The Shocking Role of Support AreasThe three costliest are also the most wasteful
Thu, 04/25/2013 - 11:06
OK, brace yourself for a shocking disclosure that will revolutionize service businesses everywhere. Are you ready? The role of support areas such as human resources, IT, finance, and of course, management is to... wait for it... support the core… Just Follow the ProcedureAnd leave your brain at the door
Fri, 03/15/2013 - 11:22
The focus for management and support staff when diagnosing problems with customers is squarely on the front line. Many times the failure is diagnosed with the phrase, “If they would just follow the procedure, none of these problems would ever have… Has Your Organization Contracted Humpty Dumpty Syndrome?Functional separation of work is one reason why process improvement is so futile
Wed, 02/06/2013 - 11:05
The rhyme we all learned as children rings in my ears: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall / Humpty Dumpty had a great fall / All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. I like to use Humpty Dumpty to describe companies… Pay for Performance Systems: Still Destroying QualityFinding good people may be hard, but finding well-designed work systems for them is nearly impossible
Tue, 12/18/2012 - 11:25
The recent NFL brouhaha over pay for performance (Saints style) has seen a lot of media coverage. An ESPN fan poll finds coaches more to blame (by a large margin) than the players. In the business world, this is the equivalent of workers “accepting… When Standardization Is the ProblemCustomers need service organizations that can absorb a variety of demands
Wed, 11/14/2012 - 13:20
American management has a long-established industrialized mindset in service industries. The trend started in post-WWII when the problem being solved in manufacturing was how to quickly provide products to a world that could only turn to the United… Lessons From the Civil WarPersonal reconnaissance has a place in today’s organizations
Tue, 09/25/2012 - 12:00
In 1862, the bloodiest battle in American history was fought on Sept. 17, and 23,000 soldiers from the North and South were killed in about 12 hours of fighting. This military “victory” for the North paved the way for Abraham Lincoln to issue the… Measures That MatterFailure demand metrics upset traditional management thinking about critical data
Tue, 07/31/2012 - 12:13
Too many service organizations use measures that disconnect them from customers. The result is predictable: higher costs and worse service.
In service organizations, the systemic relationship between purpose, measures, and method is often clouded.… Organizational Targets—Enough Is EnoughDeming warned us about them, so what’s the problem?
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:16
Long ago, W. Edwards Deming warned us about the use of what he called “arbitrary numerical goals.” Targets are another name for these. They are so commonplace that governments, service, and manufacturing organizations all use them. Targets have… Charles Barkley, Hierarchy, Incentives, and American Management Barkley’s rant gives a clue to what is wrong with business and government
Thu, 03/15/2012 - 10:43
Bounties in the National Football League (NFL)? Most fans were appalled when former professional basketball player, Charles Barkley, disclosed on The Dan Patrick Show that players will pool money, called a bounty, which goes to the player who hits… The Perfect BenchmarkThere is really only one
Mon, 01/30/2012 - 13:41
I don’t know how much is spent on the benchmarking industry, but companies and governments seem to spend an awful lot on it. The idea of benchmarking seems plausible enough—compare your organization against competitors, and voilá… you can provide…
