Much has been mentioned recently regarding the need, and the expected benefits and savings that will result for automating and streamlining Electronic Health Records (EHR), as a major component of healthcare reform. I have no doubt that we need a better way to keep track of our health records. I also know from my experience working on both payer and providers sides, that substantial cost saving will result.

But businesses of all types and sizes need a similar initiative. I am amazed how businesses, even larger ones, use their email as their filing cabinet, collaboration tool, and status reporting “portal”. Many long hours and wasted business opportunities are wasted on searching for documents, sales proposals, project artifacts, or looking for information or updates. The lack of implementing readily available, effective, relatively simple, and often free or low cost open source tools for company-wide communication and collaborations is inexcusable.

In the post 2008-200? recession world, things will not be the same, our economy will not return to the old ways. Businesses small, large and in-between, need to implement readily available tools to stop the million of hours wasted every month. With fewer resources to do even more work, automation for efficiency is no longer an option.

With an estimated 140 million American in the workforce, and a median salary of $33,450/year, even a modest 15 minutes a day in productivity increase will result in a $6 billion a year in savings.

In reality, and from my experience, the savings could be much greater. Efficiency gains can save an hour or more a day. But even at a modest 15 minutes a day, a company with 10 employees can save $35,000 a year, if you employ 50 people, you are now talking about saving $175,000/year. Imagine what this can do for your bottom line.

So what kind of tools can save you these thousands? Tools like document management software, where documents are stored, filed in an easy to understand hierarchy, and version control is kept, tools such as project and task collaboration software, portals for status reporting, Wikis for  sharing information and knowledge, discussion boards for active participation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and the list goes on. Many, if not all of these tools can be accessed from anywhere where there is an internet connection and a web browser, making it possible to be even more productive, even away from the office. There are several tools that combine most of these functions in one product.

Napoleon Hill said; “some mistakes can be corrected, but not the mistake of wasted time. When time goes it has gone forever.” I might add, and so does quite a few thousand dollar bills.

I have been asked recently by a colleague to present GE Work-Out®. I thought it would be beneficial to post a few slides from my presentation.

If you need to learn more about GE Work-Out, and how it may help your organization become more agile and efficient, please drop me line.

This checklist, derived from the book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, includes a set of key tasks for business leaders to undertake every day in running their company.

Examples include setting up an executive situation room for rapid-response meetings, ensuring company alignment of quarterly goals, and establishing an efficient internal communications stream.

1)  Everyone aligned with #1 thing that needs to be accomplished this quarter to move company forward

1. 5 priorities (Rocks) are identified and ranked for the quarter
2. A Critical Number is identified and aligns with the #1 priority
3. A Quarterly Theme is established that brings the key priority/Critical Number alive
4. A scoreboard for the Critical Number is posted and Theme announced
5. All employees know what the Celebration/Reward will be

2)  Communication rhythm is established. Information moves through organization accurately and quickly

1. All employees are in some kind of a daily and weekly huddle
2. Huddles cascade from senior management to frontline or visa versa

3)  Every facet of the organization has a person assigned with accountability for ensuring goals are met

1. Income (P&L), Cash Flow, & Balance Sheet statements have persons assigned to each line item
2. An accountability chart has been created

4)  Ongoing employee feedback and input is systematized to remove obstacles and identify opportunities

1. Employee hassles/ideas/suggestions/issues are being collected weekly
2. There is a systematic process for addressing issues and opportunities
3. Thank You cards are being written every week by senior management

5)  Reporting and analysis of Customer Feedback data is as frequent and accurate as financial data

1. All employees are involved in collecting customer data
2. There is a person assigned accountability for customer feedback
3. All senior leaders communicate with at least one customer weekly

6)  Core ideologies are “alive” in the organization

1. Core ideologies are discovered and defined
2. Stories are being shared of employees who represent the ideologies
3. Core ideologies are included in appraisal and recognition processes

7)  Clear understanding of the firm’s market position drives strategic planning and sales and marketing

1. Brand Promise and market (Sandbox) are clearly defined
2. The organization is aligned around 5 key strategies (Thrusts/Capabilities) for growth

8)  All employees can report at any time what their productivity is and how it compares against goals

1. Smart Numbers (key performance indicators) are identified for the organization
2. Weekly measures for each individual/team are clearly displayed and reviewed

9)  A “situation room” is established for the weekly executive team meeting

1. Smart Numbers and Critical Numbers are posted bigger than life with goals clearly shown
2. Data is presented graphically to help visualize trends
3. Core ideologies, priorities, and market maps posted

10) As goes the Executive Team goes the rest of the firm

1. Team members understand each others differences, priorities, and styles
2. The team meets offsite every few months for strategic thinking and renewal
3. The team is having fun together

Predicting success – Examining your business model

Various definitions exist for what a business model is. I define a business model as “how you create business value and make money”. Making money is, of course, why you are in business, this is your side of the equation. Creating value is what your customers are looking for from your products and services. And that is the other side. In the best business models, your customers should perceive the value they are getting to be greater than the money they are spending.

Value to Customer ≥ Cost to the customer

Examining and validating your business model: Often times, the business idea sounds good, but without examining sources of revenue, demand for your products or services, competitive advantages, market share, and the market perception, you may be taking an unnecessary risk. Sometimes the business model works well for years, but conditions do changes. I believe that these five elements constitute a business model: Value Proposition

1. Value Proposition
   
2. Market Segment
3. Value Chain
   
4. Revenue Generation & Margins
   
5. Business Environment
   

1. Value Proposition
Identify the customer pain points, needs, or problems. Does your product or service address one of the basic human needs? (As defined by Abraham Maslow), the basic human needs are; Physiological needs, Safety & Security needs, Social needs – Esteem, Aesthetic needs, Self-transcendence. As an example; safety and Security needs include:
Personal security, Financial security, Health and well-being, Safety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts

Clearly indicate how the product or services addresses that problem.
Quantify the ‘value’ of the product from the customer’s perspective.
Value may not be related to your cost (think of the value of the bottle of water, if you are thirsty, you would be willing to pay more for it)

2. Market Segment
Identify the specific group(s) of customers you will target. How large is the customer base? And how easy or difficult is it to find them?
Examine why you have chosen the specific market segment (market size, affluence, growing trends, unfilled need, etc…)
Cross selling and upwelling potential?
Quantify the market size in terms in actual dollar returns

3. Value Chain
A value chain is a chain of activities. A product or a service passes through all activities of the chain in order, and at each activity the product or service gains some value. The chain of activities gives the products more added value than the sum of added values of all activities

Do you need support/partnership for a supplier, a service provider or a manufacturer?
Where does your business sit in the value chain?
Can you go direct-to-customer?
If you are reliant on others, how will you capture your part of the value created?

4. Revenue Generation
How is revenue generated?
One-time purchase?
Seasonal?
Subscriptions?
Advertising?
How does that tie back to the value chain?
What is your cost structure?
What are your target profit margins? (profit margins may not be the #1 priority)

5. Business Environment
Who are your competitors?
How much customer resistance to your product/service?
Who complements your business?
Are currents trends helping or hurting (e.g.; “going green” vs. a tobacco shop)
What is your competitive advantage
Examples: Costs, product differentiation, market insight, superior execution or niche strategy.

• Workload: This metric has to do with the production numbers. These could be the number of widgets made, reports produced, lives under management, number of claims processed each month, number of devices supported, number of project hours, service calls, Customers supported, etc.
• Quality: This metric expresses delivery of products and services on time, as per specification, at promised cost, with zero defects, without interruption to customer business
• Customer Satisfaction: This metric addresses meeting the customer expectation. Examples are meeting or exceeding Service Level Agreements (SLA), completeness and speed of corrective action in the event of quality issues, and responsiveness to requests for new products and services
• Cost Competitiveness: This metric deals with tangible reductions in the unit costs for services; Visible contribution to your customer’s productivity improvement and the ability to continuously do more with less
• Alignment: IT investment supporting business strategy (must be traceable to business strategic and operational objectives, with a measurable fiscal impact – ROI)

• Which data elements will be collected to produce the desired business metric?
• How often does data get collected, and the technical details of how it is collected?
• Who are the customer(s) you are collecting the data for?
• How will the results be presented?

 

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