Knowledge Fulcrum

Helping Entrepreneurs Through Experience

It’s that time of year when I get my favorite issue of Inc. Magazine in the mail – the Septembers “Inc. 500” Fastest Growing Companies issue.  It’s been my favorite issue ever since I started my entrepreneurial career.  After all, the first business goal I ever set for myself (other than surviving) was to make that list at least once.  And I did – three years in a row (’99 – ’01).

So, when I opened this year’s issue and turned to the “Words of Wisdom” page I realized something.  Over the last ten years I’ve gained a tremendous amount of wisdom.  Ironically, as a young entrepreneur, I didn’t place much value on the concept of wisdom.  I was in too big a hurry, had too many things to accomplish, and didn’t feel like I could or should take the time to seek out wisdom.  I was pretty arrogant too.  Looking back I would say this is perhaps my greatest mistake.  Although it’s my biggest mistake, I don’t regret it.  Maybe because the lessons I learned the hard way made such an indelible impression on me.  However, if I had to do it over again, I think I would pause and seek out someone who could have offered a little wisdom, a little insight.

This got me thinking.  It seems like such a waste to have gained all this experience and knowledge – most of it the hard way – and not share it with as many people as I can.  Maybe my experiences could help a fellow entrepreneur avoid some of the pain and agony that I seemed to experience so much of.  So, I am writing this series of articles to share the years of wisdom I’ve gained, and to help as many entrepreneurs as I can achieve their own dreams and goals.  So sit back, relax, and enjoy my story.

In the last year, there are few companies who’ve not had to react in some way to the recent turbulent economic events.  In fact, many still are operating from their heels.  Perhaps your organization is still in a reactionary mode.

At what point do you and your employees realize it’s time to look for different ways of doing the work — and getting back into a proactive stance?  Maybe the time is now to start implementing a Continuous Improvement (CI) initiative to help your people get back on their toes again.

Other than the obvious financial reasons to implement such a program (e.g., cost savings — by doing more with less) there are a few other factors to consider.  1st – awareness will never be higher among your employees for why change is needed.  Today employees are thankful to still have a job; they’re also looking for new ideas and resources to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.

2nd – the economic crisis is providing the prefect motivation for all parts of the company to work together towards a common goal.

3rd – everyone in the organization is aware of the need to add value to your customer to ensure that the customer continues to do business with your company.   Whatever the reason, based on my experience implementing improvement initiatives (both as a business owner and as a consultant) — there is no better time than right now.

So, where do you start?

Assess – you must start to see how your organization adds value to the customer and where the waste exists.  We’re not used to thinking this way – we do our jobs everyday and don’t always think about the little things that can add up quickly.  Assess which functional areas are most critical at the moment – those that can add the most value to the customer or that are your biggest risks.

Train — provide tools, resources and training to all your employees.  That may simply be accomplished by providing articles and blogs like this.  Or you may choose to utilize outside resources such as consultants or facilitators.  Whichever way you go – your employees will need to gain knowledge that effectively implements changes in your company.

Plan – Next, plan out your CI initiative.  Start with small improvements that will help to get your people up to speed.  If the improvement seems too big to bite off at one time, then break it down into smaller pieces.  Also, start with a smaller group of talented people who come from diverse parts of the business rather than with bigger groups.  In my experience, trying to implement CI programs company-wide is a recipe for disaster.  Once the initial group gains experience and confidence, then expand the size and number of CI teams.

Implement – This is where you try a lot of different things.  Just like anything else – it takes failing to find success.  As someone once told me — fail fast because that means you’re close to success.  Also, be sure to to identify the specific targeted improvement metrics (e.g., 30% reduction/improvement) you would like to get.  If you don’t put a number down, then it’ll be difficult to gauge your success level with the improvement initiative once it’s completed.

Validate – Verify your results.  Did you gain the improvement you expected?  If not, why?  Don’t give up on the work even if you’ve gained some benefit but not your target.   There’s always room for more – so don’t stop until you find the additional corrective measures that get you to your goal.

Standardize – Once you’re satisfied with your improvements, then memorialize them and make them your new standard.  This includes building in systems to verify that all employees are trained on the new standard and that you take the time to spot check each other’s work.  Improvements are difficult means to create new habits, so building systems into your CI program will help new improvements stick over time.  Don’t let the old ways of doing the work creep back into your organization.

The bottom line is this: there is no end point.  CI programs are iterative processes of assessing, training, planning, implementing, validating, standardizing your activities.   Now is the perfect time.  Start making improvements now – you’ll be impressed with how much opportunity exists inside your businesses today.

Having been a CEO implementing a Continuous Improvement initiative within an organization as well as a consultant helping other organizations establish their own CI initiatives – one of the first questions to answer is, “who should be a part of our CI team?”  Unfortunately there are no simple ways to answers this question.   However the following description by Peter Senge in his newest book – The Necessary Revolution best describes the type of leaders to look look for:

“One thing we have learned from working on organizational and systematic change is that the leaders are hard to identify in advance.  Sometimes they are CEO’s or presidents, but often they do not occupy positions of obvious power in a corporate hierarchy.  They are not the flag wavers, campaigning vocally for change, but rather passionate individuals working to transform their organizations from the bottom up.  They are most often open-minded pragmatists, people who care deeply about the future but who are suspicious of quick fixes, emotional nostrums, and superficial answers to complex problems.  They have a hard-earned sense of how their organizations work, tempered by humility concerning what any one person can do alone.  They often do not think of themselves as leaders, but time proves them wrong.”

In my own experience – the best champions where the ones who were the slowest to jump on board – but once they did the impact thay had on our overall progress was incredible.  Perhaps when you are starting to implement your own CI program you can use this as part of your selection criteria. There’s nothing easy about undertaking CI programs but the feeling of achievement when it works is more than worth it.

Slagsmålsklubben – Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

Here’s an excellent example of how to use visual thinking to communicate information to your audience.  Given the flood of information we receive each day – your ability to rise above the noise and effectively communicate information just may make the difference between success and failure.  The name of the game is how much information can you effectively communicate to your audience in 2 minutes or less.  The saying is a pictures is worth a thousand words – well how much are hundreds of pictures worth?

This example comes to you from  Flowing Data by way of Cameron Herold - Back Pocket COO.  Thanks Cameron for the link.

This week I experienced two examples of what’s possible by living a truly purposeful life.  Both examples happened on the same day, at the same place, and for the same reasons – is that any surprise?

Example #1 – Makin’ Bac’n

How do you take something as simple as bacon and turn it into a business? I’d like you to meet Scott Kventon – the biggest fan of bacon I’ve ever met.  This week, Scott shared his story of the fast track start to his first business that went from concept to revenue in less than two months.  It’s the epitome of what a small group of passionate entrepreneurs can accomplish.

Scott’s the founder and inspiration behind the coolest site about bacon I’ve ever seen… http://bacn.com/.  In fact, it’s the first website about bacon I’ve ever seen.  Scott’s passion for the pig, coupled with his knowledge and endless energy, have resulted in a sustainable business that started from his garage.

So, what did I learn?  First, I learned more than I could have hoped about bacon.  He had me at “hello,” as I’ve been a fan of the pig for quite some time now.  More importantly, what I learned was that if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you’d better watch out because there will be someone who is — and it’s likely they will kick your ass.

The next generation of entrepreneurs is a unique group of individuals.  They talk fast, they think fast, and they ACT fast!  On top of it all, they’re having fun.  If you can’t see this from BACN.COM, then you should unsubscribe from this blog and never come here again.  If it’s as clear as the nose on your face, then you get it.

Example #2 – Energizer Bunny

Take an empty office building, add a dose of brilliance — and you have NedSpace.  Josh Friedman and his partners are onto something big.

NedSpace is a new concept to me — providing rented desk space for young start-ups on the cheap.  The thing makes this such a value is not the $175/month desk but the ENERGY that you feel by being around other driven entrepreneurs.  By renting offices and desks to serial entrepreneurs, they provide an atmosphere that can’t be replicated by working from home.   NedSpace is a great concept which takes advantage of the glut of office space that’s out there, while creating a great environment for start-ups to work and collaborate.  My only question is — why don’t I have my office here?  Nicely done, Josh!

I recently posted a blog discussing the difference between team work and collaboration.   I thought it would be nice to provide you with a concrete example. 

Two of my favorite blogs I read recently had posts about recruiting for your business.  Individually, either blog is an excellent resource which will improve your efforts.   But if you combine them the results can be even better. 

MINDdrift

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Re: Focus:

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Even Better!

I’ve really started to appreciate the benefit of “blending” ideas together – just another form of collaboration.  Thanks Simon and David!  If you have other ideas or examples please throw it in the blender for the rest of us!

Visual Management is any system, process or tool that provides real-time information and feedback about the status of the organization, departments and job functions.  Think of it as the organizational nervous system that connects employees to the critical activities needed to achieve the goals of the business.   It’s also what many refer to as KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators).  Visual Management systems can take on a number of different forms from sophisticated database applications to simple white boards mounted on a conference room wall.  Over the years, I’ve learned a tremendous amount through trial and error as to what seems to work best and what doesn’t.  Here are a few tips that might help.

Think of a visual management system as the scoreboard for your business.  At a minimum it should communicate:

• What are the goals the organization, department or job function is trying to achieve?
• What are the key measures or units of work?
• How are we performing in relation to our goals?
• What prevents us from reaching our goals?
• And, most importantly…what are we doing to contribute to reaching our goals?

It sounds a lot easier than it really is.  Here’s an example of what I would consider a better than average visual management example.  I took this photo when I was on a “Junction Tour” at the headquarters of 1800GotJunk in Vancouver, BC.  They’ve done a tremendous job of integrating a number of parts of the business into the area where they hold their daily huddles.  They’ve included information and metrics related to the long-term goals of the business, as well as operational information about the day-to-day activities by department that are critical to the success of the business.   

Now, here are a few things to consider when you are either add or modify your huddle boards within your business (see example below).

•  First, make sure your visual management board is broken down into three specific sections – “how”, “why” and “what”. The “HOW” should illustrate the performance (daily) with daily metrics that are critical to your business.  This could include things such as “number of calls”, “conversion rates”, etc.  They are the activities that matter to your financial or customer service performance.  Be sure to include the “goal” rate for performance within the graph (see example below). 
• The “WHY” should be a metric that is related to the “HOW.”  e.g., if you were tracking your turn-over, the “WHY” metric would be results from the exit interviews you conducted as to why the employee was leaving the company. 
• Finally, the “WHAT” should chart what corrective “actions” need to be taken, who is responsible, when it will be done, and what resources will be needed. 
• Use graphs, pictures and diagrams whenever possible.  There’s a reason for the saying “a picture’s worth a thousand words.” 
• Display “expected” performance levels whenever possible.
• Don’t sweat it if your board doesn’t look polished.  It needs to be adaptable to your market and industry’s changing environment. 
• Require your people interact with the data.  A simple way to do this is to NOT use computer programs to generate fancy graphs (e.g., Excel) but rather to make them draw the results on a white board.  When they interact manually with the data they will have to “think” about it – which in turn will help them see when something needs their attention.
• Include as many employees in the process whenever possible – this includes the design on your boards, deciding where to post them, and how to communicate the information.

Good luck!  And please share you ideas and examples with us.

I was first exposed to the concept of “core values” when I attended The Birthing of Giants program hosted by the MIT Enterprise Forum.  The facilitator, Verne Harnish, was instrumental in my entrepreneurial growth, and is someone I consider to be one of my top 5 influences.  It was Verne who first introduced me to the concept of core values and ideologies — what they mean and why they’re important.   Suffice it to say, I started to drink the Kool Aid by the gallon. 

Over the last eight years, I’ve worked tirelessly to define my own set of core ideologies, and incorporate them into each of my businesses.  Throughout this process, I’ve found it equally difficult to accurately portray a statement of core ideologies, as well as  effectively communicate that to all stakeholders.  If I had to give myself a grade, it would be a solid C+.  This isn’t because I’ve not given it time and energy, but because it’s difficult to find the exact words that tie to the concepts and the ideas that exist in our minds.  I believe this is because our ideologies are closely related to our purpose in life.  Not only is it hard to find the words, there is also the inability, for many of us, to articulate what our purpose is. 

My experience shows that any organization that grows and does not have a clear definition of their core ideology is putting their people and their future at significant risk.  As the organization grows, employee and partners are forced to “translate” the information they have to  make choices and decisions.  Sometimes the choices they make are not well aligned with what’s in the mind of the organization’s CEO.  Anyone who’s grown a business understands this dynamic.  The more you grow, and the faster you grow, the more you rely on your people to make the right choices and decisions – the ones that would be most consistent with your own ideologies.

Today I found the best example of someone who has brought their core ideology to life.  This is a picture of the core ideologies GotVMail.  David Hauser and his team have been able to bring to life – through a picture – the essence of their ideology.  I can only imagine the impact this will have over time.  If they’re able to effectively communicate this picture to as many people as possible, their success will be unlimited.  I am going to do the same for my new business because a picture is worth a thousand words.  Thank you for the inspiration, David!

I can not begin to comprehend the magnitude of it all.  Today alone there were over 71,400 people who lost their jobs.  It’s no wonder people are depressed.   

About six months ago I was feeling particularly down myself and a good friend forwarded something that helped put thingsin perspective for me.   I’d like to share it with any of the 71,400 who lost their jobs today and happen to be reading this:

The “Scary Times