Grow your business through creating predictability
Grow your business through creating predictability
Every company has processes; some are clearly defined, others are implicit. Business processes are the way a business does things. Implementing measurable, repeatable and predictable business processes are how companies build predictability into their business and transfer knowledge throughout the organization. On of the many benefits of implementing predictability into a business allows companies to continuously improve while reducing cost, become more efficient, effective and productive.
Characteristics that would indicate a process is a candidate for improvement and predictability can include any process that has inherent delays, transportations and storage requirement, low ownership and accountability, high rework, significant paper handling, same problems keep reappearing, high waste, poor feedback system, focus on quantity not quality, long cycle times or long process times.
As important as it is to continuously improve your business be careful not to become so internally focus that your relationship with clients suffers. Many companies see great results in implementing predictability and over time they spend more time working on the activities of the process instead focusing on the expected or intended outcomes.
One company I worked with refused to let a proposal go out the door until it was reviewed by more than 20 people during a monthly two-day configuration review meeting. This resulted in the sales organization fining ways to circumvent the process in order to be more responsive to clients – not a predictable come that a company would want. In many cases the configurations being reviewed were not the same configurations being presented to the client because the process just took too long.
How do you approach implementing predictability in your business? The methodology described below is one I use for all my projects. It has eight steps.
1. Planning & Organization – Know what you want to accomplish: drive out cost, make the company more responsive, implement an empowering employee culture, etc. This ask the question: What behavior do I want to drive to get the desired results.
2. Data Gathering & Recording – What data do you need to gather? How do you gather that information? How does the data gathered support the project objectives? Is the right data being gathered?
3. Analyze Data – Take what you learned and create a baseline process. After the baseline is complete you can better understand the implications of making a change to the existing the process.
4. Create Work Analysis Report – Document what you uncovered and distribute the results to the correct audience for validation and approval.
5. Implement Predictability – Redesign the process to drive the expected (or predictable) behaviors, cost saving, or productivity defined in the planning and organization phase of the project. Make sure the new process is consistent with the objective of the redesign.
6. Analyze Risks – Understand the risks associated with the planned changed. Do a risk analysis and create a contingency plan in the event certain risks materialize.
7. Create Implementation Plan – Many times when processes are changed companies fail to integrate the new process and tools into the business. It becomes an add-on that just creates more work, without reaching the desired results.
8. Create Cost Benefits Analysis – There is a review of expected cost and benefits during each step of the process. This step is nothing more than the formalization of what you have learned in the prior steps.
In summary, poorly designed or implemented processes are the root cause of many problems. A process that has inherent delays, low ownership and accountability, high rework, significant paper handling, high waste, long cycle times or long process times are good candidates for process improvement.
Benefits from process redesign include: a clear definition of roles, responsibilities, expected time frames and process objectives as well as improved employee morale, improved productivity, reduced cost and Improved performance.
Ronald Finklestein
President, AKRIS LLC
Grow your business through creating predictability - To learn more about this author, visit Ron Finklestein's Website.
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The need to implement predictability in a business occurs for several reasons: mergers or acquisitions, inefficiencies, cost control, lack of process effectiveness, competition and global pressures, just to name a few.
Every company has processes; some are clearly defined, others are implicit. Business processes are the way a business does things. Implementing measurable, repeatable and predictable business processes are how companies build predictability into their business and transfer knowledge throughout the organization. On of the many benefits of implementing predictability into a business allows companies to continuously improve while reducing cost, become more efficient, effective and productive.
Characteristics that would indicate a process is a candidate for improvement and predictability can include any process that has inherent delays, transportations and storage requirement, low ownership and accountability, high rework, significant paper handling, same problems keep reappearing, high waste, poor feedback system, focus on quantity not quality, long cycle times or long process times.
As important as it is to continuously improve your business be careful not to become so internally focus that your relationship with clients suffers. Many companies see great results in implementing predictability and over time they spend more time working on the activities of the process instead focusing on the expected or intended outcomes.
One company I worked with refused to let a proposal go out the door until it was reviewed by more than 20 people during a monthly two-day configuration review meeting. This resulted in the sales organization fining ways to circumvent the process in order to be more responsive to clients – not a predictable come that a company would want. In many cases the configurations being reviewed were not the same configurations being presented to the client because the process just took too long.
How do you approach implementing predictability in your business? The methodology described below is one I use for all my projects. It has eight steps.
1. Planning & Organization – Know what you want to accomplish: drive out cost, make the company more responsive, implement an empowering employee culture, etc. This ask the question: What behavior do I want to drive to get the desired results.
2. Data Gathering & Recording – What data do you need to gather? How do you gather that information? How does the data gathered support the project objectives? Is the right data being gathered?
3. Analyze Data – Take what you learned and create a baseline process. After the baseline is complete you can better understand the implications of making a change to the existing the process.
4. Create Work Analysis Report – Document what you uncovered and distribute the results to the correct audience for validation and approval.
5. Implement Predictability – Redesign the process to drive the expected (or predictable) behaviors, cost saving, or productivity defined in the planning and organization phase of the project. Make sure the new process is consistent with the objective of the redesign.
6. Analyze Risks – Understand the risks associated with the planned changed. Do a risk analysis and create a contingency plan in the event certain risks materialize.
7. Create Implementation Plan – Many times when processes are changed companies fail to integrate the new process and tools into the business. It becomes an add-on that just creates more work, without reaching the desired results.
8. Create Cost Benefits Analysis – There is a review of expected cost and benefits during each step of the process. This step is nothing more than the formalization of what you have learned in the prior steps.
In summary, poorly designed or implemented processes are the root cause of many problems. A process that has inherent delays, low ownership and accountability, high rework, significant paper handling, high waste, long cycle times or long process times are good candidates for process improvement.
Benefits from process redesign include: a clear definition of roles, responsibilities, expected time frames and process objectives as well as improved employee morale, improved productivity, reduced cost and Improved performance.
Ronald Finklestein
President, AKRIS LLC
Grow your business through creating predictability - To learn more about this author, visit Ron Finklestein's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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