THE ENTERPRISE--THE FACTS, JUST THE FACTS
FACT: A PICTURE IS WORTH 1000 WORDS--OR MORE--JUST WATCH THIS & FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS
Figure out which "Commander in Chief" the troops hold in higher regard. What does that tell us?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIHz5tevLAw
FACT: BOEING HAS A WEAKNESS IN MORE THAN THE 787 STRUCTURE
The new aircraft is being delayed again. It has been plagued with problems--many of them involving supplier partners or failures in "communications" somewhere along the line. The latest failure in communications was that according to Boeing, its engineers and senior executives alike had known since May of the structural problem that's keeping the big jet grounded--but just a week before, at the Paris Air Show, executives were affirming that the new jet was on track to fly by the end of the month. One analyst quoted in the WSJ says, "..Management seems to have been operating without adequate visibility into the details of program performance in the 787 organization and at suppliers. What does it mean when bad news doesn't make its way to the top of a big organization? Could it be that fear of reprisal is suppressing the facts? A management professor from Dartmouth is quoted in the same WSJ piece "Not a lot of people like to share bad news up the chain," ..."That's not a good career move."
Do any of you reading this see the flaw in this thinking? The facts are the facts. The sooner problems are revealed, the sooner corrective action can start. It seems that three of GE's former "whiz kids" have all had brushes with this "communications" problem in recent times: Nardelli had big problems at Home Depot; Immelt had a tough period dealing with GE Finance's effect on a big earnings miss (which even Welch chided him about) and now McNerney is having "communications problems" at Boeing. Maybe they learned some bad habits at GE (along with the highly publicized 'good ones").
FACT: COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PARTNERS IS THE ONLY WAY TO WORK TOGETHER
A buyer I once dealt with had a sign in his office: "WHEN YOU CAN'T SHIP, YOU MUST COMMUNICATE." I'd revise that to say "When you can't or won't live up to your commitments, the only responsible thing to do is to communicate." Another certainty is that leaders, managers, executives who "kill the messenger" will never get the straight, honest and timely communications they need to make informed decisions. If a leader cultivates a culture of fear about communicating the bad news, s/he is doomed to fail and possibly take the company down too. The only way to win in today's hyper-competitive global business world is through strong partnerships between individuals/companies, and their critical partners: suppliers, associates and customers. That is the key to building trust and cooperation which leads to collaborating for success. (The fourth critical partner is the "truth teller" who is beholden to no one, but just tells it like it is, when it needs to be said!)
FACT: YOUR CONGRESS AT WORK--DESTROYING THE AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE CHASING A "MYTHICAL NIRVANA"
Everyone I know agrees we should stop "fouling the planet." Far from everyone agrees that man's puny efforts are going to create the huge (mythical) changes referred to by Al Gore in his "fictional film" AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. It was aptly named, since many of his so called frightening facts have now been debunked--but the mainstream media is loathe to tell that "truth" to its audience. Based on much scientific assessment, the measurements from decades and centuries past were so error-filled (due to the crude/antiquated equipment of those eras), that any long-term conclusion on global warming--or cooling (which was the panic 30+ years ago) are likely wrong and at best inconclusive. If the USA does everything it can to clean up the emissions, and pays no attention to the costs, the consequences, and the outcomes, AND if the Chinese do very little or nothing about their emissions, diverting that investment into becoming a more competitive global force, what is the likely outcome. These are just likely FACTS about what is happening. One polluter acts one way; the other acts another. Level playing field? I don't think so.
So now our nutty legislator-in-chief from California, Nancy Pelosi and her trusty band of friends (or fools) are ramrodding a disastrous bill through the House so fast that (like the stimulus bill before it) NO ONE really knows what all is in there. EMAIL YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND YOUR SENATOR TO SIDETRACK THIS RUNAWAY TRAIN.
Here's more about it.
FACT: STUDIES HAVE SHOWN, MOST CEOS FAIL BECAUSE OF FAILURES IN EXECUTION
Noted author Jim Collins wrote about leadership types, and particularly the "charismatic leader" who is an artful communicator, but doesn't have the deep trust and belief of those who must execute his/her glowing words and ambitious plans. Failing to execute can doom even the most brilliantly conceived and eloquently described plans. Words do matter, but only if the actions that follow them measure up. Take soaring rhetoric, combine it with weak execution and vague (but politically convenient metrics like "jobs created or saved") and the outcome will be, predictably, poor. These are simply the FACTS. You decide if they fit.
FACT: BUSINESS EDUCATION--MOSTLY IT DOESN'T REALLY TEACH WHAT NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT
My favorite magazine, THE WEEK, recently featured an Issue of the week: Rethinking business education. The four paragraphs could only scratch the surface of this big issue. One asks if business education is a waste of time, that actually does more harm than good. Another points out that short cuts to "make the numbers" might have been rooted in teachings, but that many of the worse offenders, never came close to an MBA. the vaunted Harvard Business School has created a task force to assess whether it "is failing to teach students to understand and manage risk in the current environment." The fourth paragraph points out that leading schools like Wharton find the interest in ethics classes soaring. The closing two sentences are insightful: "Of course all these students still want to make money. The challenge is to reconcile the desire with a respect for fair play and a concern for the broader public interest."
FACT: Business schools, like everything else, come in all flavors: good, bad and so-so; relevant, irrelevant, and downright irresponsible. Tenure has created an entire cadre of professors who, in the words of one I knew a long time ago, "will damn well teach whatever we want to teach and whoever doesn't like it can go to hell." Tenure, like many policies has outlived its useful life, creating a worse problem than it was created to solve. It keeps "hacks" who knew how to play politics in their teaching jobs long after they should have been ousted. It encourages deceptive behavior during the formative part of a professor's career--to get through the tenure review. Worst of all, it enshrines the "ivory tower" mentality that has precious little connection with real world issues--the constant tension between success, profit, competition, ethical behavior and principles. Add into the mix that a large percentage of college and university professors who have never held a competitive job in the real world of business, and perhaps, just maybe, what THEY present as FACTS, are actually self-perpetuated MYTHS.
FACT: COLLEGE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE EITHER
One of President Obama's favorite lines relates that "everyone should get a college education." What nonsense that is. Harvard's study found the 2/3 of high school graduates are unprepared to enter a four year college. Facts show that 40% of those who enter college, drop out before graduation. Further, employers must take the end product of most college curricula and then "train most of them" all over again--to do anything productive. If everyone goes to college, do we want plumbers, electricians, medical technicians, orderlies and waiters with college degrees? These jobs are worthy jobs that can suit the skills, motivation and competence of many people. My sister, with her high school education was a waitress for years, and by all measures, she was a superb one. With no college, she could converse with anyone you (or I) could imagine, and they'd feel what a proud, competent, and responsible person she was. And she raised four children. My brother-in-law was so responsible that when Caterpillar started rewarding attendance with time off, he asked me, "What am I going to do with all these days off. I just want to go to work and do a good job." He worked there for years--in the warehouse--and retired proud of it.
FACT: BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND (as Stephen Covey told us in 7 Habits...)--WHAT DO WE WANT THE USA TO BE LIKE?
Don't we want a diverse and balanced society. Does that require everyone to go to college? A friend operates Home for Elderly with Dementia. While he values a good mind, and a reliable worker, he most values a caring person who will truly "care for" his residents. College sure doesn't have a course on that. B-school professors can teach how to to a "conjoint analysis" but can they (and do they) teach how to deal with two valuable co-workers who just can't seem to get along and work together? Acres of computers and software will not begin to deal with that kind of problem.
Perhaps we need to decide what kind of country we want to be, and what kind of economy we want the USA to have. It's not healthy to "make nothing." There is knowledge lost. Making things requires machines, and tools, which require maintenance and tool makers--both of which are rapidly becoming lost skills. Doctors require technicians to run X-Ray and MRI machines and phlebotomists with a deft touch to insert IV needles and draw blood. While college might help these people understand the principles of their jobs, on the job training will likely be far more productive.
FACT: IT'S TIME TO CAPITALIZE ON & INVEST IN AMERICA'S HIDDEN WEALTH--ITS PEOPLE
There are the masses of unemployed and underemployed people who were once proud and productive factory workers. What are they to do? Go back to college sitting next to teens and twenty-somethings, scratching their head because the last Algebra or Grammar they studied was twenty years ago? The USA is desperately in need of massive retraining and re-tasking of millions of workers. That is not a job for colleges. Nor are these jobs for the government to create with "make work" projects. This is a job for what we used to call "trade schools," that train people for specific kinds of jobs that exist and for which there is demand.
I'd love to see people who have held good jobs be able to do so again--and do so proudly, and with the confidence in their knowledge that they are once again competitive, productive parts of American society. Let's spend our money on them, and not sending to college that 40% that doesn't want to go, and isn't nearly competent to go. All they will do is spend their money, their parents money and our tax money, and raise the consumption of beer measurably. FOLKS, I think these are just the FACTS. What do you think? (Tell your Senator and Representative!)
BONUS MATERIAL BELOW--FOR THOSE STRUGGLING WITH THE CURRENT ECONOMY
I hope the "simple" solutions below help you. They are simple--and they work. I have also posted some telling research on how Americans feel about government spending in general. (See, you are not alone!)
Best, John
=====================
FROM A CORRESPONDENT "DOWN UNDER" WHO "GETS IT!"
I've been repeating the "drive out complexity" mantra for almost two years, now. Ian Dover is now repeating it in the hope of "simpler business."
Welcome to the first newsletter from the Simpler Business Institute, where we use the skills and techniques of experienced managers to provide common-sense tools and templates to help make your management easier and your business simpler. It's a place for cutting through the complexity that constrains many businesses.
There's a lot in the media today concerning jobs, especially the loss of these due to the global financial woes. Of course, the wages bill for most companies is substantial and it's the first to be scrutinized when times get tough, but there are many other opportunities to remove costs or increase profits before resorting to letting your staff go. Invariably, this means losing some of your good people; people you'll be looking for again when the upturn inevitably comes along.
To help you with some ideas of what can be done before resorting to retrenchments, I've put together a short list of some of the common-sense ways managers have removed costs to increase profitability in past recessions. They are in no particular order - every company's situation is different - and you really need to perform a break-even calculation for your business to understand what costs you need to cover each month in a time of low demand for your goods or services.
Simple ways to remove costs
Stop selling your low-profit (or loss-making) products.
Stop servicing your low-profit (or loss-making) customers.
Stop developing products that won't deliver good sales+profits in the short term.
Focus all your staff on your profitable products and customers so that no money is being wasted on the low-profit or no-profit products and customers.
Refinance your expensive buildings and equipment to take advantage of the low interest rates - interest rates are the major difference between this economic downturn and in the early 90s, so lower your repayments as soon as possible.
Identify and remove the main constraints from your business processes - these constraints are areas of unnecessary costs that are killing your profits.
Apply the 80/20 Test to all your projects or activities where people spend time not directly related to getting current work out the door. These may be large or small projects, but the following two questions may save you a lot of money right now:
- "What are the 20% of projects that are going to deliver 80% of the benefit to your business in the short-medium term?" Focus on these.
- "For each project that you decide to continue, what are the 20% of the planned outcomes that will deliver 80% of the benefit?" Focus on these now!
Apply the 80/20 Test to your Compliance costs - how can you achieve the majority of your compliance requirements with the minimum level of input?
Cut administrative costs where easily possible, noting that these are generally small amounts compared to the costs associated with the items above. (If you have developed an unnecessarily complex performance reporting system, you will be able to achieve 80% of management control with just 20% of the performance measures, so identify these and remove the measures that do not add real value).
If you are currently implementing new information systems either within your business or along your value chain, ask yourself right now "what are the few pieces of information that will give me most managerial control in the short-medium term?" and re-focus your info systems projects to deliver these.
There are costs associated with all of these items, but they are more than wages costs! If you focus on doing good business right now that delivers real value to your customers, and by value I mean "it makes them more successful in whatever they want to achieve", you will find that you can remove a lot of costs prior to having to cut jobs from your workforce.
Unfortunately, many businesses do not have the cost information within their accounting or production systems to be able to accurately define the profitability of their different products and customers. If this is your case, you will have a big job ahead to gather this information and by the time you have it all, you may be in a much worse financial situation. An alternative is to use the combined knowledge of your key people to approximate the relative profitability (or attractiveness) of your products and customers - to see this, go to Operations Tools - Start Your Turnaround on www.simplerbusiness.com
A final note: If you are in the situation where your main products and customers are low-profit or no-profit activities, then you have no choice but remove costs from your current business and production processes to regain profitability. How to do this will be the subject of a later newsletter.
Ian Dover , Alitek, PO Box 2049, West Ashgrove, Queensland 4060, AUSTRALIA
H
H=====================
American Pulse™: Majority Say Government
Intervening in Too Many Areas and Taking on Too Much Debt Two in Five Say U.S. Cannot Afford Healthcare Reform
COLUMBUS, OH – (MARKET WIRE) – 6/22/09 – A majority (57.6%) of Americans say the U.S. government is trying to intervene in too many areas, according to the June American Pulse™ (N=4034). The sentiment is echoed by a majority of Republicans (84.9%) and Independents (61.7%), while over a third (37.1%) of Democrats agree.
Not only do Americans think the government is involved in too many projects, but an overwhelming majority think the government has taken on too much debt. Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike all agree:
Do you think the U.S. government has taken on too much debt?
Adults 18+ Republicans Democrats Independents
Yes 78.0% 92.3% 68.9% 82.6%
No 10.1% 2.1% 17.1% 7.9%
I don't know 11.8% 5.6% 14.0% 9.5%
Source: American Pulse-June 09
Healthcare reform is one project on the government’s to-do list that Americans are split on whether or not the U.S. can afford at this time; 35.3% say yes, 39.8% say no and 24.9% don’t know. Over half of Democrats (53.1%) think the U.S can afford it now. 63.2% of Republicans and 41.9% of Independents say it can’t.
Regarding consumers, two in five (42.3%) believe that the government cannot provide better healthcare than the private sector. 32.2% say they can, while a quarter (25.5%) don’t know. 75% of consumers also say that they’ve changed their shopping habits as a result of the recession and over half (51.6%) say the changes they’ve made will continue more than a year.
To voice your opinion on BIGresearch and Artafact’s Blog: http://peoplevoice.ning.com/
For complimentary findings: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.
About American Pulse™
The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. The use of the online blog as a listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative research. http://www.bigresearch.com
About Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com
Contacts:
BIGresearch SSI
Chrissy Wissinger Diane Urso
[email protected] [email protected]
614.846.0146 203.567.7236
"Government is supposed to work for the people; not vice versa."
-----------------------------------------------------------
John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
------------------------------------------------------------
Comments