Newsletter – December, 2013

On My Mind

Leaders at every level of an organization are faced with the difficult task of prioritizing opportunities and issues. There are many techniques that can be used to accomplish the task. I routinely use twelve techniques that I divide into two groups based on the number of items on the list to be prioritized. When there are “10 or more” opportunities or issues, then I use one or more of the following techniques: Vision-Enabling; Must Do; Triage; Affinity & Relations Diagrams; Ranking; Voting; Point Distribution; and Brackets. When there are “less than 10” opportunities or issues, then I use one or more of the following techniques: 2 x 2 Table; Criteria-Based Decision Making (Weighted or Non-Weighted); Cost/Benefit Analysis; and Risk Analysis. It is important to remember that these techniques won’t give you the truth, but they help structure the conversation hopefully leading to consensus on a positive way forward. Also, the effectiveness of these techniques relies on who is in the room and so make sure you take the time to think deeply about who will be participating in the prioritization activities. The reality is that we don’t have enough time or money to do everything. The use of best practice prioritization techniques helps us assure that we are working on what really matters.

Interesting Stories

I was saddened to learn about the death of Nelson Mandela of South Africa. He experienced a long, rich life and was one of the greatest change agents of our time. On another note—Magnus Carlsen of Norway recently defeated Viswanathan Anand of India in the World Chess Championship held in Chennai, India. Carlsen—only 22 years of age—defeated the reigning World Champion Anand three times and the pair drew seven games resulting in a 6.5 to 3.5 score. Two of Carlsen’s victories occurred while he was playing with the black pieces—a difficult feat. One commentator stated that we have entered the “Carlsen Era of Chess” which could last a long time given the relatively young age of the new World Champion. Carlsen will take some time off until January of 2014 when he will resume playing competitively.

Company News

I presented on Accomplishing Strategic Objectives Using Hoshin Kanri on November 12 at the Performance Excellence Network’s (PEN) Fall Conference in Bloomington, MN. This was another great conference sponsored by PEN. The 2014 Public Seminar schedule for Strategic Improvement Systems, LLC will be available on this website around mid-January. There will be at least ten offerings ranging from Analytics to Service Design to Hoshin Kanri.

Intriguing Reads

Leonard Barden writes a concise article on chess that appears in the Financial Times every weekend. It is one of those little things in life that I really enjoy and rarely intentionally miss. He also has a great introductory book on chess titled, An Introduction to Chess Moves and Tactics Simply Explained. Chess has been widely recognized as one of the best games to develop your critical/strategic thinking skills. For those who want to start playing one of the greatest strategy games, this is a great starter book.

 

 

Newsletter – November, 2013

On My Mind

Leaders of organizations are often faced with the challenge of building and managing a project portfolio in conjunction with improvement initiatives to enhance the value provided to customers. Determining which projects to launch can be problematic if (1) there is an informal project selection process, (2) there are inexperienced leaders, or (3) there are immature measurement systems. A formal discovery system can be used to identify project opportunities; evaluate and prioritize the opportunities; and present the project recommendations in a useful way for leadership decision making. A discovery system is a network of discovery teams formed to search for project opportunities in targeted organizational units or in performance areas such as quality, cost, schedule, safety, education, and morale. Discovery teams use quantitative and qualitative investigative tools to search for project opportunities. Potential opportunities are evaluated and prioritized to create a short list of promising opportunities which are then subjected to more rigorous cost/benefit and risk analyses. The word network in the preceding definition is used to suggest that discovery teams can potentially interact with each other as they search for project opportunities in order to benefit from each team’s newly created knowledge. There are different types of projects that can be undertaken to improve an organization from a strategic perspective such as Rapid Action, Standardization, Design, Improvement, and Lean projects. A project is defined here as, “a temporary and rational sequence of organizational activities undertaken to accomplish specified objectives.” A discovery system is a type of knowledge management system in which discovery teams create, capture, integrate, and transfer knowledge related to project opportunities. Happy discovering!

Interesting Stories

The Boston Red Sox—a Major League Baseball team—went from last place in its division in 2012 to World Series Champion in 2013. This was the third championship in the past ten years (2004, 2007, 2013) for the Red Sox and this was an interesting team. They were led by new Manager John Farrell and the team had a diverse array of players including holdovers from last year and several new free agent additions. Many team members started growing a beard during Spring Training and so they looked like a scruffy bunch of players by the end of the season, but they played hard and seemed to be having a lot of fun in the process. David Ortiz, from the Dominican Republic, had an outstanding World Series as a hitter and playing first base. Two of the better Red Sox relief pitchers are from Japan: Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa. It will be interesting to see how the Red Sox do next year. Play ball!

Company News

The Creating Successful Standards public seminar will be held November 6 in Plymouth, MN. I will be presenting on the topic of Hoshin Kanri November 12 at the Performance Excellence Network’s (PEN) Fall Conference in Bloomington, MN.

Intriguing Reads

Caterpillar (CAT) is recognized as one of the best companies in the world and they have provided strong competition for another great company—Komatsu of Japan. There is an insightful new book on Caterpillar by Bouchard and Koch titled, The Caterpillar Way: Lessons in Leadership, Growth, and Shareholder Value. The authors thoroughly describe the CAT management system and the roles Lean and Six Sigma play at CAT.

 

Newsletter – October, 2013

On My Mind

There is growing interest in Japanese-style Hoshin Kanri in the United States. Hoshin Kanri, also known as Policy Deployment and Policy Management, is a strategic improvement system that originated in Japan in the 1960s. It has been implemented in numerous organizations worldwide and is one of the four core components of TQM along with Cross-Functional Management, Daily Management, and Small Group Activities. Strategic Management activities typically precede Hoshin Kanri activities each year in practicing organizations leading to widespread organizational actions. Some of the Hoshin Kanri roots can be traced to the “Specification > Production > Inspection” control cycle described by Walter A. Shewhart in his classic 1939 book. Peter Drucker’s work on objectives—which led to the popularity of Management by Objectives (MBO)—also influenced Hoshin Kanri. One way Hoshin Kanri differs from MBO is that a Hoshin Kanri policy is composed of an objective (target/goal) and the strategies (means) to accomplish the objective. Both objectives and strategies are deployed throughout the organization during the Hoshin Kanri process. The research I conducted on four Deming Prize winning Indian organizations revealed some advice for beginners: keep the process simple at first; focus on a small number of objectives; make sure senior executives lead; train and involve all employees; link Hoshin Kanri activities to employee development; conduct regular reviews; and learn from other organizations, but don’t copy them. You can learn more about Hoshin Kanri by reading my Policy Deployment research paper located behind the RESEARCH tab on this website homepage.

Interesting Stories

Few professional athletes have exhibited as much class during their career as Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees. Incidentally, he is also the greatest end-of-game pitcher (closer) to ever play the game and a certain future inductee into the Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame. Rivera was the last MLB player to wear the number “42” which was Jackie Robinson’s number. He had another amazing season this year after coming back from a freak non-game outfield injury that occurred last year. He ended his career at Yankee Stadium in classic Rivera fashion by retiring all four batters he faced.

Company News

The Fifth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference was a great success again this year. A big “thank you” is due the presenters: Robert Netzer, Dr. Andy Van de Ven, Barb Spurrier, Bob Mitchell, Sara Rose, Vern Campbell, Jeff Ziegler, Jim Nelson, Kristine Zelinski, Cathy Reiter, Melissa Lenk, Jordan Olson, Jim Buckman, Cathy Moeger, and Lou Schultz. I will be conducting two more public seminars this year: Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement on October 22 and Creating Successful Standards on November 6.

Intriguing Reads

I recently re-read the class book on strategy by Thomas C. Schelling titled, The Strategy of Conflict. He won a Nobel Laureate in Economics in 2005. This book beautifully integrates the concepts of strategy, conflict, negotiation, and game theory. While many of the examples relate to foreign policy, the content can be applied to any type of organization where strategic decisions have to be made in times of uncertainty. Whether you are trying to understand the conflict in Syria or the competitive battle between Apple and Samsung, this book will enhance your strategy toolset.

 

Newsletter – September, 2013

On My Mind

Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the Quality Management thought leader, died on December 20, 1993 at the age of 93. He, along with Dr. Joseph M. Juran and others, introduced quality-oriented concepts, methods, and tools to Japanese industrial leaders after World War II. American executives started paying attention to Dr. Deming and Dr. Juran in the 1980s because of the success experienced by Japanese companies. I attended Dr. Deming’s Four Day Seminar several times and his Seminar for Statisticians at New York University. He wrote two landmark books late in life: Out of the Crisis published in 1986 and The New Economics published in 1994 (2nd edition). These books are still relevant today. In Out of the Crisis only, Dr. Deming discussed the Chain Reaction, the 14 Points for Management, and the Shewhart Cycle. In both books, he discussed Production Viewed as a System, Statistical Control, the Red Bead Experiment, and the Funnel Experiment. In The New Economics only, he introduced the PDSA Cycle, his System of Profound Knowledge, and Present & Better Practices. Dr. Deming continued to learn and develop his thinking until his death. The works of the Quality Management masters—like Dr. Deming, Dr. Juran, and others—still contain strategic improvement lessons that can be of great value to leaders of organizations today.

Interesting Stories

I experienced my first hotel fire recently in a brand-named hotel near London. A loud alarm above my bed woke me from a deep sleep at 1:30 a.m. Waking up very confused, I initially thought it was something in my room that triggered the alarm and I was hoping it wouldn’t wake my neighbors. I entered the hallway and realized all alarms were activated. Some of my acquaintances and I exited the building through a back stairwell. We didn’t encounter any hotel staff members until we went around the front of the hotel. They appeared to be putting forth their best individual efforts. However, there were no recognizable crisis systems or processes. The way that members of hotel management later responded to complaints led me to conclude that suggesting improvement ideas was futile.

Company News

I attended the Global Quality Futures Workshop in early August in Twickenham, England, which is near London. Our fun day consisted of a visit to Hampton Court, the home of King Henry VIII (1491-1547), followed by a riverboat cruise on the Thames from Hampton Court to Twickenham. It was a delightful way to see the London area from a different perspective. I gave a presentation during the workshop titled, “Dr. W. Edwards Deming: The World of Quality Twenty Years After His Death.” Next year we meet in Tokyo in conjunction with the International Conference on Quality. I will be conducting two more public seminars this year: Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement on October 22 and Creating Successful Standards on November 6. Both will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Plymouth, MN.

Intriguing Reads

Yukihiro Ando (JUSE, JSQC) and Pankaj Kumar (Tata Steel) recently had published the second edition of their award-winning book titled, Daily Management The TQM Way: The Key to Success in Tata Steel. Daily Management is one of the four core components of Japanese-style TQM and can be considered the foundation. This book represents the best—and most recent—source on Daily Management available in English.

 

 

Newsletter – August, 2013

On My Mind

The Case Study approach can be useful during strategic improvement initiatives especially if there is an absence of baseline performance data or if the targeted process is not standardized. It involves selecting and analyzing a small number of insight-stimulating cases. You use judgment sampling to select the cases if you are trying to maximize acquired knowledge about some phenomenon of interest. For example, you might select a “successful” case and a “not so successful” case to shed light on the process and current performance. The “Max-Mix” strategy often works well to generate knowledge. Here you are attempting to maximize the mix of cases. Select the cases such that you have variation on as many relevant variables as is feasible. I once conducted a study involving six organizations to investigate horizontal interaction during strategic improvement initiatives. I used my judgment to carefully select organizations that I believed would help me maximize the knowledge gained on my research topic. There were organizations of different sizes; manufacturing and service organizations; public and privately-held organizations; for-profit and not-for-private organizations; and organizations located on the West Coast, Midwest, and East Coast of the United States. Once the cases are selected, then you collect data using surveys, interviews, focus groups, and/or observation techniques. Within-case analyses might lead to the identification of idiosyncratic traits and changes over time. Cross-case analyses can be used to identify similarities and differences across the cases and emergent themes. One drawback of the Case Study approach is that you cannot automatically generalize the findings from your cases to an entire population. However, your findings are strengthened if they “hold” across all of the variables and variable levels in your sample of cases. The classic book on the Case Study approach was written by Robert K. Yin and is titled, Case Study Research: Design & Methods. The 5th edition was just published.

Interesting Stories

Teamwork can be important outside of sports and save lives in some cases. Army Staff Sergeant Ty Carter will soon receive a Medal of Honor for his heroic efforts in Afghanistan. According to Rachel La Corte of the Associated Press, “Carter, 33, will be recognized at the White House on Aug. 26 for killing enemy troops, resupplying ammunition to U.S. fighters, rendering first aid and risking his own life to save an injured soldier pinned down by enemy fire.” In the same article, Staff Sergeant Carter was quoted as saying, “I might not be here today to speak to you … That day we were fighting as one team in one fight.” On another note, some people just seem to have a flair for the dramatic. Derek Jeter, the Captain of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball team, hit a home run on July 28 on the first pitch he saw after coming back from the Disabled List.

Company News

There is still time to register for the Fifth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference to be held September 17, 2013. The purpose of the conference is to assemble experts from various types of organizations in a beautiful setting to learn with each other how to improve organizations from a strategic perspective. The venue is the BayView Event Center in Excelsior, Minnesota. The brochure can be accessed by selecting the ANNUAL CONFERENCE button on the home page.

Intriguing Reads

Organizational strategy has been viewed from many perspectives including military history, industrial organization economics, evolutionary biology, and game theory. The book titled, The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life by Dixit and Nalebuff, is an excellent source for learning about organizational strategy from a game theory perspective. It contains several useful strategy frameworks and illustrative examples.

 

 

Newsletter – July, 2013

On My Mind

This has been a great year for the field of Statistics. In 2012, the American Statistical Association in partnership with other statistical societies declared 2013 the International Year of Statistics We have also been exposed to numerous newspaper, magazine, television, and social media pieces on analytics. The media coverage of Big Data has been borderline over-the-top, but it has stimulated interest in statistical methods. I have sometimes joked: “My company is skipping Big Data and moving right to Gigantic Data.” Analytics at its best can create customer insights, enhance decision making, and predict the future. However, analytics is not new and not a panacea. In spite of using “big” datasets, some weather and economic models have performed quite poorly. Amazon, one of the Big Data leaders, often recommends books to me that I have no interest in purchasing. Even if you have the ability to collect all of the data about some phenomenon of interest, the world changes (technology, regulations, behaviors, personal preferences, etc.). Dynamic modeling will be very important in the future. Useless data wastes resources and we should make sure our datasets have integrity (relevant, timely, accurate, and complete information). We also need to be on the lookout for spurious correlations/associations. Along with the promise of increasing our knowledge, Big Data brings with it the potential for privacy issues, hacking, and cyber theft. There are some organizational skills that will continue to be important in organizations: planning data collection, analyzing data, formulating conclusions, communicating findings, and prioritizing organizational actions. There is much to learn from one of the most mature industries in terms of analytics and that is Major League Baseball (MLB). All thirty MLB clubs have strong analytical capabilities. Many teams and individuals under- or over-perform relative to analytical predictions by experts. Some famous, highly-paid players are dramatically underperforming this year. Then along comes Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers seemingly out of nowhere. Puig’s first MLB game was June 3. He has collected 44 hits since breaking the Dodger record. Only Joe DiMaggio had more hits as an MLB rookie in a player’s first calendar month. I doubt if anyone predicted his performance. We should all welcome the wider use of analytics—with caution.

Interesting Stories

I’ve always admired the Perkins Restaurant & Bakery chain because there is an enormous American flag flying at each restaurant which can be seen from quite a distance. I witnessed the Perkins flag changing process last week while eating breakfast. It took two workers and a large ladder. They handled the flags with great care and it was quite an entertaining event to observe.

Company News

Strategic Improvement Systems, LLC will be sponsoring the Fifth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference on September 17, 2013. The purpose of the conference is to assemble experts from various types of organizations in a beautiful setting to learn with each other how to improve organizations from a strategic perspective. It will be held at the BayView Event Center in Excelsior, Minnesota. The brochure can be accessed by selecting the ANNUAL CONFERENCE button on the home page.

Intriguing Reads

There are several new books on analytics. The one titled, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think by Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier, thoroughly describes the Big Data phenomenon. It is non-technical and unabashedly promotes Big Data, but it contains illustrative examples and is a good introduction to the Big Data phenomenon.

 

Newsletter – June, 2013

On My Mind

Leaders of organizations sometimes emphasize innovation as a means to improve organizational performance. Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) has emerged as one of the best practice innovation methods used in industry. The most commonly used DFSS method is DMADV (Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify). This is considered a breakthrough or innovation method instead of an improvement method like DMAIC. A design project can be both exciting and frustrating. Exciting because you are creating something new to the world. Frustrating because you can’t typically generate creative ideas on command. There might be some project team meetings where creativity just doesn’t happen. It is difficult to schedule or control the creative process. One of my favorite book passages which captures the essence of this for me is spoken by Zarathustra, one of Friedrich Nietzsche’s characters in his book titled, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, “I say unto you: one must still have chaos in oneself to be able give birth to a dancing star. I say unto you: you still have chaos in yourselves.” Hopefully, out of the chaos that is a design project will emerge a dancing star. Some of the common tools/techniques that are used during a design project are the Multi-Generation Project Plan (MGPP), Gantt Chart, Observation, Interviews, Focus Groups, Kano Model, Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Idea Box, Analogy Brainstorming, TRIZ, Design Evaluation Matrix, Prototyping, and the Process Control Plan. Best wishes if your organization strives to become more innovative. May your organization give birth to many dancing stars.

Interesting Stories

I appreciate it more now when someone “older” performs an amazing feat. The horse named Oxbow recently won the Preakness—one of the Triple Crown races. What makes this story interesting is that Oxbow had the second longest shot of winning the race according to the odds makers; was trained by D. Wayne Lukas who is 77; and was ridden by jockey Gary Stevens who is 50 and who recently came back from seven years of retirement. Thank you gentlemen—and Oxbow—for your inspiring performance.

Company News

The event to “Celebrate the Life of Dr. George E. P. Box” held May 5 at the First Unitarian Society in Madison, WI was beautiful and befitting of a person who touched the lives of so many people. Strategic Improvement Systems, LLC again sponsored the Performance Excellence Network (PEN) Annual Conference held May 14-15 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, MN. The two days left me inspired and energized. There is still time to register for the upcoming public seminar: Measuring Performance Over Time (June 20). Brochures are accessible by selecting the “SERVICES” tab on the home page. The Fifth Annual Strategic Improvement Practices Conference will be held September 17 at the BayView Event Center in Excelsior, MN. The Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement public seminar has been added to the schedule (October 22) due to popular demand.

Intriguing Reads

Several thought leaders have come to the conclusion that a permanent competitive advantage is nearly impossible today because of the dramatic changes that continue to occur throughout the world. Strategies that worked in the past for a business might now be inadequate. Rita Gunther McGrath expertly describes this phenomenon in her book titled, The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business. Give this book a read if you want to gain some insights into how to cope with transient competitive advantages.

 

Newsletter – May, 2013

On My Mind

Senior executives often want to know how their organization is performing over time. Has our new strategy improved performance? Are we growing? Is our quality improving? Is customer satisfaction increasing? Do we have a safer place to work? In the Hoshin Kanri process, we want to know if we are moving towards our targets. There are a number of analytical techniques that can provide insight into performance over time. Let’s say that we’ve collected data over time for a performance metric—this is our “time series data.” We can simply plot the data (using most software packages) creating a Time Series Chart. I like to lag the data one time period and then calculate the point-to-point differences and percent changes. Creating these two Time Series Charts gives us insight into growth—or the lack of it. We can create a Statistical Control Chart to help us determine if we have special causes of variation in addition to common causes of variation. If we have a statistical software package like Minitab, then we can build an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model for our time series data to better understand its behavior and generate forecasts. This class of models uses correlational techniques and is well-suited for data that exhibits nonstationary behavior. I will be conducting a public seminar on these techniques June 20. Please join me if you would like to learn more.

Interesting Stories

Sadly, Dr. George E. P. Box passed away on March 28 at the age of 93. He was one of the world’s leading statisticians for a number of decades having conducted pioneering work on the design of experiments, response surface methodology, evolutionary operation, time series analysis, data transformations, and more. I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time with George during my time at the University of Wisconsin for my doctoral studies. I become a member of the Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement (CQPI), which he led. There were faculty members and students from many disciplines who attended CQPI meetings (Engineering, Business, Statistics, Education Administration, etc.). George also offered his famous “Monday Night Beer and Statistics” seminar. I believe students could earn one credit for the seminar—although I never formally registered. This took place in George’s home and was open to the public. It lived up to the billing as you were guaranteed plenty of beer and statistics. As I recall, the University eventually had George remove the word “beer” from the title of the seminar. I took two independent study courses from George. I met with him one hour each week during the Spring Semester of 1989. We discussed one chapter each week from the book, Empirical Model-Building and Response Surfaces by Box and Draper. We repeated the process the Spring Semester of 1990 only this time I studied the book, Time Series Analysis: Forecasting and Control, by Box and Jenkins. George was brilliant, humble, humorous, and kind. I treasured learning both the technical details of the analytical techniques and George’s stories about how they were developed. He will be greatly missed by many.

Company News

I will be attending an event to “Celebrate the Life of Dr. George E. P. Box” at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, 2013, at First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI. Strategic Improvement Systems, LLC is one of the sponsors for the Performance Excellence Network (PEN) Annual Conference May 14-15, 2013 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, MN. There is still time to register for my upcoming public seminars: Creating Standard Work (May 23); Leading Design Projects (June 6); and Measuring Performance Over Time (June 20). Brochures are accessible by selecting the “SERVICES” tab on the home page.

Intriguing Reads

To learn more about Dr. Box and his life, you should read the just-published autobiography titled, An Accidental Statistician: The Life and Memories of George E. P. Box.

 

Newsletter – April, 2013

On My Mind

The quality level of an organization’s strategic decisions can be a source of competitive advantage. What tools should be in a leader’s toolbox? In the strategic improvement field, there are the classic Seven Basic Tools and Seven New QC Tools. Dr. Hiroshi Osada, Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, introduced the Seven Strategic Tools (7-S) in his 1998 paper titled, Strategic Management by Policy in Total Quality Management, published in the Strategic Change Journal. I have created a set of seven Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement: Environmental Analysis, Stakeholder Analysis, Network Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Matrix Analysis, Issue Analysis, and Scenario Analysis. These can be used during formal planning activities as well as to address emergent events. I will be conducting a public seminar on these tools May 9, 2013. They would be a valuable addition to anyone’s toolbox.

Interesting Stories

There were a number of amazing sports performance accomplishments recently. The University of Minnesota Women’s Hockey team won the NCAA championship for the second year in a row–ending the season with a record of 41 wins and 0 losses. Penn State won the NCAA Division I team wrestling championship for the third straight year. Penn State is coached by Cael Sanderson who won 159 matches and lost 0 at Iowa State as a four-time NCAA Division I champion. Finally, Kyle Dake, a senior from Cornell and recent Hodge Trophy winner, ended an undefeated season by winning his fourth consecutive NCAA Division I wrestling title at four different weight classes (141, 149, 157, 165). Only two other wrestlers have won four Division I championships: Pat Smith from Oklahoma State and Cael Sanderson mentioned earlier. My favorite quote of the tournament came from Chris Perry, a junior from Oklahoma State and champion at 174 pounds, Question: “What was your reaction to having your hand raised?” Answer: “Just emotions, so much work put in people don’t even understand, just . . . the time I put in is ridiculous and its been something I have dreamed about since I was a little kid.” Success rarely happens over night.

Company News

Strategic Improvement Systems, LLC will again be a sponsor for the Performance Excellence Network (PEN) Annual Conference May 14-15, 2013 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, MN. This conference is one of the best regional events for learning about what is happening in the world of strategic improvement. My four public seminars are rapidly approaching: Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement (May 9, 2013); Creating Standard Work (May 23, 2013); Leading Design Projects (June 6, 2013); and Measuring Performance Over Time (June 20, 2013). The public seminar brochures are accessible by selecting the “SERVICES” tab on the home page.

Intriguing Reads

Which company has roughly 288,000 employees, but only a staff of 24 at corporate headquarters? The answer is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger lead this amazing holding company. If you get a chance, study the 2012 Annual Report available on the Berkshire Hathaway website. Warren Buffet’s Letter to Shareholders appears on Pages 3-24. The entire report is worth taking the time to study because it is filled with business lessons conveyed in a humorous way. Learn how Warren and Charlie create intrinsic value.

 

Newsletter – March, 2013

On My Mind

This is the International Year of Statistics (www.statistics2013.org) and we are in a new era of Big Data and Analytics. Maybe we are getting to the point where we have too much data on performance. Some industries, such as healthcare and major league baseball, seem to have more than enough data on performance. Simply having performance data may no longer be a competitive advantage in some industries. The new source of competitive advantage might be associated with what a leader does with the data. A leader should ask four seemingly simple questions: (1) How should we measure performance? (2) What does the data mean? (3) What actions should we take? (4) Were our actions successful? Generally, I think leaders have figured out an answer to question number one. The big opportunities might be associated with the final three questions.

Interesting Stories

Wrestling fans were disappointed recently to learn that the International Olympic Committee voted to recommend that wrestling be omitted from the 2020 Olympics. This is bizarre since wrestling was one of the earliest Olympic sports. I enjoy watching table tennis and badminton, but do they deserve to be Olympic sports any more than wrestling? This news didn’t seem to temper the enthusiasm of the wrestling fans at the recent Minnesota State High School Wrestling Tournament in St. Paul, MN. Would Apple Valley win its eighth consecutive Class AAA team title or would the #1 ranked St. Michael-Albertville team claim the title? The championship contest was exciting and came down to the final heavyweight match which the St. Michael-Albertville wrestler won, but the final team scores ended up to be: Apple Valley 28, St. Michael Albertville 28. The ending was strangely anti-climactic and I noticed very few people celebrating the outcome. It seems we prefer contests that have a clear winner. I wonder why?

Company News

Roughly twenty-five participants attended my half day workshop on Implementing Hoshin Kanri for Competitive Advantage at the Minnesota ASQ Professional Development Summit on February 27, 2013. My 2013 public seminar schedule has been finalized: Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement (May 9, 2013); Creating Standard Work (May 23, 2013); Leading Design Projects (June 6, 2013); and Measuring Performance Over Time (June 20, 2013). The public seminar brochures are accessible by selecting the “SERVICES” tab on the home page.

Intriguing Reads

I couldn’t put down the new book on strategy titled, Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works. The authors are A. G. Lafley, former Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and Roger L. Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management in Toronto. Many of the ideas weren’t necessarily new or profound, but I liked the perspective and framework provided by the authors which came to life through recognizable P&G products and their stories. The authors assert, “strategy is choice” and they outlined a sequence of choice questions to guide strategy development. What is our winning aspiration? Where will we play? How will we win? What capabilities must be in place? What management systems are required? The chapters are organized around these questions. This body of work has a good chance of becoming one of those must read management books.