The “X-Factor” paralysis
The X-Factor means problems that were initiated externally (i.e., outside the department) and were therefore difficult, if not impossible, to fix because local managers had no authority.
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The secret to making internal performance improvement groups succeed (part 2)
A few more thoughts on some of the problems we have seen that can limit the effectiveness of PI groups.
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“Cushman bait”
Employees are often initially worried that our watching them work is some kind of “Big Brother” intrusion and that the outcome won’t be beneficial to them.
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The secret to making internal performance improvement groups succeed (part 1)
A large part of our business comes from referrals from satisfied clients, so helping them build internal capability is actually more self-serving than it appears.
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How to find opportunity in an organization
Before we work for a client we do what we call an “opportunity analysis,” which, as it sounds, is designed to help us figure out if there is any opportunity to improve and where it might be. It’s usually conducted over two to three weeks.
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Hockey-stick forecasts
The “hockey-stick forecast” is a fairly common concept for people who deal regularly with future plans of one type or another.
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“In the day, for the day”
In the day, for the day is a very popular way to describe how front line managers should think and act.
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How operating problems are hidden
We spend countless hours in many different industry sectors observing and analyzing how work gets processed. We watch employees, managers and the tools they use in order to determine how much of their day is truly productive.
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Backlogs aren’t the security you think they are
Certainly there are operational efficiencies that you might be able to leverage when there is a backlog, but there are potentially hidden, but very real risks and costs lurking.
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Why it’s hard to eliminate backlogs
Work expands because there is no additional work available.” If people are aware that no work awaits them after they complete their current tasks, they will naturally start slowing the rate of completion to avoid running out of work. This is very common in project-based work environments.
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