Tag: Management

Who Drives Vision to Reality?

Mike 0 Comment Collaboration, Communication, Continuous improvement, Expert Advice, Management Skills, Metrics, Project Management, Uncategorized , , , ,

Hand holding classic Edison light bulb

Thomas Edison was a visionary, and one of the most influential people in modern human history because he understood the effort it took to successfully execute a vision.

Vision without execution is delusion. Thomas Edison

During my 30 plus years in a large corporation, I worked with many people who had vision but not everyone was able to turn their vision into reality. Although it is true that in many organizations Leadership is responsible for developing the vision, implementing their plans was usually left to others in the organization. Unfortunately, if a solid connection was not made between Leadership’s vision and the plan for execution, the project wouldn’t succeed.

 I’ve had the good fortune to work on several successful teams and it became clear to me that the success of a project was usually a function of Who was on the team. I noticed the successful team members consistently took the following action steps:

  • Connected the vision to the work. The team members who were successful at execution were able to connect the project’s goal (vision) to their current work and the overall success of the organization. The path was clear to them on how the vision could be achieved and how it would positively impact their jobs and the success of the company.
  • Developed an effective plan. Successful members were well organized and able to develop an effective plan for themselves and enlist their teammates in the effort. Their plans for success were well documented and communicated to the team. This communication fostered a sense of ownership and a feeling of transparency that was inherently healthy.
  • Obtained access to accurate and timely data. Success was possible when accurate information and data were readily available. The successful team member knew how to obtain and use the information effectively to drive the project. Those who were able to execute the plans were well versed in using the data management tools available to them. If the tools weren’t available, they would develop their own set of tools that made gathering data and reporting very efficient.
  • Provided clear and concise communication with all stakeholders. This means they developed and published the progress of the project to all interested parties. Communicating pertinent information on a timely basis allowed for discussion of the results and insights. If the information was clear, complete, and concise, it provided guidance to Leadership and facilitated an honest discussion of the project’s progress. In this environment, the project had a greater chance of success.

A team member who understood the planning and hard work it took to achieve the vision got noticed and was always given more opportunities to be successful.

Thomas Edison had many quotes, but this one pulls it all together: Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

 

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com 85115774 4masik

What is in Season?

Mike 0 Comment Business Forecast, Collaboration, Communication, Expert Advice, Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,

IMG_1708

In 1965, a folk-rock band, ‘The Byrds’, recorded their version of Pete Seeger’s song, ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’. The lyrics refer to there being a time for many activities and events, including a time to plant and a time to harvest. Although I’ve heard the song hundreds of times over the years, it had a new meaning for me when I became a supply chain manager.

Consumers want the freshest food possible, necessitating that manufacturers maintain the freshest inventory possible. This is especially true for fruits and vegetables used in processed or semi-processed foods. If these fruits and vegetables are grown in specific geographies, it can be very difficult to maintain a fresh inventory year round. Under these circumstances, purchasing the correct amount of these items is a challenge, and not having enough material to cover the requirements before the next harvest is an obvious problem. Conversely, purchasing too much material can be a problem if the shelf-life of perishable items expires before they can be utilized.

One of the biggest challenges of my career was managing the inventory of perishable materials. My colleagues and I developed a system for calculating the quantity of material to be purchased based on when new material needed to be contracted/purchased and the forecasted rate of the material’s consumption in the production of finished goods.

We determined that it worked best for the people in charge of procurement to frequently talk directly with operations people who have knowledge of the business and production planning. This not only guaranteed the freshest possible product for our customers, it reduced financial losses due to expired materials. It also minimized the need to make emergency purchases at a higher cost on the spot market to make up for shortfalls in the inventory. To facilitate these discussions, we developed a sophisticated spreadsheet tool to capture pertinent information.

Based on our experience, here are the recommended steps for developing an inventory management tool and using it to plan the best purchasing strategy for your business.

  1. Establish the parameters for product availability

List all of the items to be purchased and then answer a few simple questions about everything on the list: What is the shelf life of the material? Where is the item grown? Is it available from sources outside of your country? Is it available in the opposite hemisphere, i.e., if you are located in the northern hemisphere, can the item be grown in the southern hemisphere and shipped economically to your location? Once this information is developed, the purchasing plan can be established.

  1. Develop a consumption model

To predict the consumption of the material, a model will be required to show the projected inventory level of each item. This will require the production forecast by month, and the amount of material used in each finished good item to calculate the usage. Monthly consumption is the most convenient way to view the information. When developing the model, a ‘loss factor’ should be added to the formula to account for material wasted or damaged during storage and/or manufacturing. If the material is used in multiple finished good items, cumulative usage should be tracked and reported as a single number.

  1. Develop the inventory model

 Utilize the product availability parameters (step 1) and consumption model (step 2) to set up a tool that will show the inventory levels at the beginning or end of each month. The third variable in the inventory model should show the contracted quantities and when the material is available for usage.

Combining the inventory, consumption, and purchase quantity will generate a ‘strategic’ view of the available inventory over time. Understanding the strategic view of the inventory will indicate when to purchase the material again in the future.

Once the inventory model is working and actual inventories are updated each month, the inventory levels can be predicted for each time period. Management can then determine if there is a risk of running out of materials or conversely, predict if there will be excess material left over that will expire before it can be used. Examples of an annual purchase and semi-annual purchase inventory model are shown below:

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  1. Review Inventory and Adjust Purchasing Strategy

The most important step of this process is for the appropriate parties to review the inventory positions on a monthly basis, even if the purchase date is several months away. For example, if sales are not going as planned, then a strategy can be developed to manage the potential issues of running out of material prematurely or having excess material that will expire and cannot be used. Ideally the Operations group will know how sales are trending and this intelligence can be brought to the attention of the Procurement group.

  1. Establish Timetables for Making a Purchase Decision

The process works well when a timetable is developed for each item. In general, the process is to jointly review the inventory plan and forecast 3 months prior to when the material is available for purchase. The forecast should be verified with the Production Planning/Scheduling department two months prior to contracting the item. This gives Procurement enough time to develop the quantity requirements and negotiation strategy to be executed in the month prior to the delivery on the contract.

Some companies may have ERP/MRP systems that will generate similar information for a material, however, it is important to have a tool to facilitate the discussions between Procurement and Operations. These discussions need to take place with some frequency to ensure necessary adaptations to business plans.

It may take a few months to develop and launch this entire process, but once it is running and the monthly review of inventory is taking place between Procurement and Operations, the benefits are substantial. Having a sensitive and efficient process for updating the consumption model and the inventory model is key to success. Accurate and timely information will lead to better decisions and improved business results.

It is safe to say that the Byrds were not thinking about inventory position and consumption models when they recorded one of their most famous songs, but it’s easy to hear the wisdom in their chorus:

‘There is a season – turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under heaven’

 

 

 

 

Dreamer or Doer: Who Do You Need in Your Organization

mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills , , , ,

Dream Big Work Hard Concept

The world needs Dreamers and the world needs Doers. But above all, the world needs Dreamers who Do. Sarah Ban Breathnach.

Over the years, as I watched people flourish or flounder at work, I witnessed the degree to which success is dependent upon a good fit between workers and their role in the organization. I found there are two characteristics essential to success in any organization: dreaming and doing. We are all Dreamers and Doers to some extent, however most of us tend to lean a little more one way than the other.

When hiring new employees or considering a change for current employees, it’s a good idea to gauge the degree of Dreamer/Doer requirements of the position. A successful fit is almost always related to how a person’s Dreamer/Doer ratio aligns with their role. Dreamer roles tend to require more creativity, and Doer roles, more routine.

The charts below illustrate the Dreamer/Doer ratios for positions in a supply chain company:

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  • A Material Planner is responsible for ordering materials needed for production. Usually the information comes from a system (e.g., MRP) and then the raw materials are ordered through the procurement system. Accuracy and consistency are essential to successfully executing the process every day to keep the production lines running. (Strong Doer)
  • A Planning Manager needs to be a creative problem solver in order to resolve issues that arise everyday. They must also be strong communicators and be able to work effectively and efficiently. (Strong Dreamer)
  • A Director of Logistics must develop innovative ways to improve the overall efficiency of the supply chain. People who have risen to this level have done so because of their strengths in both practical and creative arenas. (Strong Doer/Dreamer)

Here are a few characteristics of Dreamers and Doers that may be helpful when determining the ratio of potential candidates:

Characteristics of an effective Dreamer

  • Candidates with experience in finding creative ways to use technology are dreamers. Various technologies continue to grow at an exponential rate. The companies with employees who find ways to leverage emerging technology will be leaders in their field. For example, new technologies exist in the form of improved hardware and software that allow for better, quicker decision-making. Companies who work out innovative ways to use this technology will have a competitive advantage.
  • Candidates who know how to gather and analyze data are effective Dreamers. For example, the Dreamers who have found innovative ways to optimize networks or systems will be extremely valuable in most organizations. Having the ability to review complex data analyses and provide solid recommendations for enhancements is always an excellent capability.

Characteristics of a strong Doer

  • Candidates with meaningful experiences as leaders, as well as working on successful teams, are strong Doers. Those who have demonstrated strong leadership skills in difficult situations are extremely valuable. When it comes to executing plans, I personally found the candidates who put a plan together, and then rolled up their sleeves to fully support the team, were going to be successful in the organization.
  • Candidates willing to take on difficult challenges and work outside their comfort zone are strong Doers. People who are ‘comfortable being uncomfortable’ are most likely to adapt and take on new challenges, as well as to grow within the organization.

One last consideration is to gauge a candidate’s ability (or willingness) to adjust their Dreamer/Doer ratio as they move up in the organization. Knowing that the roles at the various levels of the organization will require varying amounts of Dreamer/Doer, it’s important when hiring ‘high potential’ future leaders that they show the ability to ‘do’ as well as the ability to ‘dream’.

It takes a little practice and patience to get to know a person’s ‘ratio’ but once it is understood, there will be an improvement in success rate of the candidates.

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com #57460535 LlianaMihaleva

Spending Enough Time on Your Message?

mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills , ,

Depositphotos_55493215_xs

I had a friend who was a Methodist minister and he once told me that a good preacher would spend one-third of his time working on his weekly sermon. My initial reaction was that this seemed like a lot of time to spend on a 15-20 minute ‘speech’, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. To keep the parishioners headed in the right direction, the message needed to be inspiring and meaningful. If the message is going to have a positive impact on the listener, the speaker needs to make sure they give themselves a lot of time to think about the point they want to make. Putting this in a more secular perspective, it is very important to ‘sit and think’ about the messages we use to inspire those who work for us.

With so many ways for us to receive messages these days, it is especially important that we, as leaders, become more effective at developing and delivering our message. During the times we are the busiest, it is extremely important to get our message to our teams in the most effective manner possible. From a practical perspective, being an effective communicator and leader becomes an exercise in time management.

A few years ago I was asked to take on a large amount of additional work. At that time I was running the supply chain for one business, and was asked to take on a second business. I wanted to accept this challenge because this business had been my responsibility in the past and I had an emotional attachment to it.

This ‘dual’ business management scenario re-emphasized the need to prioritize my time and make sure I provided clear direction to both of my teams, while satisfying the needs of my internal customers.

You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires. You decide. And if you don’t decide, others will decide for you.” ― Tony Morgan

During this hectic time, I started my workdays with every intention of spending at least the first 30 minutes planning the day. Though I started an hour before most people got to work, things always happened that required my immediate attention, and burned through my planning time.

When I was in firefighting mode, other important work that wasn’t urgent, didn’t get done, and this ‘slippage’ created situations that would require even more firefighting in the future. It was a vicious cycle: firefighting led to more firefighting. If time was not being set aside to trouble-shoot and correct the issues causing the problems, the situation was going to deteriorate. Sound familiar?

Knowing it was very important to craft my message for my team, I had to make a conscious effort to find the time for planning and setting direction. I found a few basic time-management principles that helped me push the pile forward.

  1. Find a strategy to categorize your activities. One method was dividing up daily tasks into 4 categories: Q1 – Important and Urgent; Q2 – Important but Not Urgent; Q3 – Not Important and Urgent; Q4 – Not Important and Not Urgent. Once the activities are sorted, one can decide which tasks to attack. My familiarity with this methodology was from a time management course I took based on Steven Covey’s model. One of the primary recommendations of this method is to make sure there is a sincere attempt to focus time on the Q2 items, which were ‘Important, but Not Urgent’. Examples of these activities were physical exercise, reading industry-related articles for ideas, and taking time to evaluate and develop your own career. For more information on this concept, take a look at a great article from Sid Savarra that describes the quadrants and how your activities can be categorized. Covey’s Time Management matrix.
  1. Focus on understanding where your time goes every day. If you track your activities for a few days, you can start to see what is taking up your time. Once you have a list, evaluate whether or not the activity will help you make progress. Looking at situations and tasks we are asked to address with this ‘go / no go’ perspective can help sort out the non-value added tasks. For example, attending a Marketing update meeting on changing advertising agency strategies was not going to impact how the supply chain operated. However, if the marketing strategy was to increase the amount of money spent advertising, then the discussion was very worthwhile and would have an impact on the supply chain.
  1. Enlist your boss to help prioritize the activities. About once a week I had discussions with my boss regarding all of the activities on my list, identifying the ones I felt would not help the business make progress. Most bosses are interested in making progress and are amenable to worthwhile suggestions. Even if they want everything on the list to be done, they will help prioritize the work. These meetings are also a good time to keep your boss updated on the progress of each activity.

In the end, I would block out time on my schedule for planning every day. I would go ‘radio silent’ during this time and only answer the phone if it was an important caller, i.e. the boss or my wife. I may not have been able to spend a third of my time on the message, but the more time I spent on it, the better my team responded and the more we accomplished. In the end, making the time to ‘sit and think’ was always worthwhile.