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The V a l u e Manager |  |
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Greetings, Now it's time to turn our attention to our corporate New Year's resolutions. Yes, I know, it's way past the beginning of the year. So, why am I talking about New Year's Resolutions now? The fact is, I deliberately wait until the hubbub of the holidays is over. By now, we are all getting back to "normal". But is "normal" what you want to be? Let's explore that...It's hard not to get the resolution urge on New Year's Eve. There's that sense of renewal, of rebirth. It's a powerful feeling to know you have a year ahead of you and you can choose what you do with it. It's a time for reflection about where you want to go next. Sure, last year's resolutions didn't make it past the tenth of January. But hey, that was last year. This year can be different if we choose to make it different. And choosing to make it different is a whole lot easier if you have a support group, like Value Management Partners.So ... How has the new year been for you so far? Is this shaping up to be "just another year"? Is your business growing? Have you got a plan together? Do you have projects lined up and budgets prepared? One of your resolutions should be to take action to improve the quality of your decision making. Nothing will benefit the organization more. Learn how to set goals and objectives, determine priorities, and overcome procrastination. Here's an objective for you -- What are you undertaking right now that will utilize the technology currently available at your company - in a way that is innovative. Do you recognize a need that is not being met? A business challenge that you can fulfill? The better you identify such opportunities, the faster you increase your and your company's value. Innovation is seldom a new invention or discovery - it is a new and valuable use of something that already exists. Go ahead, innovate in 2005!-aj-
The New Year always brings a slew of meetings -- strategy meetings, budget meetings, working meetings, lunch meetings and the I-don't-know-why meetings. If you're addicted to meetings hopefully one of your New Year's resolutions is to stop your addiction. While some face-to-face meetings can't and shouldn't be canceled, one of the easiest ways I have found to reduce the number and length of meetings is to cost them. Once you see how much money is wasted during an ineffective meeting, you'll first be reluctant to ramble on for two or four hours at a time, but you'll also be more selective in scheduling a meeting! Before you schedule another meeting, ask yourself a few questions:
It's essential that you prepare and distribute an agenda before any meeting, so participants have time to prepare. If you can't come up with an agenda, do not schedule a meeting. If you do come up with an agenda, stick to it! Don't let your meeting wander off-track because if you do, you end up accomplishing nothing. The majority of meetings today simply exchange facts or information about a specific topic. Consider using e-mail to update or share information with the individuals who would have attended the meeting. They will all thank you and you'll save some money.
An organization, be it a business, a school, a non- profit agency, is a collection of processes. These processes are the natural activities you perform that produce value, serve customers and generate income. Managing these processes is the key to the success of your organization. Unfortunately, most organizations are not set up to manage processes. Instead they manage tasks. Think about it. Isn't your company organized around functions. . .the accounting department, the engineering department, the sales department, the customer service department? As a result, people tend to focus on departmental concerns instead of the company-wide needs of customers. Sub-processes evolve within departments without consideration of other functional areas. Layers of communication and management are created to ensure desired outcomes, thereby adding to costs and lengthening cycle and customer response times. Inefficiency and waste become part of the system. They rob your organization of profits, productivity and its competitive advantage. But, there is a way out.Process mapping is a simple yet powerful method of looking beyond functional activities and rediscovering your core processes. Process maps enable you to peel away the complexity of your organizational structure (and internal politics) and focus on the processes that are truly the heart of your business. Armed with a thorough understanding of the inputs, outputs and interrelationships of each process, you and your organization can:
Good To Great It's been three and a half years since I read this so I picked it up again during some holiday time-off. Still poignant, still relevant, still true. Collins and his team did an excellent job of research and good storytelling in this book, uncovering key elements of what happened in various organizations as they evolved to great companies. The book focuses primarily on large organizations in its analysis, but its observations and findings can be used by all sized businesses and individuals. Whether you read it cover to cover, or topic by topic, you'll find something useful that can be adopted in your office, and will ultimately challenge you to be great!
"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the
goal." "If you want truly to understand something, try to change
it." "An overburdened, overstretched executive is the best executive,
because he or she doesn't have the time to meddle, to deal in trivia, to
bother people." "Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been
attained, progress stops."
Value Management has had a great 2004 and is looking forward to an even better 2005. I'm writing an eBook which I'm hoping to post soon, I'm developing a series of new seminars, and and am even going back to school. Of course I'll be in front of the class this time! I hope you have some grandiose plans. Let me know what they are. we can compare notes. Please forward this issue to any friends, peers, and associates you think would benefit from its contents. They will thank you. So will I. Until next issue...
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