September 16, 2016

I’ve been spending the majority of my time this week with two clients:  one is preparing to go live on a new ERP system and the other is working to improve service levels by implementing improved planning and order flow processes.  Although these specific objectives are nothing alike, they have much in common.  Both have countless numbers of small issues arise on a daily basis – and some quite large ones thrown into the mix.  It is just the nature of the beast in manufacturing environments.  And, so we need to uncover the root cause of the preponderance of the issues instead of playing the blame game!

Unfortunately many of my clients are hard wired to worry about the blame game and related politics.  Imagine how much quicker and better progress could be made if we focused on the root cause.  Rarely if ever is that root cause due to a specific person.  Instead, the likely categories include (in lean terms): method (process), machines, manpower (resource shortage, skills shortage etc.), and material.  If we think about our issues from this point-of-view, suddenly, we aren’t attacking each other; we are attacking the problem jointly.

And, I’d like to state boldly that it makes no difference if you are in a lean environment or whether you agree with lean principles.  It is just common sense to just think of categories of causes unrelated to blaming specific people!

One tip to implement this week:
The good news is that there is VAST progress that can be made in a week.  Simply stop blaming people.  Instead, think about the root cause.  Even if you think it comes back to a person, look for every other potential cause that could help that person be successful.  If they had a new process and were trained on the new process, could they perform the job?  If they were overloaded, would he/she have made the mistake?

Practice talking in these terms.  Instead of complaining about Mary or Steve, how could you re-phrase your concern into a productive conversation?  Hold off until you’ve thought about it.  At a minimum, I bet you’ll waste less time.

The post Why Blame Doesn’t Work appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

There is quite a bit of talk on culture in organizations; however, if you were asked to define your culture, could you? I think this question would give many executives pause to think.

In today’s work environment, all potential employees will discover what your culture is like when evaluating whether to work at your company. Since information is readily available on social media and in the news, there is no doubt if someone wants to understand your culture, he/she will. What will he/she find out? Is it what you’d expect?

I prefer my consulting mentor’s definition of culture — that set of beliefs that governs behavior. Ponder on this definition, and it becomes quite clear. Rah, rah speeches meant to influence culture are pointless. What really matters with this definition are those beliefs that influence what happens.

For example, I worked with a client who wanted to change from a culture focused on dollars to one focused on the customer. That was a tall order because dollars was ingrained in every person’s mindset. The planning group focused on orders of high dollar value. The production group would produce based on projected dollars shipped for the month. Of course, shipping would backorder customers based on getting the higher dollars out the door regardless of due date. Certainly, dollars were behind the beliefs held by all team members.

In order to successfully change to a customer-focused culture, the leader had to change these underlying beliefs. He started by revising the metrics. He no longer held people accountable for dollars. In fact, he didn’t provide dollars on any reports as they were not important; instead, he provided customer due dates. This really stressed out the masses for the first several weeks! However, by changing the focus to due dates, the culture started to shift.

This leader also held his ground with resistance — from employees, peers and with corporate. No one thought he’d be successful in the beginning since much of this culture was dictated by corporate; however, as he stuck to his guns and supported the culture with daily decisions, the culture soon started to turn. He also had to make an example out of people defying this new culture. One example went a long way as people took notice. The customer was #1.

In this case, the interesting result was that although we expected and experienced a slight decline in sales in the first month since we no longer were going to ship based on dollars as the #1 priority, we increased sales for the quarter. We were so concerned about the quarterly impact that we ran around in circles for years (which is NOT uncommon) when it had zero negative impact for the quarter.

Change the set of beliefs that govern behavior and you’ll change the culture!

The post What Is Your Company Culture? appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

After leaving the work force as a VP of Supply Chain and Operations with a successful track record, I knew I could help executives improve business performance; however, I had no idea how to find clients. Thus, I immersed myself in the keys to success of starting a thriving consulting practice. I discovered that referrals were much more important than a “nice-to-have”; they would make or break success. Fast-forward 11 years, and I have built my business on this tenet – it is a relationship business. At least 95% of my business has resulted from repeat business and referrals.

What do referral sources want? Results. If I can help ensure success, they will bring me back – and tell all of their friends. Thus, although process and systems expertise is required, the key to success goes back to people – culture change, change management, and leadership.

Unfortunately, the best strategy or plan becomes useless if not executed effectively. If your team isn’t on board, you will not succeed. Similarly, if your customers and suppliers aren’t on board, it is not likely you’ll succeed. Similarly, if you communicate the plan but don’t involve people in the design, ask them for feedback, and give them the chance to try out new ideas, you won’t have long-term success. If you don’t address poor performers, your stars will lose their motivation.

Earlier today, I saw an amazing piece of technology and a substantial upgrade to warehouse operations. It expands capacity for growth, provides efficiency improvements, speeds up the process (shortens lead times) and provides a host of other benefits; however, it will be similar to hiding a new Maserati convertible in your garage if the people don’t come along for the ride. Remember to focus attention on culture change – and people.

The post Want Success? Keep Culture Change in Mind. appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

Published in “Liquid Planners” website, July 20, 2015
Click here for original article.

Change is the only constant!

Dramatic growth is commonplace. Companies are looking for opportunities to improve margins, accelerate cash flow and cut costs. Only those companies that change will endure. And only those teams that embrace change, and the leaders who engage people around change initiatives will thrive. The others will be left in the dust.

In order to create this type of engagement, leaders must support team morale during change. But if you think about it, why should this be an issue, if the change is presented properly from the outset? Who wouldn’t be excited about positive and interesting new opportunities?

Here are seven keys ways to keep your team’s morale up when there’s a change under way.

1. Start with a compelling vision.People don’t fear change. They fear the unknown. Thus, one simple first step in overcoming this hurdle is to provide a vision (e.g., a reason for the change). Start by clearly answer the questions:
   • How will the change help the company succeed?
   • How will it help your customers?

   For example, when I was VP of Operations for an adult incontinence manufacturer, we saw our job as helping our parents and grandparents maintain a quality lifestyle in their older years. It certainly provided a sense of purpose and vision to our projects—and this is valuable!

2. Translate the vision.Although lofty visions can be quite valuable, it’s also important to be able to translate those visions into something tangible. You want to be able to show how each department, team and person will relate to that vision, add value and contribute it as well. I’ve found that the most successful leaders take the time to help team members understand how their piece of the puzzle contributes to the bigger picture.
3. Collaborate on the plan.When team members participate in a change, rather than have it dictated to them, they’ll buy into the new way of doing things and feel good about it, too. You can make this happen by collaborating with your project team to build the new plan.Provide guidelines, ideas and advice in order to spur the process forward. Ask for input and ideas from all team members. Don’t dismiss ideas without explaining why. And don’t just accept ideas to include input if they’re not optimal for the end result. Instead, be willing to take the role of a coach and facilitator.After partnering on hundreds of projects over the years, I’ve yet to see one fail when it’s approached in a collaborative manner; but I’ve seen many fail when the approach is: “Just do it because I am your manager.”
4. Communicate the plan.A critical step for keeping morale up during a change initiative is communication! Just as people don’t fear change, they fear the unknown; they fear not understanding how they will get to the vision. In essence, the fear lies in no-man’s land—the uncertainty in getting from Point A to the “Promised Land.”Thus, communicating the plan and allowing ample time for questions and answers is paramount to success. Again, feedback and ideas can still be incorporated if it makes sense. There is no reason to drive around the block three times to get to the same place you could get to by walking next door. In addition to providing information and comfort with the plan, you could pick up on superb ideas that will ensure success.
5. Manage the critical path.As in all projects, the critical path should be the focus. If the critical path stays intact, the project will likely succeed, even if it runs into non-critical path task bumps along the way. On the other hand, if the project team becomes distracted during the bumpy times and loses focus from the critical path, the project will veer off track.Begin by explaining the importance of the critical path up front, so team members will understand why the focus might not be on their tasks. Make sure everyone knows they have an important piece in achieving the vision, no matter what the role. Ask all task owners to help each other and to succeed together.
6. Adjust as needed.As simple as it seems, don’t become so focused on your project plan that you lose sight of adjustments that should occur along the way. Since change is the only constant in business today, change will occur. Make sure you consider any changes that relate to your project and adjust accordingly.
7. Feedback.Last but not least, celebrate wins. Focus on strengths but do not ignore weaknesses that will impact success. If someone isn’t pulling their weight, have a conversation with them. One of the main ways to keep morale up is to address roadblocks and issues in an honest and respectful manner. Provide suggestions.Once again, it’s not change that people resist, but the unknown. Strong leadership and project skills will go a long way toward navigating your team through the bumpy waters and on to success—and keeping morale up along the way!

The post How to Keep Your Team’s Morale Up During Change appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

Since Halloween recently passed, I’ve been thinking of the value of tradition with your people. Yesterday I went to a client that has an amazing people culture, and although the people were committed to the important session we were conducting, they all wanted to go to the Halloween pot luck at lunch. It was a fun and vast tradition – my client said that grazing started right away and lasted all day. Everyone looked forward to it, and it has become one of the few traditions that is meaningful in their culture. I have to say the food looked amazing!

This morning, I went to my hair person, and she told me that they really enjoyed having kids in costumes parade through the salon for Halloween. Next, I went to Ihop to get some multi-grain pancakes with chocolate chips, and everyone there had very cool costumes. They seemed to be really enjoying the Halloween spirit, and the customers seemed to enjoy it as well.

My Dad also got flowers for my Mom every Halloween, and so this Halloween is bittersweet since he just passed away. I liked that idea of tradition, and so the last two years, I ordered her flowers from him as he couldn’t do that anymore due to his Parkinson’s. Nice to receive flowers for over 50 years every Halloween!

These types of traditions can pull people together. We are much more likely to collaborate with those we like and trust than anyone else. Do you have any traditions at your company? Can you create one? How about in your department? Or with your group? Silly and fun traditions can yield great results. For example, one of the groups I belong to had a bowling competition, and even those who are not bowlers enjoyed the competitive spirit. Another group (a women’s professional group) really enjoyed a cooking class and bottles of wine. Who wouldn’t? I got to know several of the women much better that evening. And they found out I attended because I value relationships and like to eat!

Be creative and think of ways to start or build upon tradition. There’s no need to spend money or ask for approvals. Find something that is enjoyable and would pull people together. Ask your colleagues for ideas. You’ll be surprised how a silly Halloween costume could have folks talking for days to come….

The post How Tradition Can Be a Win for Company Culture appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

I wholeheartedly agree with my consulting mentor Alan Weiss with how he defines culture – “It is that set of beliefs that governs behavior”.

Culture seems like such a mysterious topic and executives spend millions to try to create culture change and the like. Yet when you boil it down to the basics, it is really quite simple. What set of beliefs does your company run by? Where did they come from? Are they helping or hurting you?

When you look at culture with this viewpoint, it becomes easy to determine how to change your corporate culture; however, the devil is in the execution. For example, one of the companies I worked with merged with another. The strategy was “perfect” – great synergies and opportunities to leverage strengths. The vision was communicated effectively but fell apart in execution.  As I’ve heard Alan say about one of his clients, “Bill, do you believe what you read on the walls or what you hear in the halls?”  In this case, the set of beliefs and values that govern the day-to-day behavior were not modified.  Thus, the fabulous strategy could not occur as the former company philosophy prevailed.

Stay tuned for articles about how to change culture; however, to give you a few tips to stew on in the interim:  1) Communicate consistently, frequently and with different media.  2) Align communications with actions.  3) Find exemplars to lead the culture change.  Much of my consulting practice’s success is based upon these principles for the simple reason is that RESULTS FOLLOW.  And you have a happier work environment to boot.

The post What Is Company Culture? appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

Volatility is the new normal. Those organizations that can succeed with change will thrive. Thus, it is worthwhile thinking about how to become effective with organizational change to not only increase the value of your business but to also create an enjoyable workplace:

Fit with strategy – Change for the sake of change without looking at fit with the company’s strategy is useless yet occurs frequently. Focus efforts on what really matters.

Do we fear change? – No! People don’t fear change; they fear the journey to the future.

Explain the whys – Who doesn’t respond better when they understand why they are doing something – and, even better, explain why he/she is integral to where the company is headed. Suddenly, you have interested participants.

Communicate – I’ve found that you cannot under-communicate regarding organizational change. One way to ensure your teams understand the journey is to keep them in the loop. Communicate what you know. Be upfront and tell them when you cannot communicate. Trust will follow.

The post Strategies to Succeed with Organizational Change appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

Between 70-80%+ of culture change programs, such as mergers and acquisitions, fail to produce the results originally expected. Yet, there are still many private equity firms and companies aggressively searching to merge and/or acquire a business – and certainly companies embark on major change initiatives, such as ERP implementations and reorganization plans every day. Why is the success rate so low? And, why can’t 70-80%+ of the merger/acquisition leadership teams find a way to be part of the 20%?

I’ve had first-hand experience working with companies in various stages of mergers and acquisitions and other significant change projects, and the answers are incredibly simple yet hard to execute. First, most mergers/acquisitions do not fail in the strategy. The synergies might be compelling, the opportunities vast; however, the key lies in poor execution. So, how do we stand out in the crowd as part of the 20%?

People and execution

One of the key issues is that people tend to become numbers – have you heard one of the following, “We can save X labor dollars,” “after consolidating Y function . . . ,” “we need to implement Z program to offset our 10% attrition – whether customers and/or employees”? Stop! Instead, value people, as they will be the ones who determine whether you’ll be one of the 20%.

First, make sure you:

1. Listen – to your employees, your customers, your suppliers, etc.

2. Involve them in the process – clarify the vision/end state and ask for involvement in defining the path to achieve the vision, encourage debate on the various alternatives and their benefits/costs to achieve a goal, ask for feedback and ideas, value their concerns and input and encourage brainstorming of solutions.

3. Communicate frequently, and consistently – do what you say you’ll do – this does not require that you have all the answers or that you communicate items you are unable to communicate yet it even works with bad news. People will value your communication if they know it is genuine, if they can count on you to consistently keep them updated, to answer their questions and if they know you value them and will treat them fairly and respectfully. And, I found that doing what you say you’ll do is much more challenging than it sounds, but it is #1 to success. The bottom line is that people are your #1 asset. Instead of focusing on equipment, labor and materials, first focus on people.

Next, execution is key. Execution must be a core component of your organization’s culture. What does that mean? The best definition I’ve seen of culture is from Alan Weiss – “Culture is simply that set of beliefs that governs behavior.” Thinking in terms of that definition, execution must be valued in your organization. Or, another way to say this is that the discipline of how your organization gets things done is more important than the “form” (who reports to who, how it looks, etc.). Of course, this takes us back to #1 – people. In addition, as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan say in Execution, “People think of execution as the tactical side of the business. That’s the first big mistake. Tactics are central to execution, but execution is not tactics. Execution is fundamental to strategy and has to shape it. No worthwhile strategy can be planned without taking into account the organization’s ability to execute it.”

I’ve found there to be several key ingredients in successful execution – people, leadership, clear communication of the vision/end state, communication of the why’s and how’s (For example: Why are we following this path? How will this help us in the marketplace?), communication/integration to each person’s goals (including how they make a difference), tools/training required, follow-up, feedback . . . and repeat.

If the majority of your focus is on people and execution, you’ll likely be one of the 20%.

The post How to Defy the Odds with Culture Change appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

Published in Project Times, Wednesday, 24 April
Click here for original article.

Volatility is the new norm in today’s business environment. How often does your supplier decide to close up shop? Or, does your 20 year customer decide to go through a rigorous selection process? Or, does natural disaster cause a disruption in your supply chain? How about political strife? Are you planning a new ERP system implementation or upgrade? Undoubtedly, if you want to succeed in the new normal, you will learn to thrive amidst change!

Although change has always been around, it seems to be one of the most challenging roadblocks my clients face. How do you give your employees, customers and suppliers confidence to successfully navigate these ever-changing times? You must find out; otherwise, you’ll likely spend the next 20 years hoping to survive. Who wants that sort of existence? Thus, a few strategies for success should come in handy: 1) Leadership. 2) Exemplars. 3) Modeling. 3) Trials. & risk.

1. Leadership – Success in change begins and ends with leadership! There is no way around it. If you do not have solid leadership, it’s best not to focus on change. Of course, it is nearly impossible to avoid change in the new normal; however, you can at least minimize change. You better as you won’t succeed without exceptional leadership!For example, I’ve seen clients with minimal resources navigate complex change and succeed with solid leadership, yet I’ve also seen robust clients fail miserably with simple change efforts with mediocre leadership. Solid leadership starts by giving folks the confidence to follow the leader through the change process. I’ve found that employees are not resistant to change. Instead, they are resistant to change if they don’t understand the destination and are concerned about getting lost along the way. Leadership resolves those issues.
2. Exemplars – One of the best approaches to succeeding with a change management initiative is to find respected exemplars and get them on board with the change. People will follow those they trust and respect. It can be as simple as that.For example, in one client project, we had to dramatically increase the production output from the gating work center area in order to increase customer service levels. It was a constant battle until we found an exemplar to trial new approaches. Once folks saw that the exemplar was willing to try new methods to increase production rates, others followed. Suddenly, we reduced the past due in half as momentum took hold.
3. Modeling – Modeling the change can be very helpful. Sometimes, employees are not resistant to change but do not understand the change or how their jobs will be affected by the change. Thus, if the leaders find a way to model or illustrate the change, it gives folks an opportunity to learn through observation. It is significantly less scary to try something new if you’ve seen it modeled successfully – you know you can try to repeat what you saw “work”.For example, in an organizational realignment project, the project leader modeled the new behavior expected of department leaders. Instead of viewing goals which would negatively affect her department but that would positively affect the company as a whole as negative, she modeled a new behavior of support for the company objectives.She talked about the value to the organization and how her department was key to the outcome as it was expected that they’d perform slightly worse in order to increase new sales (in support of company objectives). Instead of agreeing to the goal but not modeling true support which might result in giving free reign to perform poorly, she developed new metrics and aligned them with stretch goals assuming the negative effects took place. Everyone got on board with the change – and succeeded.
4. Trials & Risk – Last but not least, it’s essential to create an environment where employees and leaders can trial a new idea, approach or organizational style. It is one of the reasons why leadership is essential – if leaders do not create the right type of environment, employees will never try new approaches which might cause them to fail and/or get in trouble.For example, in one client, in order to bring up service levels, we had to forecast demand and build inventory to forecast. This approach was previously taboo – no one even thought about increasing inventory! Thus, in order to make this change, we not only had to talk about why it was important but we had to create an environment conducive to the change. We had to celebrate employees’ taking a risk with the forecast (assuming it was a reasonable risk) even if the forecast didn’t come true. This is really challenging as it’s likely to negatively impact quarterly results initially; however if we beat employees up for changing as we’ve requested, we’ve guaranteed no change!

Since the only thing that is constant is change, we must become adept at managing change – even excelling at change. Those who are flexible and can readily adapt to change will thrive in the new normal. Will you be left in the dust?

The post Volatility is the New Norm – Are You Ready to Thrive with Change? appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

Published in “Project Times” website, March, 2013
Click here for original article.

In my 20+ years of experience as an operations executive, a global supply chain consultant and a non-profit trade association leader, I’ve found navigating culture change is a requirement for success – no matter the initiative. If your company isn’t merging cultures, embarking on a major change initiative such as an ERP implementation or dramatically changing the business to ensure top notch customer service in today’s volatile new normal environment, you’ll probably be left in the dust. Thus, those who thrive in this chaotic business world learn to be proficient at culture change.

My clients who cover diverse industries (from aerospace to consumer products to healthcare products) unanimously find culture change to be one of the most challenging obstacles to overcome. Successful culture change is not dictated. It isn’t a one-time event. And there’s no formula for success. Thus, a few strategies for success should come in handy: 1) Strategic clarity. 2) Give it a boost with enthusiasm. 3) You get what you measure. 3) Make it visible.

1. State the vision – Before going any further, it is essential to state the vision. Why are you undergoing culture change? How does it relate to where the company is headed? Why is it important to the executives? To each employee? Give your employees, customers and suppliers an opportunity to understand the vision – and to find out whether the new culture will be the type of place they’d enjoy working and collaborating. If so, they can become a champion. If not, it’s better if they get out early!For example, one of my clients wanted to change the culture from a focus on purely revenue to one focused on customer service. They started by communicating the new vision and culture. It gave folks an opportunity to ask questions and debate upfront. In another client, we had to transform the culture from a robust, process-driven culture to a more innovative one that kept the essentials of the processes without the baggage. We communicated upfront about the expectations for the future so that folks could determine whether they fit in this new culture.
2. Give it a boost with enthusiasm – Even the most exciting culture change will sound hum-drum if presented in a monotone and without enthusiasm. Assuming you wouldn’t be embarking on the challenging process of culture change if it wasn’t essential, don’t put obstacles in your way. Be enthusiastic! Find the positive. Show folks why they should be interested and excited for the new culture change.For example, my customer service culture change client communicated the vision for a customer-centric culture with gusto. What could be more important than ensuring customers get what they need when they need it? And for the innovative culture, we emphasized how we could build upon the solid foundation they had built with a bit of innovation and talked about how they could have a larger effect on the future by combining the best of both approaches.
3. You get what you measure – It matters little what you say if you hold folks accountable to a different set of metrics. Who wants to listen yet fail?! It’s easy to overlook this strategy yet it is vital to success. Find simple yet meaningful metrics that will measure what you’d like to occur with your culture change.For example, in the customer service culture change client, we changed the metrics from revenue, revenue, revenue to a focus on on-time delivery with the caveat that older was worse in terms of the metric. Thus, if you shipped an order 1 day late, you received a higher score than if you shipped the order 30 days late. It spurred interest in the customer! And for the innovative culture, we didn’t track process efficiencies solely as it didn’t encourage risk-taking. Instead, we tracked new ideas for resolving issues and trials.
4. Make it visible – Last but not least, it’s essential to make the change visible. Give people an example of what the new culture change looks like. Find role models and make sure they are on board with the culture change. People will follow those they know, like and respect.For example, in the customer service culture client, a respected executive made sure he was not only available to discuss the culture change but also was visible and easily accessible. He sat in the midst of everyone involved in the culture change. There was no open door policy as no door was required! And in the innovative culture example, we congratulated team members who tried new ideas to move the company forward – whether they failed or succeeded. The idea was to encourage innovation which doesn’t occur without failure.

Few executives and companies achieve culture change smoothly and successfully. In the rare occasion of rapid success, each of these strategies was utilized. Follow these simple yet powerful strategies and success will follow.

The post Lost in the Culture Change Maze? 4 Strategies to Succeed appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.