http://www.endeavormgmt.com//management Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:06:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/jerry-lieberman/all/is-your-project-focused-on-value http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/jerry-lieberman/all/is-your-project-focused-on-value#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:06:03 +0000 Jerry Lieberman th percentile estimate) and is unlikely to deliver more than this much (e.g. 90^th percentile estimate).  These might be very wide ranges early on since you have not yet decided all the direction and implementation choices for the project. Once you have a most likely estimate (50^th percentile) and a range for the 1 – 3 key value drivers, then you can do some rough calculations of potential for value delivered by your project and identify which value drivers to focus on and optimize in your project work, providing value focused direction for your project. You could even make high level, rough cost estimates and build a simple spreadsheet model to estimate your project’s contribution to the organization’s profitability (e.g. NPV).  This would be more of a ballpark estimate.  I call these calculations, or early, high-level modeling efforts, a scoping business case.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/cathy-connors/all/why-are-ehremr-system-implementations-failing http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/cathy-connors/all/why-are-ehremr-system-implementations-failing#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:22:19 +0000 Cathy Connors http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/jerry-lieberman/all/what-problem-are-you-solving http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/jerry-lieberman/all/what-problem-are-you-solving#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:42:38 +0000 Jerry Lieberman Framing from Decision Analysis is a good process and familiar toolset to use.  Framing is simply structuring the problem, making explicit and visible the information, preferences, and choices that describe the problem being solved.  It usually includes:

• a high level statement of the strategic question to be answered
• a scope statement on what is in vs. out of scope
• an objectives hierarchy relating what you are doing to your objectives
• decision criteria for determining which solution is better
• givens, bounds limiting what solutions are acceptable
• focus decisions, a small number of key decisions that you need to make now
• value drivers, the few key factors whereby this project creates value for the organization
• risks

Framing can be done with a team in a half to one day workshop plus a bit of preparation.  It does not need to take a lot of time or effort, but it pays big dividends for the rest of the project.  You do not have to use the exact toolset above.  Add other tools that you think will help and select an appropriate subset from the above list.  Keep the session high energy and productive.  Focus on engaging the participants and helping them develop their Frame.   Encourage divergent perspectives and ideas.  They do not need to agree, but rather just hear and understand the other views.  The objective is to have them work together, listen and understand, develop a shared understanding of the problem structure, and come away with a short document that they can use to describe their problem to various stakeholders. Think what this can do for a strategic transformation project.  If everyone on the team is implementing the same strategy or solution with a common understanding of the purpose, value proposition, and constraints, then the team can proceed efficiently and confidently to implement the change.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/cynthia-sepety/all/making-change-happen-the-guiding-coalition http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/cynthia-sepety/all/making-change-happen-the-guiding-coalition#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:30:01 +0000 Cynthia Sepety any cross-company team for that long takes real work, focus, and resources, and it was apparent that Westinghouse is serious about all three.  Feedback and discussion was frank and constructive; titles and positions were left at the door. In fact, there were very senior people in the room, but the conversation was so balanced, I never knew it until being told after the session was over! Conversation about a recent Regional Model Roll-Out included impacts on reporting relationships, roles and responsibilities, and improving communications with key customers.  The group knew it needed to communicate successes better, and identified other areas where gaps needed to be closed. Can you imagine company results if everyone had a model that worked like this one? While the Coalition is still learning and growing into their role, I can’t think of many things more valuable to a company than engaged employees providing feedback that helps to shape and create successful company outcomes.   Questions and comments are always welcome at csepety@endeavormgmt.com, or 412-255-3754.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bill-nash/all/pittsburgh-pride http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bill-nash/all/pittsburgh-pride#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:25:11 +0000 Bill Nash The Voice of the CIO”.  If you haven’t read it, you should.  It is an elegantly written and insightful study of what and how CIO’s create value for their businesses. Another interesting visit was with Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute.  As Endeavor Management is often called upon to help our client develop new capabilities, I was interested in learning more about how the Institute’s Capability Maturity Models were being used in private industry.   We just happened to be there on the day of their 25^th anniversary so we especially appreciated that their CEO, Paul Nielsen took the time to meet with us.  What I had not known but learned in our meeting is how much the Institute has expanded its technical expertise into new areas such as information system risk management and security and the increasing level of attention on a global level. Perhaps the most significant observation I had was hearing Cindy’s pride and excitement about returning to her hometown after twenty years.  Between the open arms of the business community and Cindy’s passion about being there, I could not think of a better combination for success for us and anyone else thinking about doing business in Pittsburgh.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/mike-forsyth/all/virtual-employees-keeping-the-business-going http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/mike-forsyth/all/virtual-employees-keeping-the-business-going#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:41:23 +0000 Mike Forsyth The maturity of the employees:  The most important aspect of having an employee work remotely is their management having confidence in them to work independently.   It's best to test this principle with a 30-day trial period before allowing an employee to spend most of their time at home.   After this trial period, management should review the work completed as well as the issues associated with the change resulting from the new location. Establishing the work process: One of the most overlook aspects of the virtual office is establishing set work processes and regular work hours that allows co-workers and clients to contact those working offsite.  Workers should adhere to hours similar to their co-workers.   If an employee who works from a virtual office needs to take two hours off to take themselves or a family member to a doctor's appointment, they should document this unavailability in a calendar shared with other co-workers. In a remote environment there’s no walking down the hall to locate someone, so all parties have to be diligent about communicating their availability. Reporting on results:  When an employee does most of their work at a remote location, managers often miss their accomplishments.  By setting goals and by having their workers list their accomplishments in a weekly meeting, managers can evaluate their accomplishments as well as address issues confronting their workers. Setting up a flexible work spaces in the main office:   From time to time, an offsite employee will need to come to the office for some meetings.   Many companies set up "hotelling spaces" where remote workers have an office space for those times they do need to come into the physical office.  However, each worker should reserve the space before assuming that there's space for them to work at the office.   Companies that allow a lot of workers to work remotely from their home should establish a policy to address the use of these temporary work spaces. Work safety: Just because an employee is working from his home doesn't mean that their organization is not liable for their work-related safety. Companies should update their employee handbook with a section dealing with safe virtual work processes and ergonomics. Office setup: With so many available technology choices, a virtual office should embrace an office setting that defines a business; not working with a laptop from the dining room table.  A good virtual office should mirror an actual office with adequate work space.  Businesses should not overlook the routing of office supplies and mail.   Just as important is the establishment of collaboration tools like "GoToMeeting" which allow the offsite worker to take part in office meetings. Communications:  Every successful virtual office should provides its owner reliable phone and communications.  Too often, workers assume that having a cell phone will provide them with reliable communications.  So, an office should provide a secondary form of voice communication  for each worker's virtual location and seamlessly route calls as if the person was in the physical corporate office.  As well, a company should make sure that a worker has a dependable computer with an all-in-one printer/scanner/fax. With the right workers and in the right settings, working remotely can help a business save money, recruit people who are not collocated, and increase their work force productivity.  However, a focused approach to these major issues is needed to ensure the success of having mature workers accomplish their duties away from the office.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bob-caruso/all/trapped-by-customer-satisfaction http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bob-caruso/all/trapped-by-customer-satisfaction#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:25:16 +0000 Bob Caruso enchant customers. Voice of the customer programs are falling behind by focusing primarily on the quality of the experience.  Today’s leader takes the next step and teases out what drives customers to extol the virtues of the experience.  Does your organization know what customers love about you? The whole love thing sounds a little squishy doesn’t it.  That’s the challenge.  Gaining the emotional connection with customers is truly the goal of any business.  Emotional connection drives loyalty and advocacy.  The Walt Disney Company knows what guests love about their experience, Apple knows what users love about their products, do you? The next time you review customer feedback results see if you have the answer to these questions:

1. What did you love about your experience with us today?
2. Is there anything about your experience that you’ll tell your friends not to miss about your experience with us?
3. If you could change one single thing about your experience what would that be?

Look beyond the quality of the experience to the heart of the experience to truly enchant your customers.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/galen-mcpherson/all/short-circuiting-the-ladder-of-inference http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/galen-mcpherson/all/short-circuiting-the-ladder-of-inference#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:23:22 +0000 Galen McPherson LinkedIn discussion came across my laptop the other day, asking me to look at a video and offer my explanation to a condition described as "change blindness".  Being a practitioner of Change Management, I felt compelled to opine, which I did. The set-up is this: two very different-looking students "staff" an experiment to which other students are directed; the respondents know only that they are being asked to participate in "an experiment" with no knowledge of what it entails; Student A greets them at the counter and secures identification data; Student A then ducks down behind the desk to retrieve the participant's packet; Student B, hiding behind the desk, then raises up and presents the participant with their packet.  Pretty simple.  Think you would notice the "change"? Seventy-five percent of the participants did not notice that the "study leader" was not the person they had been interacting with only a few seconds prior.  Seventy-five percent!!  Are we that inattentive?  What might explain this phenomenon? I was doing some work the other day that required me to refresh my familiarity with Chris Argyris's "Ladder of Inference".  During that Internet search, I came across an interesting hypothesis that might serve to explain how three-quarters of us would not notice that the person serving us was no longer the person serving us.  This "short-circuit" was posited by Gene Bellinger in a Wiki article. Argyris's original concept indicated a ladder that started with real data and experience, leading to the next rung consisting of selected data and experience.  From these selected data, Argyris maintained, we affix meanings which lead us to formulate assumptions.  These assumptions will then inform our conclusions and decisions, which will slowly build into our most closely-held beliefs, which will drive our actions.  What Mr. Bellinger did, as a result of "systems thinking", was to close the loop, indicating that these actions would then result in new real data and experience, from which we would select data to consider, repeating the cycle. Bellinger's short-circuit, however, compared to closing the loop, indicates that once we have entered this cycle, we truly no longer even consider the full inventory of real data and experience, choosing instead to go directly to the filtering step, wherein we select the data we will consider, not even aware of the real data that we are overlooking.  To the point of this video/experiment, we have become so accustomed to the experience that the person originally serving us would not be changed, we often times overlook very obvious "real data" in front of us, as we select which data we will consider. To the point of this posting, there are two factors to consider:

1. If 75% of the participants failed to notice substantial changes right before their eyes, how can employees be expected to detect [and respond to] incremental changes taking place over extended periods?  Practices that once demonstrated world leadership slowly become less effective and more counterproductive, but due to the pace of change, these deteriorations may not be noticed [or considered].
2. The value of an outside observer/change agent that does not suffer the same experiential bias that the participants have learned over time is incalculable.  The outside observer detects and points out data that, in reality, the involved employee literally does not even "see".

Understanding this potential shortcoming of the "learning loop" can help to explain why today's change management experience is that fully 70% of all change initiatives will not accomplish their intended goals.  For some reason, a 30% success rate seems to be acceptable.  If this rankles you, here is a recommendation to improve that performance: use an outside consultant for your change initiatives.  They will literally see things that you will not.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bob-brown/all/engaging-employees-in-transformation http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bob-brown/all/engaging-employees-in-transformation#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:40:58 +0000 Bob Brown Making It Real…Personal The new structure and associated changes were not coming to life for the employees, and many wanted to continue doing their jobs as they always had. We needed to bring the change to life, and move it forward at the same time. Our acid test came in the careful and well planned placement of people into the new organization – here the change came alive as people see where they fit in to the vision and learn what they each must do to make it a reality.  (Tip – find out what will bring the change to life for those impacted-this moment may be different for each organization, but must be found to make the change a reality.) To support this critical point we built a toolkit to support the placement process for all exempt employees, and then supported that with cascading Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) for each employee.  (Tip – Don’t let the tools dictate good judgment, use judgment to dictate the tools.) We held over 250 conversations where each individual who was part of the placement process discussed their preferences and how their background and interests fit with the new organization.  (Tip - you hired your employees because they are bright, hard-working and talented, so trust them to be part of the process. )  Our process was extremely successful in bringing the transformation to life for each individual, and greatly appreciated by all involved. A Rousing Success By articulating a clear definition of each role in the new organization, and involving each employee people began to quickly move into the new mindset that was needed.  Over 75% of the employees got their first preference, and over 97% got one of their top three. Further they consistently appreciated the chance to talk with management about their careers, and how they fit into the new organization and the opportunities that presents for career growth. Every employee now sees themselves in the new organization and have ownership for its success, because it is also their success.  This positive experience with the placement portion of the project has translated into a very positive attitude toward the transformation as a whole. Employees and leadership alike are eager for the development ahead.]]> http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bob-caruso/all/winners-keep-winning http://www.endeavormgmt.com/management/bob-caruso/all/winners-keep-winning#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:22:25 +0000 Bob Caruso 1. Leadership – a focus on customers and employees that puts productivity and efficiency in the background as a result versus a task 2. Engagement – constant and continuous interaction with customers and employees at a personal level 3. Teamwork – evidence that every member of the business is operating with the same goals and objectives in mind supporting one another in every way available My experiences consistently point to challenges in building a customer centric culture come from a deep seated focus on productivity metrics.  Building relationships both internally and externally yield higher returns in the long term than driving down cost per interaction.  Build a team that is committed to their customers and to each other.  Next year you may make the Customer Service all-star team.]]>