Dissatisfaction with Status Quo x Compelling Vision x First Steps x Believability > Resistance to Change The success rate for those who attempt a large-scale organization transformation to achieve sustainable excellence is not encouraging. For example, if you compare the number of applications for the National-level Malcolm Baldrige National …
Blog+
Empathy Maps – Key to Creating Value
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of another person. It is the key to creating value for multiple stakeholders. While we often ask customers and other stakeholders directly what they want, they often cannot tell us what they want. They might try to tell us, but there are two problems with asking …
System of Profound Knowledge
It seems obvious that our organizations, and the environments that they operate in, are complex and dynamic. Yet, there appears to be an insatiable appetite for simple answers. Unfortunately, many to most simplistic solutions don’t work. As Dr. W. Edwards Deming used to say, “there is no substitute for knowledge.” In the latter part of his life, …
Understanding the Organization as a System
Using a system to understand and lead an organization is not a new idea - it is at least 2,500 years old. According to Mo-Tze (a.k.a. Miscius) a Chinese philosopher around 500 B.C.E. Whoever pursues a business in this world must have a system. A business which has attained success without a system does not exist. From ministers and generals down …
[Read more...] about Understanding the Organization as a System
Without People – Organization Systems Don’t Exist
While Dr. W. Edwards Deming, and others, have estimated that the organizational system is responsible for a large percentage of problems and performance in organizations (70-85%), it is not at all clear how he (or the others) came to this conclusion nor if it is based on any empirical evidence. Organizational systems do not exist without the humans …
[Read more...] about Without People – Organization Systems Don’t Exist
Read This Before You Apply for the Baldrige Award!
Everyone wants to have a great organization with ever-improving performance. But, as Dr. Deming used to say, "by what method?" Scenario 1 "Good" - Finds an Excellence Model Late in the Process Leaders seem to have an insatiable appetite for new management fads and initiatives. And yet, there is seemingly little progress toward creating the …
[Read more...] about Read This Before You Apply for the Baldrige Award!
Nine Activities of Successful Transformation Leaders
Leaders who have successfully led organizations to achieve sustainable excellence focused their time on nine key activities (Latham, 2013). These nine key activities form a leadership system. Leadership is part "art" and part "science"; the leadership system could be considered the "science" of leading transformation. The Leadership System is the …
[Read more...] about Nine Activities of Successful Transformation Leaders
What Do Your Stakeholders Value?
Have you ever been surprised by the announcement of a new organization policy? Have you ever thought, “what were they thinking?” What did you say to your coworkers? What did you say to your boss? What did you do? In many cases, if just a little more time was taken consulting key stakeholders as part of the purpose and requirements component of …
Do Mission and Vision Statement Really Matter?
You may remember the mission and vision statement craze of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was another fad in the long line of management fads. So, you might also be thinking that it was a waste of time and the answer to the question posed is “No” they don’t matter. Indeed, if the mission and vision statements are empty words on the company …
[Read more...] about Do Mission and Vision Statement Really Matter?
Integrating the Natural Environment with Strategy
According to leaders of successful organization transformations, leading transformation is at its core a strategy process. A Focused Strategy is the third component of the Leadership System. The job of strategy is to translate the stakeholder needs and the compelling directive into a business model with clear, actionable goals, objectives, and …
[Read more...] about Integrating the Natural Environment with Strategy
