by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 10, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Miscellaneous Business Topics
We obviously need both processes AND people in a successful business activity (don’t we?). But which is more trustworthy?
Wow, what a great question, if I do say so myself.
Processes are simply and totally repeatable; they are the diagram for a series of successful operations that a business needs to succeed, and when done correctly, act as a blueprint for those operations. In other words, they are consistent, repeatable, and known for their prior success. Good stuff, these processes. They tell us what to do, how to do it, and when it must occur. Seems like nirvana to me, eh?
Hmmm, maybe not…
People, of course, are the fly in the ointment.
When processes break down, people are generally at the core. When specific actions begin to work against the system instead of in support, we can again usually point to people as the difficulty. The people element in a process is the least consistent, the least replicable.
In other words, people are nowhere as “clean,” from a business activity view, as are credible, substantiated, proven processes. They are free-thinking, changing, ad-hoc, seat-of-the-pants animals. Having said that (I love that phrase)…
Processes are woefully inadequate in their contingency and coverage. You cannot possibly have a sound, working, proven process for every conceivable business operation, activity, or event. And processes, of course, cannot think, use judgment, or learn from mistakes (not that some people always do either).
In other words, the process is the best start, but ultimate completion — and success — rests on people.
So, my choice is people… but not without reservations.
Deming said that the system (processes) causes up to 90% of all errors in a business. I’m not sure that, outside a discrete manufacturing process, that always holds true as a specific number, but as a concept, it seems quite accurate.
The rub of the system is that, the processes we hold so dear are created and authored by people, who have the same limitations inherent in the processes they are creating.
In other words, we use an error-laden ‘process’ (people), to create our ‘processes.’
Heavy stuff.
I’ve got a nifty idea, then… How about we use people to create sound, meaningful processes that successfully take advantage of the available strengths of our – you guessed it – people??
There’s some rocket surgery for you.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Aug 8, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Miscellaneous Business Topics
…and perhaps didn’t want to.
This is, however, 2018, and the need to be transparent is overwhelming me. Plus some of them are kinda strange as I thought of ’em.
- I grew up in a two-bedroom house with four sisters, a mother and a grandmother. An isolated male buoy in the middle of an estrogen ocean. Some say “that explains a lot.” I say “I learned to
pee outside well before my peers.”
- My grandfather was a Special Ranger in the Texas Rangers before it became part of the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1935.
- My daughter Stephanie was born in Spain, and holds dual citizenship.
- I tested out of 83 of my undergraduate credit hours. Gotta love the military’s free CLEP and ACT/Pep tests and programs.
- My mom and my baby sister passed away at nearly the same time. Their services were a week and a day apart. Family matters.
- My genealogy includes being related to Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, the dude who invented the bunsen burner (high school chemistry shenanigans!)
- I once had to run 500 bleachers for getting busted with beer while on my high school golf team. Coach with no sense of humor whatsoever.
- My mom had to call my HS English teacher to see if I should be at commencement. That’s how bad my high school grades were. In my defense, who the hell studies MacBeth for an entire year??
- I used to be a runner, clocking 30+ miles per week.
- I served in the United States Air Force for 13 years, 8 months and 13 days. I almost enlisted in the Marines, as they were going to allow me in right away without my right index finger (needed a waiver for USAF)–the Marine recruiter told me to just claim I was left-handed, and that “they didn’t give a shit.”
- My first corporate job after leaving the USAF? Engineering Recruiter for Management Recruiters Int’l (3 months). Averaged over 90 calls per day. Second job? Resume writer at Sears Resume Service (2 months).
- My son Stephen was born exactly one year after I enlisted.
- I used to be a scratch golfer. Damn, those days are long gone…
- I made only one B in all my college courses (all the rest A’s). In Meteorology. The instructor was my racquetball partner; he later told me he had no idea, and that he would have given me an A if he’d known he was breaking some sort of record. Asshole.
- I’ve only had one cell number, and I got it in 1991 (one of those early flip-phones that got hot as hell). I dropped two Motorola StarTac phones into the toilet the same week. Also had a Palm Pilot, and one of those honkin’ big Kyocera 6035s, one of the first with internet access. Mr. Technology, that’s me.
That’s a wrap…
Be Brazen.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Aug 4, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
As always, “The times, they are a’changin’”
In my upcoming At C-Level, I make mention of a survey I recently completed, in which many of you participated. The full results should be available shortly, but I did want to give you a sneak preview.
From a long-range perspective, with only senior executives (more than 20% were CEO/COOs) participating, here are the top 3 issues you identified:
1. Finding, hiring, developing and retaining talent,
2. Organizational changes, outsourcing, merger/acquisition assimilation, and
3. Compliance, poilitical change, legislation.
We’ve got work to do. Changing our focus to these initiatives — on a long-term basis — takes proactive thought and some simple change management methodologies. Change is simple; just close your eyes, hold your breath, and wait. It happens. Effective change management, on the other hand, takes some skill. From my view of the world, 3 things are necessary for senior executives to successfully drive positive change:
1. Belief and commitment. You gotta believe — really believe — that what you are doing is right and appropriate, using a variety of litmus tests. Mid-management and line employees will quickly detect if your commitment is anything but resolute. Change management isn’t for the weak at heart, so strap in, point the way, and hold the course (I always wanted to use that line).
2. Provide direction. Even if people can believe in your resolve, and even if they understand the basic need, they need real direction, from YOU, to know where to head. Don’t expect overnight adjustment and buy-in to your newfound commitment for change; until that real buy-in occurs, they need a really good map — a compass is probably a better word — to help them start off in the right direction.
3. Unqualified support for the cause. Pay attention here, this one’s really, really important. Not only can you not afford to lose your focus (see “commitment” above), but you must insist others join in the quest. You must insist. Help them work through their issues, convince — as best as possible — for the need to change. At the end, though, the change must occur, and you must be prepared to make all those decisions necessary, some good, some tough, to make it happen. Naysayers can be a fatal distraction. Disbelievers can poison an effective team. Misdirected managers can ruin the entire effort. Make sure you stay aware, and be prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure the focus is maintained by all.
2007 is upon us; we have work to do, and some unique challenges facing us.
Let’s charge that hill…
Happy New Year…!
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jul 19, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
First, that phrase for this post — “I’m just sayin’,” drives me nuts. I hate it. Now that I feel better for sharing…
A diversity consulting firm called The Novations Group, apparently surveyed a couple thousand managers, and concluded that senior managers were poor communicators. For this, they seem to want acclaim…
Survey respondents blamed senior management for (in order of survey popularity):
1. Relying too much on e-mail.
2. Assuming a single message is enough.
3. Having no feedback loop in place.
4. Messages lacking clarity.
To this, I say “hmmmm…”
Nonetheless, there is some truth here.
We all rely too much on email. Email is great for simple information/data sharing. It breaks down when we try to have conversations, include emotion, or the worst: we try to manage by email.
Walk down the hall or pick up the damned phone. Email is the worst medium on the planet for any communication requiring acknowledged understanding, purposeful dialog, or meaning other than the simple written word. There is no defined ‘subtlety’ in emails. And managers shouldn’t use it as a proxy.
Another pox on communication occurred while we were gutting mid-management from organizations. In flattening org charts, we forgot that most on-the-ground communications with employees was done with middle managers. Today, they are either extinct or a bit harried from the evolution of their jobs.
Further, much of what we as senior leaders do has at least a modicum of confidentiality. Next thing you know, we’re acting like everything we say and do is some state secret.
It ain’t.
The problem, of course, is in the absence of communication, our employees fill in all the details, blanks, and relevant information themselves. From spotty knowledge, connecting rumor dots, or simply making it up as they go. None bodes well for us while trying to lead an organization in this age.
Next week, I’ll post some tips and techniques for communications that, though maybe not necessarily “easy,” they probably won’t leave visible scars.
Until then,
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jun 20, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
In this and 2 remaining blog entries, I’m expanding on the “5 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” I outlined in a recent article.
This third law is a reminder that development is essential for employee growth, and for your own well-being. In other words, it’s both selfish and generous; making someone else smarter while you do less work. This is a good thing, eh?
Law #3. If you always answer employee’s every question, you’ll forever be answering employees’ every question.
Questions are teaching moments — don’t rob employees of the opportunity.
Sounds trite, and I don’t mean it to (ok, maybe I mean it to be a little trite). If an employee is asking because they’re stupid, get rid of the employee. If they are a decent employee asking because they do not know, then teach them.
Next time, they’ll know how to do it — or at least the thought process behind it — and you won’t have to. How’s that for planned efficiency??
Now, you have time to go do something important. And to answer in advance: No, answering every employee’s every question is not something important you should be doing. If you’re doing that, you may as well just do it yourself…
Now that sounds fun, eh?
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2018 | Brazen Leader, Kevin Berchelmann
I have a better idea… Let’s not.
Personally, I think “benchmarking,” much like its sister phrase, “best practices,” means “waste of time.” Time better spent analyzing and improving your internal processes.
Benchmarking is supposed to mean looking inside other organizations, and comparing their results, methodology and metrics of a practice or process with your own. Supposedly, this has some meaning to us, and we can use that to adjust and improve our own processes and practices.
Therein lies the problem — our processes and practices, not theirs. We cannot simply reach into another organization — similar in scope or not — and extricate several of their unique processes to overlay on our organization. Taken so out of context, we may actually do much more harm than good.
One size doesn’t fit all, what works for you may not for me, templates are useless… pick a phrase, they all apply. Studying another’s process to determine if there are pieces of it that you can use, within your own, well-defined structure and practice, may indeed have some value. Benchmarking entire processes, practices, and methodologies does not.
Sure, compare all you like. But take the results of that comparison and ask why there is a variance. There are so many variables within organziations — people, structure, geographic, cultural, you name it… a firm can have “better” metrics than you, but not necessarily execute that particular process nearly as well.
Don’t benchmark… analyze and improve.
But, that’s just me…
