One wonders. As a consultant, I have managed many a project where a subject matter expert is made to lead the project, versus a legitimate role of a driving project manager. I guess the theory is, given the subject matter expertise, it is a valid conclusion that this individual will be the best resource to recognize the business case for the project.
This may be true, but, if the skillset for driving a project forward is missing, it may be a good analogy to describe the subject matter expert as a passenger of a plane. You want to get there, because you would not be on the plane if you did not need to. But, truly, the pilot is the person skilled to fly the plane over. No desire of yours to move the plane towards your desired destination will make it go there if you do not have the skills to fly the plane there.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Caveat: There are folks that use Six Sigma to legitimize the same old approach that could never work
Yes, I have seen where people jump into the Six Sigma bandwagon, only to legitimize the 'good old' approach that they were wanting to improve on in the first place.
How's this? Shop goes Six Sigma. Shop hires top-notch Six Sigma talent to revamp process. Six Sigma professional starts with the tough questions to put together the business case for the problem on the table by engaging the targetted customer. Customer pushes back.
Yes, I've personally run into this. I start to ask the questions to help put the business case together. Questions like: Why do we want to undertake this improvement? What metric gives the customer the perception that there is a problem? What level can we calibrate this metrc down to to say we have solved the problem? Who are the customers we are targetting to satisfy with the solution? These questions sound relevant, but, when targetted to an executive who, in many occasions, is the designated strategist for the problem-solving effort, it is perceived to be challenging the executive's direction instead of guidance toward creating the legitimate business case.
Many times, the process does not take off because the executive never had any intention of changing the good old approach. Instead, they only intended to change the moniker of the process they have always been used to, to add legitimacy and a perception of being progressive.
How's this? Shop goes Six Sigma. Shop hires top-notch Six Sigma talent to revamp process. Six Sigma professional starts with the tough questions to put together the business case for the problem on the table by engaging the targetted customer. Customer pushes back.
Yes, I've personally run into this. I start to ask the questions to help put the business case together. Questions like: Why do we want to undertake this improvement? What metric gives the customer the perception that there is a problem? What level can we calibrate this metrc down to to say we have solved the problem? Who are the customers we are targetting to satisfy with the solution? These questions sound relevant, but, when targetted to an executive who, in many occasions, is the designated strategist for the problem-solving effort, it is perceived to be challenging the executive's direction instead of guidance toward creating the legitimate business case.
Many times, the process does not take off because the executive never had any intention of changing the good old approach. Instead, they only intended to change the moniker of the process they have always been used to, to add legitimacy and a perception of being progressive.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Easing Adoption....
You've done your assessment and analysis. You know what needs to change. You work on a fool-proof business case and are now ready to launch. Now what?
Figuring out the optimal adoption strategy is probably the gating factor to moving forward with the solution. Communication style. Expectations. Company culture. Support for the solution. Detractors with agenda that really don't further the cause. These are a few things to take into account.
Regardless of how well a Six Sigma process improvement is planned, if it never makes it past ideation because of the above-mentioned factors, it will not yield results.
Figuring out the optimal adoption strategy is probably the gating factor to moving forward with the solution. Communication style. Expectations. Company culture. Support for the solution. Detractors with agenda that really don't further the cause. These are a few things to take into account.
Regardless of how well a Six Sigma process improvement is planned, if it never makes it past ideation because of the above-mentioned factors, it will not yield results.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Voice of the Customer....how do you speak to it?
Everyone knows that the voice of the customer must be heard in order for a requirement to be valid. But, how do we handle it when this voice is ....... all wrong.
All too often, we come up like cape crusaders, with noble intentions to solve a problem. And, we could, if left to our own devices. We use our metrics to demonstrate value for a solution that we know will work. We expect to win the enemy over to our side using hard facts and plain simple logic. When we are done, we expect they would be adopting our ways, success on hand, marching off to the sunset ....... as would a dream customer.
Little do we know, the customer engaged us with a bias, an expectation for a solution they have in their heads, that they use over and over, with repeated failure. (After all, wasn't this why we were called to the rescue?)
Not any of our metrics works to sway this customer. It does defy logic, but, this customer decides to go the opposite way from what the metrics say they should. I wonder. Would I have met with more acceptance if I probed my customer for this expectation and tailored my communication of my solution to that expectation (that is, instead of trying to push my agenda using my own communication style)? Maybe, I should have tailored the message to the way this customer wanted to hear it.
All too often, we come up like cape crusaders, with noble intentions to solve a problem. And, we could, if left to our own devices. We use our metrics to demonstrate value for a solution that we know will work. We expect to win the enemy over to our side using hard facts and plain simple logic. When we are done, we expect they would be adopting our ways, success on hand, marching off to the sunset ....... as would a dream customer.
Little do we know, the customer engaged us with a bias, an expectation for a solution they have in their heads, that they use over and over, with repeated failure. (After all, wasn't this why we were called to the rescue?)
Not any of our metrics works to sway this customer. It does defy logic, but, this customer decides to go the opposite way from what the metrics say they should. I wonder. Would I have met with more acceptance if I probed my customer for this expectation and tailored my communication of my solution to that expectation (that is, instead of trying to push my agenda using my own communication style)? Maybe, I should have tailored the message to the way this customer wanted to hear it.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Speak the language of the audience!
This should be so obvious, but, I fall into this constantly.
Assuming that your audience speaks your language in the same context almost guarantees miscommunication. One big lesson I learned from professionally being in many places is that people learn to communicate in their niche. This means the same sentence (even word) may imiply different things to a different environment.
One shop may use the term 'resolved' to imply 'issue closed'. In another, it may just mean 'recovered for this incident'.
As objective as I try to make my arguments are, for or against a point I am tryring to make, it is never as clear to everyone all at once. Frustrating, but, a fact of life, so it needs to be taken in account in all interpersonal interaction.
Assuming that your audience speaks your language in the same context almost guarantees miscommunication. One big lesson I learned from professionally being in many places is that people learn to communicate in their niche. This means the same sentence (even word) may imiply different things to a different environment.
One shop may use the term 'resolved' to imply 'issue closed'. In another, it may just mean 'recovered for this incident'.
As objective as I try to make my arguments are, for or against a point I am tryring to make, it is never as clear to everyone all at once. Frustrating, but, a fact of life, so it needs to be taken in account in all interpersonal interaction.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Value is subjective!!
Just got this nugget of wisdom from economists Tom Walker, Sr and Jr of Praexis Labs.
Sounds simple, yet, explains perfectly why when I presented a clear business case for an obvious win for a stakeholder, they picked the exact opposite. Let me explain.
Let me demonstrate on a generic simplistic example.
Sounds simple, yet, explains perfectly why when I presented a clear business case for an obvious win for a stakeholder, they picked the exact opposite. Let me explain.
Let me demonstrate on a generic simplistic example.
Given:
- Option A, with a cost of $1 and an ROI of $12 over 10 days;
versus,
- Option B, with a cost of $1 and an ROI of $5 over 5 days
Translated to the same measurement system over the same period, Option A's ROI is $6 and Option B's is $5. Would seem obvious to me that the stakeholder would pick Option A over B given they would stand to benefit.
Fact: My stakeholder picked Option B. Now, why would they do that?
Did not consider the definition of VALUE to my customer. The obvious, which is COST, might not be what my customer considered of VALUE. As objective as COST appeared to be, it was not to this stakeholder.
Initially, it did not occur to me that the stakeholder may have cared more about image or perception management, which could not have anything to do with costing the problem at hand, or improvement metrics.
This stakeholder's concept of VALUE was actually subjective. Interesting!!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What's so scary about metrics?
I recently went on an interview for a consulting gig for a business-type program management assignment. Received feedback that I might be too 'metric-driven' to meld with my business customers.
What is it about metrics that scared my interviewer?
We were probably not communicating on the same plane. Everyone is afraid of their work being quantified not because of the fact, but, because of the implied 'non-value add' work it entails. It is fear of the tedium.
Valuable lesson when asking for metrics:
1. Be practical. The only goal when asking for metrics is to be able to quantify work completed, or results. There is a good balance between quantifying results and defeating the whole efficiency of getting the work done because of the metrics required to prove it was done.
2. Communicate clearly what you mean when you mean metrics. The word itself may imply more than just tedium and imply more negative connotations.
What is it about metrics that scared my interviewer?
We were probably not communicating on the same plane. Everyone is afraid of their work being quantified not because of the fact, but, because of the implied 'non-value add' work it entails. It is fear of the tedium.
Valuable lesson when asking for metrics:
1. Be practical. The only goal when asking for metrics is to be able to quantify work completed, or results. There is a good balance between quantifying results and defeating the whole efficiency of getting the work done because of the metrics required to prove it was done.
2. Communicate clearly what you mean when you mean metrics. The word itself may imply more than just tedium and imply more negative connotations.
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