers the 6 Considerations your organisation needs to address to implement a successful Hybrid Working Model.
Colin D Ellis, an award-winning speaker, facilitator, and best-selling author has recently released his new book – ‘The Hybrid Handbook’. Colin covers the 6 Considerations your organisation needs to address to implement a successful Hybrid Working Model.
To secure your talent pool for future success, you need to move quickly on implementing your Hybrid Working Model to be considered an employer of choice. It’s time to start working through your checklist.
Do you have all the elements for a strong company culture?
Company culture can be defined as a set of shared values, goals, attitudes and practices that characterise a company. Company culture impacts all facets of the business, from recruitment to retention to performance. Organisations with strong corporate cultures have been linked to higher retention rates and increased engagement.
Company culture can be defined as a set of shared values, goals, attitudes and practices that characterise a company. Company culture impacts all facets of the business, from recruitment to retention to performance. Organisations with strong corporate cultures have been linked to higher retention rates and increased engagement.
Company culture is a naturally occurring phenomenon; your company will develop a culture whether intentional or not. Culture is influenced by a company’s mission statement, core values, beliefs and attitudes, appetite and success of innovation, work environment, employee benefits, charitable and social events and flexibility/business working hours.
Post Covid-19 culture is going to play an extremely important role in retaining and attracting top talent. Has your organisation considered what changes need to be made to create/maintain a strong company culture post covid-19?
Developing your lead generation strategy
Since the onset of COVID-19, businesses have had to find new and clever ways to connect with their customers to generate sales and maintain relationships – this has led to the acceleration of digitisation as more customers shifted to online.
Since the onset of COVID-19, businesses have had to find new and clever ways to connect with their customers to generate sales and maintain relationships – this has led to the acceleration of digitisation as more customers shifted to online.
Customers now have the power to dictate when and where companies can interact with them. Organisations that are customer experience-minded and leverage communication technology to engage with today’s customer in the way they prefer – in the right channel, at the right moment, with the right information, will be most successful in converting leads.
Have you analysed the change in your customers’ behaviours to help better manage them and improve your customer experience?
The question on everyone’s mind - how will customers behave post the pandemic?
The question on everyone’s mind - how will customers behave post the pandemic?
A pandemic is temporary but it will influence temporary behaviours into fundamental shifts - some things will revert to pre-covid, some things will look very different, and other things will be gone for good. Covid-19 propelled a whole new generation of digital adopters online with about 70% planning to keep using the new channels permanently. It is critical for companies to improve their online offerings to provide a competitive experience for digital adopters. The quality of the customer experience remains an influential buying factor. To improve the customer experience overall, organisations need to understand the changing wants, needs and expectations of their target customer in terms of product/service offerings, the channels they use to interact/engage and when they use these channels.
There is no one size fits all option
When redesigning your company’s ways of working it’s critical that you design a model that intentionally and thoughtfully supports your business operations.
The covid-19 pandemic has fuelled the remote working trend that was already underway – it has accelerated the shift toward more flexible and customised models. If companies don’t reinvent their people strategy and how they support their employees, they will lose in the new reality. This week’s focus will be on “Ways of Working and Your People Strategy”.
Business leaders have the opportunity and imperative to redesign the future of work to unleash a new wave of human creativity and productivity. The new design will need to have intent and requires effort, leadership engagement and innovative thinking. This will result in unlocking new talent, creativity, and productivity benefits.
When redesigning your company’s ways of working, it is fundamental that you adopt a broad and holistic approach while considering the value at risk to revenues, efficiencies, customer and employee satisfaction, retention, acquiring new talent, sustainability, and wellness.
The Whiteark Guide to Strategy & Execution
THE GUIDE | The key building blocks to guide the process of strategy to execution. Answering strategic questions will form the basis of the key components to the Company Strategy building block. Constantly monitoring the industry, market and economic trends is critical for setting and achieving your strategic objectives.
The key building blocks to guide the process of strategy to execution.
Answering strategic questions will form the basis of the key components to the Company Strategy building block.
•What is your current situation?
•Where do you want to go from here?
•What do you want to accomplish?
•How do you get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future? What are the steps do you need to take?
•What obstacles will you have to overcome? What problems will you have to solve?
•What skills and capability do you require to achieve your strategic objectives?
•What problem does your company seek to solve?
•Why do you believe this problem needs to be addressed?
•Does this problem matter to others?
•What are your offerings to solve this problem?
•What is the nature of your products and services?
•What specific customer/consumer needs are you addressing?
•Who are your ideal/target customers?
•What is your unique selling proposition?
•Are there other comparable offerings in market?
•What differentiates you from your competitors?
In today’s unpredictable environment strategic planning needs to be adaptive.
Covid-19 has been the catalyst for companies to reset their business strategy. In a time of such uncertainty, executive leaders need to be increasingly reliant on adaptive strategies so that they can set long-term goals but still flex with evolving conditions.
Contents of the Guide.
Key building blocks for strategy to execution
Considerations for each building block
Adaptive strategy
Building block one - market and industry trends
Building block two - companies strategy
Building block three - build the plan
Building block four -manage performance
Looking for help with your strategy? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes. We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. So, if you’re looking to transform, reimagine or upgrade your strategy, then give us a call on 1300 240 047 for an no-obligation conversation.
Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Simplicity
Jo Hands is talking about simplicity. It's a theme for 2021... Companies want to drive simplicity, and many CEOs we are talking to consider this to be a key area of focus. As companies grow, shrink and change, they find themselves more complex. But where does it come from? Ultimately complexity is driven by core business functions: process, policy, systems, operating models, and is fuelled further by unclear decision-making.
It's a theme for 2021. Companies want to drive simplicity, and many CEOs we are talking to consider this to be a key area of focus. Let’s explore why…
As companies grow, shrink and change, they find themselves more complex. But where does it come from? Ultimately complexity is driven by core business functions: process, policy, systems, operating models, and is fuelled further by unclear decision-making.
Complexity costs companies’ both money and time – and probably more than you would think. On average, complexity costs companies 23% of their cost base.
So, given its impact, it makes sense that a key area of focus is to reduce complexity. But how do companies do this successfully?
“Simplicity (noun) is defined as “the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do.” And “the quality or condition of being plain or uncomplicated in form or design.””
The five key steps to reduce complexity in your business:
Ask senior leaders to write a list of roadblocks in the organisation
Ask staff to ask it they could change one process in the company what would it be
Identity themes (4-5) that would reduce complexity
Identify measures of complexity for 4-5 items and targets to drive simplicity
Start a program of work endorsed by the CEO around driving changes in 4/5 items and celebrate success
It helps to put things in context, so here are some key areas where we have seen improved simplicity that has directly created a financial benefit:
Remove unprofitable customers - reprice or remove
Remove Unprofitable products - stop selling
Remove number products in offering (do we neatly need 214 staplers?)
Clear delegations driving improved and timely decision making
Bill / billing process
Simplicity is an overused term and not many companies do this well. Ask yourself, is it time to spring clean the cupboards in your business? To remove the clutter, simplify the way you work and operate in order to drive a better customer experience and improved financial outcomes…
Remember the secret is to take a non-emotive view of things - no sacred cows!!
At Whiteark we love helping companies simplify through the 5 Step approach. The impact is beneficial for customers, employees and shareholders alike.
Download our free guide below to help you analyse your business processes and get started…
James Ciuffetelli and Jo Hands have practical experience in helping companies implement change around simplification, and we have seen the benefits this provided first hand. Get in touch for a no obligation conversation about how you can strategically simplify your business.
Browse more articles about change and transformation.
Need support in your organisation? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark
The Problem Is …. How to Solve It?
Mark Easdown writes about problem solving… Good problem solving needs: cognitive diversity, valuing dissent to mitigate consensus “fails” & “group think”, a clear approach in stressful situations, switch thinking or adding some randomness to process, a healthy power relationship (no hubris or silencing of opposition, a need for participative management & subordinate assertiveness training), multiple approaches to problem solving …
Article written by Mark Easdown
Individuals, Teams & Enterprise, Mental Models, Ways of Working
““A problem well put is half solved.””
““I think that there is only one way to science – or to philosophy, for that matter: to meet a problem, to see its beauty and fall in love with it; to get married to it and to live happily, till death do ye part – unless you should meet another and even more fascinating problem or unless, indeed, you should obtain a solution. But even if you do obtain a solution, you may discover, to your delight, the existence of a whole family of enchanting, though perhaps difficult, problem children …””
““By operating without a leader the scout bees of a swarm neatly avoid one of the greatest threats to good decision making by groups: a domineering leader. Such an individual reduces a group’s collective power to uncover a diverse set of possible solutions to a problem, to critically appraise these possibilities, and to winnow out all but the best one.””
““Probably he played it the way he did because it was not a good piano. Because he could not fall in love with it he found another way to get the most out of it.” ”
Did you know ?
3M has a “flexible attention” policy (take a walk, nap, play a game) as they know creative ideas and problem solutions can sneak up on us as we pay attention to something else. Ideas flow between silos with engineers rotated between departments each few years.
Problem solving is a process followed to find solutions to difficult or complex issues.
What might that look like ?
Variances & deviations from desired outcomes – this may be pleasant (an opportunity) or unpleasant (Apollo 13)
For a problem to be solved suggests some precision in description, identification, root cause
Maybe we have a criterion that our best explanation or lived experience just fails to meet
An exploration of problem solving uncovers useful practices, shines a light on power structures and reveals a wider array of human perceptions, traits & group dynamics;
Author Charlan Nemeth in “No! , The power of disagreement in a world that wants to get along” highlights the case of United Airlines Flight 173, in the days before Christmas in 1978 flying from NY to Portland Oregon, USA. As the plane approached Portland it lowered the landing gear and the cockpit heard a large thump with the plane vibrating and rotating. The pilot questioned the landing gear, aborted landing and put the plane into a holding pattern. For 45 minutes, pilot and crew investigated the flight panel & landing gear problem yet overlooked the fact the plane proceeded to run out of fuel, falling out of sky, killing 10 people of the 196 on board, just six miles from airport. How can this problem solving go so tragically wrong?
Good problem solving needs: cognitive diversity, valuing dissent to mitigate consensus “fails” & “group think”, a clear approach in stressful situations, switch thinking or adding some randomness to process, a healthy power relationship (no hubris or silencing of opposition, a need for participative management & subordinate assertiveness training), multiple approaches to problem solving (broad information search, multiple alternatives considered), a human tendency to not see a solution if it is at odds with majority judgement, the very action of voicing dissent with conviction will alter the perception & awareness of others.
Maybe the way things “are” differ from our best thinking or theory on the way things “should be” .
Let’s take a look at Problem Solving & Mental Models across a few domains; In Adversity, In Manufacturing, In Investment Markets and In Nature
Producing your finest problem solving & improvisation, driven on by adversity
“”Messy : How to be creative and resilient in a tidy-minded world””
In January 1975, 17 year old Vera Brandes stood on the stage of the Cologne Opera House, awaiting a full house, as the youngest concert promoter in Germany. Vera had convinced American Jazz Pianist, Keith Jarrett to perform a solo recital, had arranged the grand concert hall, invited 1,400 people and arranged for delivery of a very specific & artist requested Bosendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand piano.
The problem for Vera’s project was that the opera house staff had wheeled out the wrong piano and gone home. They had wheeled out a small piano which would not produce enough sound to reach the furthest balconies, the piano was out of tune, the black notes in the middle of the keyboard didn’t work, the piano pedals were stuck – it was unplayable. In the scarce time before the concert, the local piano tuner concluded that given the heavy rain outside, a substitute piano would not survive the transitional trip from nearby storage facility.
Technicians spent several hours trying to make the piano sound halfway decent, the high and low notes jangled, the piano pedals malfunctioned and even the performer was suffering from several days of back pain and wearing extra spinal support. Understandably Keith Jarrett refused to play, but Vera Brandes cajoled, pacified & pleaded and at 11-30pm the concert finally began.
So with Vera Brandes project flashing bright red, what problem solving skills did Keith Jarrett deploy to overcome sub-optimal & malfunctioning tools ?
As the author says “ The minute he played the first note, everybody knew this was magic”, “It was beautiful and strange”, “ The Koln concert album has sold 3.5 million copies, no other solo jazz album nor piano solo has matched it”, “Jarrett really had to play the piano very hard to get enough volume to the balconies”, “ ….”handed a mess, Keith Jarrett embraced it, and soared”.
Toyota Business Practices (TBP) – A problem solving model
Toyota has a rich and deep history of instruction, values, actions shared, practiced, experienced and refined by many staff across many cultures around the world. Its Best Practices are constantly evolving. Toyota Business Practices are an example of tangible approaches to daily work, the essence of TBP is a problem solving model. Whilst a mastery is achieved across time and through daily work and with a mindset of drive and dedication, a basic summary includes the following elements;
Toyota defines “a problem” as a gap between the current state (as is) and future/ideal state (to be). The concept of problem is not viewed as a negative, as to find problems and to take countermeasures to eliminate them leads to continuous improvement.
““No one has more trouble than the person who claims to have no trouble””
A summary of the basic steps of Toyota Problem Solving, 2006 includes;
1. Clarify the Problem: requires understanding and pre-emptive thinking around: Ultimate Goal (what is the contribution, the purpose, how is it realised and for whom?), Current Situation ( talk to people involved, observe, concrete terms) & Ideal Situation ( a clear standard result to be achieved after problem is solved, it is a concrete & achievable and contributes to the ultimate goal)
2. Break down the Problem: requires qualitative and quantitative analysis, prioritise and break down bigger problem into smaller and more concrete ones to observe and find the point of occurrence
3. Set a Target: A target is measurable & states by when & is challenging in nature
4. Analyse the Root Cause: look at the point of occurrence & cascade thinking through asking why & seek peer review. If the countermeasures are applied to something other than root cause – this leads to wasted effort and resources
5. Develop countermeasures: develop many versions, select highest value-add & compliance, build consensus , make clear action plans
6. See countermeasures through: implement with concerted efforts, speed & persistence, share information, inform, report and consult, trial and error to expected results
7. Monitor results & process: ensure targets achieved, understand reasons for success or failure and accumulate continuous improvement knowledge
8. Standardise Successful Process: establish new standard and start next round of continuous problem solving / PDCA
““I have found it helpful to think of my life as if it were a game in which each problem I face is a puzzle I need to solve. By solving the puzzle, I get a gem in the form of a principle that helps me avoid the same sort of problem in the future. Collecting these gems continually improves my decision making, so I am able to ascend to higher and higher levels of play in which the game gets harder and the stakes become ever greater.” ”
Ray Dalio – Principles & Problem Solving in Investment Management
In 1975, Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates which went on to become the world’s largest hedge fund by 2005. He is known as a successful investor, innovator and aimed to structure global portfolios with uncorrelated investment returns, with allocations based on risk analysis rather than by asset classes. In 2011, Ray & Barbara Dalio established a philanthropic foundation and pledged to donate more than half their fortune in their lifetimes. In 2011, he self-published on-line his philosophy of investment which evolved to be an acclaimed 2017 book “Principles” on corporate management and investment. An overview of the framework Ray Dalio approaches problem solving includes;
1. Have Clear Goals: You cannot have everything – prioritise, don’t conflate your goals with just desires and decide what you really want, setbacks are important to making progress – in bad times you may need to modify goals to preserve what you have.
2. Identify & don’t tolerate problems: a useful mind hack if that painful problems are usually a good signpost you have a problem worth diagnosing and improving, don’t avoid problems as they are rooted in harsh and unpleasant realities, be precise and specific with your problem description, pull apart causes and the real problem, fix problems that yield biggest returns and take care small problems are not symptoms of larger ones, failing to address a problem has the same consequences as failing to identify it.
3. Diagnose problems to get at their root causes: don’t jump immediately into solution mode, identify “what” before commencing “what to do about it”, you must identify the root cause – not proximate ones, sometimes you will find the root cause is people or system or process, it can be a painful journey to resolution
4. Design a Plan: visual what you need to do to achieve goals, what needs to change to produce better outcomes, there are possibly many pathways – you just need to find one that works, create a narrative and time lines, identify tasks that connect to the narrative to achieve goals.
5. Push through to completion : you will need self-discipline, good work habits (well organised, to-do lists, priorities) are vastly underrated, establish clear metrics, have another monitor your results, as you discover new problems – repeat
Dalio’s problem solving mental models also covers: self-awareness (knowing your weakness & staring into them is a first step to success), seek to understand what your missing, be humble & radically open-minded (address ego and blind spot barriers), beware of harmful emotions, first learn then decide, simplify, use principles, determine who you should be listening to and what is true, be very specific about problems – don’t start with generalisations, convert your principles into algorithms and have these make decisions alongside you.
“The Waggle Dance” – Nest site selection & group decision making
In the 1950s, Martin Lindauer published a study on house hunting by honey bees and observed that bee scouts perform “waggle dances” on the surface of a swarm to advertise potential new nest sites. Advancing this research Cornell biologist Thomas Seeley noted the process was “complicated enough to rival the dealings of any department committee”, as potentially 10,000+ bees will relocate and need an efficient process to narrow alternatives and mitigate risks of bad decisions. When a hive gets too crowded, its queen and half the hive will swarm to a nearby tree and wait for several hundred scouts to go house hunting. Seeley notes “the bee’s method, which is a product of disagreement and contest rather than consensus and compromise, consistently yields excellent collective decisions”
Let’s explore the bee’s problem to solve;
The bee colony survival is as stake, so an accurate decision is required. New home must be suitable for rearing brood and storing honey and offer protections from: predators, thieves and bad weather.
A speedy decision is required, as the more hours the entire hive is exposed to elements it loses energy and reserves
A unified choice is required. Communications and contestability are crucial, a split decision could be fatal
What can bees teach us about problem solving & decision making?
Whilst the problem to solve is of a clear and stable nature, information may be incomplete or inaccurate
Information in a complex environment may be constantly evolving and changing
Bees use hundreds of independent, widely distributed scouts who return with heterogeneous information (differing constituents, dissimilar components, non-uniform in composition) which may be better or worse and is shared with other scouts by way of a waggle dance, no scout is stifled & the swarm leverages its collective intelligence.
So, how do they find consensus as any individual scout has only direct experience with select potential sites, yet many are examined and considered?
It is in the friendly competition between scouts and the various coalitions all vying for favoured sites, the exercise is not solved with “group-think”, rather a scout may leave the swarm cluster and go to examine potential site to judge its merit. There is no need for an individual scout to have a macro global view of all alternatives, nor a need to tally and compare votes – it is the smarts of the swarm working as individuals or collectives making speedy, accurate and unified assessments.
To recap
As we have seen across multiple domains and across several mental models, problems are not necessarily a bad thing – sometimes they are a pathway to travel to deliver quality strategic outcomes, sometimes they are a link in a chain of continuous improvement (kaizen), if they are material they must be addressed to mitigate severe consequences (Flight 173, Investment Returns and bee hive nest selection), a structure and process is very useful, to solve problems will often reveal some uncomfortable truths about the nature of the individuals, the group, power structures, communications and these must also be confronted and resolved.
Yet, as Keith Jarrett demonstrated bringing passion, intelligence, skill, pragmatism and persistence to problem solving, can yield your teams greatest moment. White Ark is here to help you.
When Richard Feynman faces a problem, he's unusually good at going back to being like a child, ignoring what everyone else thinks... He was so unstuck --- if something didn't work, he'd look at it another way." --- Marvin Minsky, MIT
LOOKING TO CURATE YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY? REACH OUT.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article written by Mark Easdown
Measure what matters
Jo Hands explains why you need to measure what matters. So much data, so many reports means we’re not sure what we should measure; inactivity of red metrics… Metrics not measured against targets. Targets are soft. There are all issues that we hear from our clients.
So much data, so many reports means we’re not sure what we should measure; inactivity of red metrics… Metrics not measured against targets. Targets are soft. There are all issues that we hear from our clients.
It sounds simple - and it is - but measure what matters.
Be clear on strategy, priorities and key lead indicators for the business. One report with key metrics versus targets and an agreed plan where metrics are not on track.
Here’s how I work out key metrics:
Start with a driver tree of what key elements drive value
Pick top metrics - no more than 15 than it off work impact the results
Ensure there is clear accountabilities of metrics - which executive is responsible?
The report should go out each week with key call outs, and - if over a 4 week period - the metrics are off base, then a remediation plan is required to resolve and rectify issues.
At Whiteark we love helping our clients set up their reporting through:
Building our driver tree
Identifying key metrics
Identifying targets and profiles
Building robust reporting framework
Measuring what matters sounds simple but not many companies do well.
Do you?
Want to know more…? Read other articles in this series - click here.
Browse more articles about change and transformation.
Need support in your organisation? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark
Simplification
Jo Hands talks about the importance of simplification and where to start when trying to simplify in your own business. Companies create complexity as they grow, and action is required to change. You don't want to shave around edges, so instead create a set of criteria - and be very clear on what must change. Then build a program of work around this.
Simplification... it's the buzz word. But it’s not to be eye rolled, because when done effectively, it can have brilliant (and profitable) outcomes.
The power of simplifying your organisation can:
Drive improved employee experience
Drive improved customer experience
Drive efficiency and better commercial benefits
Improved governance
Improved simplification
…and more
Companies create complexity as they grow, and action is required to change. You don't want to shave around edges, so instead create a set of criteria - and be very clear on what must change. Then build a program of work around this.
Ask yourself, does your company have:
Too many products
Too many price points
A complex labour module
A complex IT / technology set up
Governance processes
Decision processes
It's the time to take a hard line on simplifying your business in order to drive improvement. Download our free guide below to help you analyse your business processes and get started…
James Ciuffetelli and Jo Hands have practical experience in helping companies implement change around simplification, and we have seen the benefits this provided. Get in touch for a no obligation conversation about how you can strategically simplify your business.
Browse more articles about change and transformation.
Need support in your organisation? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark
Perspective...
Jo Hands is talking perspective. She explains “There are things in life that result in an increase in perspective. It's normally something unpleasant. So it takes some unpleasant to happen to you or someone you love to create perspective. The perspective needs to be strong enough to drive a change in behaviour. The perspective needs to be consistent / enduring enough to make long term sustainable change.”
There are certain things in life that result in an increase in perspective. It's normally something unpleasant.
So does it take something unpleasant to happen to you or someone you love in order to create perspective? Perhaps.
The reality is, your newfound perspective needs to be strong enough to drive a change in behaviour. And this newfound behaviour must be consistent and enduring in order to make long term sustainable change.
Ask yourself:
What things in your life have given you perspective?
Has it resulted in a behaviour change, and if yes, for how long?
Our recent shared experience of Covid19 has given everyone perspective (in differing degrees) which has resulted in behavioural changes throughout society.
These ideas have been taken from our podcast episode with Bernard Salt about Building A Better Australia (EP016). 🎧 Tune in to 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐬 🎧
Let’s explore some emerging thoughts as a result of altered perspectives:
People are considering career changes
People are thinking differently about work - and what flexibility means to them
People are reconsidering overseas trips and business trips
People are considering where they live
People are considering how they spend there money
These ideas have been taken from our podcast episode with Bernard Salt about Building A Better Australia (EP016). 🎧 Tune in to 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐬 🎧
This disruption has triggered major changes in the way people think and operate, and has resulted in a number of trends:
A push for flexibility or people are changing jobs
Remote working: Living regionally, working CBD
People changing jobs with a major challenge around War On Talent
These ideas have been taken from our podcast episode with Bernard Salt about Building A Better Australia (EP016). 🎧 Tune in to 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐬 🎧
So, what does this mean for organisations and leaders?
Acquiring and retaining talent is more difficult
Policies around flexibility are critical
Building connection with team members will result in better retention
Leaders need to tweak their style as a result of hybrid working and find something that works for teams and organisation
Executives need to proactively manage their people - creating a great place to work, with flexibility and opportunity and ensure attract and retain top talent . Having a clear people plan and communications will be critical
Building a way to measure productive work is really important that moves from hours to time to be productive
Leaders need to pivot to be relevant, right now. How are you pivoting your style to be relevant?
Need some inspiration? Reach out to us for a no obligation conversation today.
Browse more articles about change and transformation.
Need support in your organisation? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark
How to effectively navigate change...
Jo Hands explains how to effectively navigate change. When it comes down to it, change isn't easy. Most people resist it. Most people find a way or an excuse not to change. It's human nature. But change is inevitable and for high performing companies a must. So as a leader you need to determine, how to navigate change?
Change isn't easy. Most people resist it. Most people find a way or an excuse not to change. It's human nature.
But change is inevitable and for high performing companies a must. So as a leader you need to determine how to navigate change…
Five key tips:
Make a case for change - the 'why'
Get Executive buy-in / sponsorship
Build a champion network to drive change
Set goals and measure success
Communicate, communicate, communicate
When you start change program, you will have naysayers - people who say it's not going to work, we have tried this before, it's not worth the effort. You need to push through and show them all you can make change - showing activity and outcome is critical.
The culture of an organisation will determine how hard it is to drive change - and therefore doing some change around culture is critical.
There are so many things you can do to drive culture improvement but the most important is to have the right leaders. If you don't have the right leadership team, you will likely fail - and so your job is to get the right people in your team to run and manage the teams.
Change is required - having a team that proactively manages change will give you the best outcome.
Be bold, ignore the naysayers and make change.
Browse more articles about change and transformation.
Need support in your organisation? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark
How to deliver a successful transformation program
Jo Hands writes about how to deliver a successful transformation program. Nearly every project today is called a transformation. Most companies are changing, evolving and putting in programs to change the way things are done and these call these programs – ‘transformation project’s. It doesn’t matter what the programs are called, what matters is the that it achieves the outcome you are expecting.
Nearly every project today is called a transformation. Most companies are changing, evolving and putting in programs to change the way things are done and these call these programs – ‘transformation project’s. It doesn’t matter what the programs are called, what matters is the that it achieves the outcome you are expecting.
The statistics are terrible, however on average 20% of transformation programs achieve the required outcomes, this is a terrible statistic. Many companies put money, focus and effort into delivering the outcome however they are unable to deliver the required outcome.
Why?
There are four main reasons that transformation programs are not successful:
Success for the project has not been defined and is not well understood. Being very clear on what the project is trying to achieve, what is success and how the results are going to be measured is critical.
No Executive sponsorship – the Executive team do not sponsor the project and help show how important it is.
No accountability for the outcomes. The roles & responsibilities are not clear and the people running the program are not being held accountable and this flows down.
The organisation doesn’t want the change/they haven’t bought in and they make it so hard that the organisation gives up. It’s all too hard.
Once one or all of the 4 above happen the transformation program will likely not be successful, will not deliver the required outcome and next time people try they will say we tried this and it doesn’t work in our company.
No one sets out for it not be successful so how to do maximise the chance of success for your transformation program. There are four main things that will help maximise success:
Be very clear on what success is – define success, work out how to measure success & ensure you communicate this change to people impacted and key stakeholders
Ensure you have an Executive Sponsor that will support and drive the project and help clear blockages that are in the way
Build a change champion network in the organisation – key people that can champion change and support the program
Demonstrate progress and the ‘what is in it for me’ mentality to show people why change can be great
The success of transformation will be driven from the ability of the lead:
To set up the program for success
To get buy in
To not listen to naysayers
To focus on delivering outcomes and communicating
To build out the what is in it for me
The lead for the transformation needs to be very strong leaders, someone who is not worried or concerned about driving change and showing resilience.
From experience, I have seen many transformations go really well. I am someone who doesn’t like to give up and I like to be on the winning team – everyone makes mistakes and from these comes learnings and experience that helps you when you do your next program/project/transformation.
At Whiteark we love helping our clients with transformation; focused on ensuring that we can use our experience to help ensure their transformations are successful. If you are interested in having a conversation about how we can help you, reach out.
Need support in your transformation project? Reach out.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Co-Founder Whiteark
The Whiteark Guide to Supply Chain Optimisation
The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for companies to focus on transforming their traditional supply chain models to digital supply networks, in order to better manage supply chain risk and disruption. Digital supply networks, breakdown functional silos and allow companies to become connected to their complete supply network to empower end to end visibility, collaboration, agility, and optimisation. Organisations that deploy Digital supply networks will be equipped to deal with unexpected events.
The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for companies to focus on transforming their traditional supply chain models to digital supply networks, in order to better manage supply chain risk and disruption.
With the growing emergence of new supply chain technologies, organisations can invest in enablers that will support their supply chain network in resisting unexpected disruption. These technologies significantly improve visibility across the supply chain and are designed to anticipate and meet future challenges.
Some of these enablers include:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Intelligent, self-correcting AI will make inventory monitoring more accurate and reduce material waste.
Blockchain
Will verify authenticity, improve traceability and visibility, and improve transactional trust.
Quantum Computing
Unprecedented computational power will solve previously unsolvable problems.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Data from IoT sensors will provide insight into inventory location and status.
Intelligent Order Management
Supply chains will master inventory visibility with improved demand forecasting and automation.
Digital Twins
Virtual representations of complex creations — let you track objects through entire lifecycles.
Digital supply networks, breakdown functional silos and allow companies to become connected to their complete supply network to empower end to end visibility, collaboration, agility, and optimisation. Organisations that deploy Digital supply networks will be equipped to deal with unexpected events.
Supply chain optimisation.
Supply chain optimisation makes the best use of technology and resources such as blockchain, AI and IoT to improve efficiency, responsiveness and performance in a supply network so that companies can provide customers with what they want, when and where they want it – in a way that positively contributes to the organisation’s profitability and sustainability. An organisation’s supply chain is a critical business process that is crucial for a successful customer experience.
Goals of Supply Chain Optimisation
Top supply chain trends for 2021.
Contents of the Guide.
Mitigating supply chain disruption.
Supply chain optimisation.
The process for optimising your supply chain.
Key features of effective supply chain optimisation.
The importance for supply chain optimisation.
Supply chain trends.
Looking to transform your Supply Chain? Reach out.
Our team has extensive global experience leading large scale Supply Chain Transformations from Factory to Customer across multiple industries. We have in depth capabilities around designing and delivering value in the Physical, Financial and Information (Digital) Supply Chain and can help your organisation create competitive advantage and value centred on the global supply chain.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. So, if you’re looking to transform, reimagine or upgrade your supply chain then complete the form below or give us a call on 1300 240 047 for an no-obligation conversation.
Obsessed about business optimisation
Optimisation is an overused word that can mean a lot of things, so let me explain... can a business perform better than they currently are? Can they improve customer experience, their pricing strategy and financial outcomes to drive a better return? In most cases the answer is yes!
Optimisation is an overused word that can mean a lot of things, so let me explain... can a business perform better than they currently are? Can they improve customer experience, their pricing strategy and financial outcomes to drive a better return? In most cases the answer is yes!
I'm that person at the cafe that worries about how the owners are affording to pay all their staff (overstaffed), that nail place that isn't charging enough to make ends meet, the tradie that doesn't make me pay when the service is done but a month later, the discounts in the department stores, the amount of stock on the shelves and the cashflow management of companies.
The COVID period has shown us that companies need to be:
More efficient
More commercial
Focus in on cashflow more
Get the pricing right
Focus in on customer experience
Small, medium and large businesses all have areas that they can improve. Research shows that business optimisation can improve the financial performance of your company by 21%+.
Business owners and leaders need to focus on business optimisation. What are the 4-5 things that will move the dial for your business?
Cashflow optimisation - maximising your working capital through tactical and strategic levers. Are you putting enough focus on this?
Pricing rationalisation - are you charging enough for your product and service and how you do compare to your competitors?
Strategic sourcing - are you strategic around how you manage your vendors to drive cost improvements and working capital outcomes?
Process optimisation - improve process efficiency and effectiveness by reducing complexity in the process.
Property management - lease costs cost approximately $10-12k per person per year. With the new ways of working and companies adapting to remote working, review your lease arrangements and assess whether your company really needs all that space. Can you sublet the space or hand it back to the landlord? Many companies are considering other options in relation to rental space. Are you?
One way to really reset the cost base of a business is the zero-based budget. Read our recent Whiteark article that explains why, how, and when you should use this technique. With a focus on what money is spent on and the return on investment including dollars and time to recover cost outlays, you can significantly change your cost base.
“If I had one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.”
Do you need to create a business optimisation plan? Let us help.
At Whiteark we have professionals that have practical, hands on experience on how to optimise business. Understanding every business is different and there is no one size fits all but we would be very happy to have a no obligation conversation around your business optimisation plan. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
It’s time to simplify
Create some momentum in the organisation to simplify - give the executives and leaders the challenge of identifying areas that the company can simplify and put a program of work together to drive change and promote continuous improvement. Be structured and be clear on mandate. Remember what measures gets done.
There are a lot of reasons to simplify but why don't companies do it? Because it's hard work. It takes time, money, effort and a lot of change. It's never too late to start and I suggest you make 2021 the year.
Companies have grown too complicated and it results in:
• Customer dissatisfaction
• Errors in reporting
• Lack of good commercial decisions
• Higher costs
• Poor management of cash
• Higher prices
• Longer lead times to deliver
• Lack of problem management
• No accountability
• Too many people
Companies need to simplify to:
• More effective
• Improve the timeliness of data for decision making
• Improve your competitive advantage
• Be more price competitive
• Improve customer experience
• More efficient
Key considerations to simplify;
• Less executives
• Clearer accountability for process and outcomes at the Executive level and clear delegations
• Black belts to undertake process reviews from end to end and identify areas of waste and the key metrics to focus on to drive process improvement
• Streamline systems and transition everything to the cloud
• Determine your outsource strategy - what you want to own v outsource
• Vendor consolidation to drive savings
• Create one centralised data hub where all reporting and information is stored as the source of truth
Create some momentum in the organisation to simplify - give the executives and leaders the challenge of identifying areas that the company can simplify and put a program of work together to drive change and promote continuous improvement. Be structured and be clear on mandate. Remember, what gets measured gets done.
“It’s like doing a spring clean of your cupboards - there is some therapeutic and liberating about it and you find the piece to the puzzle that’s been missing. Imagine how you’ll feel when you simplify your organisation - there will never be the perfect time - so decide today to start the process of simplification.”
Looking to simplify the structure and set-up of your organisation? Let us help.
If you need assistance, please reach out to Whiteark as we have extensive experience in simplification programs focused on improving the financial performance of companies, we would be happy to help. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
It’s been an area of conversation at the moment. Many of my friends don’t like their jobs, however they are not leaving
They don’t want to change, risk in changing jobs and what would they do – unsure what would make them happy.