The outside – in approach to management

Henry Ford said “If I had asked my customers what they wanted they would have said faster horses”.

Are you creating the equivalent of faster horses and then wondering why sales are struggling?

As a Certified Process Professional Stephen Malcolm, Linstar’s Managing Director is often asked to review an organisation’s processes with a view to increase profitability.  In the initial consultation phase of the process review the organisation needs to consider if they have an inside – out, or an outside – in approach to management and one of the first questions he would ask is ” Are you delivering what the customer says they want or actually what they really need?

You may doing things right but are you doing the right things?

THE FOUR WAYS WE CAN TRANSFORM PROCESSES FOREVER

1. Understand and apply process diagnostics
2. Identify and align to successful customer outcomes
3. Re-frame processes for an outside-in world
4. Re-think the business you are in

So what would a Certified Process Professional consider when working with an organisation that wishes to develop or instill an outside-in approach to management.

            Moments Of Truth (MOT)

1. MOT are a process diagnostic
2. They occur anywhere a customer “touches” a process
3. All MOT should be eradicated and those remaining improved.  In doing so, the customer experience is improved, costs are reduced and productivity maximised
4. They can be Person to person, person to system, systems to person, system to system and person to product
5. Any interaction with a customer is a MOT
6. MOT are both process Points Of Failure (POF) and Causes Of Work (COW)

Break Points (BP)

1. BP are the direct consequence of MOT and are all the internal interactions that take place as we manage the processes caused by the customer interactions
2. Any place that hand-offs occur in the process is a BP
3. BP can be Person to person, person to system, system to person or system to system
4. BP are both process points and Causes Of Work (COW)

Causes of Work (COW)

1. All customer interaction

Business Rules (BR)

1. BR are points in a process where decisions are made
2. Any decision point in a process is a BR
3. Some BR are obvious while others have to be “found”
4. BR can be operational, strategic or regulatory and they can be system based or manual
5. BR control the “behaviour”of the process and shape the experience of those who touch it
6. BR should be challenged in today’s context and removed if no longer relevant
7. BR are highly prone to obsolesence
8. We must find and make explicit, the BR in a process

To find out more – contact us now on 01763 290334, or at info@linstarltd.co.uk