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My Brand of Insanity . . . What is Yours? |
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Dear Systems Thinker,
New prospects, new customers, new industries and a whole lot of hunger and thirst for new thinking around the design and management of work. Organizations are becoming more curious about why our Vanguard Method achieves improvements of 20 - 80%. Their change management programs get 2-5% in net improvement or worse add to costs through sub-optimization and waste . . . and they get the added benefit of having a demoralizing culture.
Now who is crazy?!!!
Oh and BTW, we come with a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. They have expensive certifications; and tool workshops that don't work for your service business.
Now that is insanity we can believe in! |
| My Brand of Insanity |
Each newsletter, I will share some random thoughts on current events, service (good and bad) and other sometimes closely attached and sometimes detached thoughts. Having been a proponent of W. Edwards Deming's thinking for more than two decades it is not hard to imagine why the title for this section. Here are a few announcements, thoughts and observations:
- My first Live! webinar (Achieving Customer Intimacy Through a Brain Enema) is this Thursday from 1:30 - 2:30 PM EDT and is hosted by the Contact Center Performance Forum (CCPF). Sign-up here.
- My association with IQPC as an advisory board member is something I take seriously. Please take time to join in the conversation at www.customermanagementIQ.com you will be added to their list for podcasts, webinars and of course their US/international seminars.
- If your looking for new thinking, go to the Call Center Myth Buster Trilogy and listen at your own pace. The Myth Buster series consists of Act I-Measurement, Act II-Analysis and Act III-Management. I especially recommend ACT III as it summarizes the first two acts and deals with the meat of the thinking problems in management. This series has had over 1000 hits from just my network.
For comments or to share your experiences contact me at tripp@newsystemsthinking.com. |
| September/October Blog Posts and the Reasons for Them |
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The 5 posts below are primarily for the new government audience I have acquired. A small group has grown close to 300 in a month. Government agencies from the local, state and federal level (primarily from the US and Canada). Most I have communicated with have learned about us through the Vanguard success stories posted at www.thesystemsthinkingreview.co.uk. The Vanguard Method is being praised by councils all over the UK and their stories are my best advertising. Success is hard to deny, even if the methods are counter-intuitive. Digging the Financial Hole Deeper - Washington State Shared Services Directive
The next two posts were inspired by the on-going and constant stream of sales hype and advertising by the technology industry. I am all for technology to do things it was designed to do, but there are certain things that technology should never do. Yet, they keep trying to do them, costing companies millions of dollars (or whatever currency is used).
This issue (targets) continues to bother me, especially in the US. I need to find a vaccination for this disease. It is worse than the H1N1 and has certainly affected more lives needlessly. Targets promote the wrong behavior . . . always.
I was on my way to Disney and they do some things well, but their use of IVRs is not one of them. The obsession with IVR systems is incredibly misplaced. Then organizations copy companies they admire thinking if they do just like another company they will be like them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Systems are different and can't and shouldn't be copied. "Best practice" terminology perpetuates this myth followed at great costs. If or when organizations discover that customer demands, structure, management thinking, work design, etc., are always different this "practice" will end. Be yourself, it's authentic.
I wrote this after reading John Seddon's Newsletter. He had the opportunity to hear Mary Poppendieck speak about the tyranny of planning and how man's greatest achievements were from doing rather than planning. Mary Poppendieck is a thought leader that I have admired for over 3 years now. Unfortunately, some stagnant minds rejected her thinking around software development.
This last post is a shorter version of my Ezine Article. The opportunity to remain a world leader in business is shrinking, a wake-up call is in order.
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| 3 Things to Do Now to Improve your Company Using Systems Thinking |
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I get several calls during the week about what a manager or worker can do to improve their organization. I have got to tell you that it takes guts and I admire these people and their perseverance.
"Discontent is the first step to progress." I heard this from Susan B. Anthony at Disney's American Adventure. I have since learned it is a quote from Oscar Wilde.
The problem is that the people at the top are content a lot of the time. They hit their targets get their bonus and on their merry way they go. But I am finding those few owners or leaders (true leaders in my mind) that have the curiosity and the drive to make a difference. They are in short supply.
The structure feeds itself to be complacent about improvement. Command and control feels like control, but in reality it is not. My favorite counter-intuitive truth regarding systems thinking is that giving up control gives you control and it is a lot less expensive to maintain a systems thinking structure.
Three things you can do now:
- Read the sector appropriate book either Freedom from Command and Control (private service sector) or Systems Thinking in the Public Sector.
- Get the free download Understanding Your Organization as a System.
- Go to where customers are and learn about the type and frequency of demand at the points of transaction and conduct your own knowledge-gathering. Identify value and failure demands and get conversations going with people that share your concerns or passion to improve the design and management of work. Quantifying failure demand is always a powerful conversation, but it is only the tip of the iceberg.
If you get stuck . . . call, tweet or email me. We help organizations improve faster because we have made the mistakes you will make.
One gentleman asked why I would help so much without pay. My response was I believe in what I do and that provides me intrinsic motivation. I want folks to see the benefit of the Vanguard Method. Sure, some will take advantage of me . . . but most people that are attracted us are bigger thinkers.
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That's it for this newsletter. Best wishes with improving your system.
Sincerely,
Tripp Babbitt
Bryce Harrison, Inc. |
© 2009. Bryce Harrison, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Phone: (317) 849-8670 Email: info@newsystemsthinking.com
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