Business Improvement
Embedding continuous improvement
into your business
Here’s something to be thinking about constantly:
being in the process of shifting from chaotic
complexity to elegant simplicity. Robin Sharma
It is not the strongest of the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one
that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin
Questions to ask
Is your organisation open to change, building legacy, developing
others and being a leader within the community?
Is business improvement a separate function within your
business or is it embedded within your business?
Do people in your business understand the big picture and key
result areas, or are they distracted by organisational politics, turf
wars and ‘white noise’?
Is your organisation focusing energy and effort on achieving the
key business outcomes?
Does you business have roles where their only job is to coordinate an internal business process? Are they adding value to
the end customer?
Do your people all make decisions like they were a mini CEO?
Questions to ask
Core Principles
Constructive leadership styles
Open to change, innovative, improvement & change is a journey
Leadership without a title
Everyone is a leader in their role or field. Individuals strive for
personal development
Less is more
Simple, agile, effective and well understood processes
What gets measured gets managed
Transparency, accountability, objective
Planning prevents poor performance
Greater focus on looking forward and less time looking backwards
People vs Process
Many businesses are very process centric
Control mindset
People vs Process
Need to balance both people & process
Focus on key business outcomes and key result areas (KRAs)
Focus best practice energy on those areas which are critical to the business
Ensure non core processes contribute and support the achievement of key
business outcomes
Establish KPIs and layered review / planning gates for each KRA
Openness and transparency to get alignment and buy in across the organisation
Focus on People. See growth as a journey
Culture, leadership, teamwork, personal growth, training
Simple, agile and easily understood processes – less is more
Simple, layered and structured review / planning gates, key performance
indicators, corrective actions, effective project and change management, simple
yet effective technology
Business Key
Result / Risk
Areas (KRAs)
Constructive Leadership
Open to change, innovative, improvement and
change is a journey
Leadership
Process Principles
Technology Principles
Less is more
Strategy defined by business strategy/ KRAs
Capability not a solution
Technology
Process
People Capability
Training & succession planning
Alignment of core and non core processes with
organisations KRAs and organisations culture
Stage review & planning gates – PEME (TQM/
Demming)
1 % improvement every day
Less is more
Constructive Culture
People
Culture
Personnel development
Not driven by individual agendas –
sees growth as a journey for all
Not threatened by change – sees
change as opportunity
Mentoring & coaching
Leadership without title
Balanced Scorecard
What gets measured gets managed
Cross section of KPIs (not just financial)
Transparency
One team approach
Business
Outcomes &
KPI’s
Human Synergistics
Build a constructive culture
Receptive to change
Encourages growth &
development
Take on challenging opportunities
Work on non constructive
behaviours
Competitive, oppositional,
perfectionist, resist change
Avoidance, conventional,
dependent, power
Not threatened by change – sees change as
opportunity
Not driven by individual agendas – sees growth
as a journey for the team
Focus on 1% evolution drives revolution
Financial
˃ Prudent in your spending
˃ Getting the invoice out fast
Clients/
Stakeholders
˃ Make that daily phone call to one of your clients/
stakeholders. Don’t hide away in your office.
˃ Go that extra mile
Safety
˃ The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.
˃ Think before you act. How could I get hurt doing this job.
Operations
˃ Walk the floor
People
˃ Compliment your team every day.
˃ Live the values 24/7
˃ If you see in-appropriate behaviour have the courage to call it.
Key Review / Planning Cycles
Do you spend more time
looking in the rear vision
mirror or looking to where
you are going?
Does change come about due
to external force or crisis, or
are you constantly looking to
improve from within?
Key Review / Planning Cycles
Management Routines – How we do business
Key steps / Key review points
Key meetings, review points, stage gates, discussions
Linked to KRA’s, KPI’s and Business Outcomes
Structured and disciplined
Daily, weekly, monthly, annually
Operational – tactical – strategic
Accountability for corrective actions and improvement
Key Review / Planning Cycles
Key Result Areas
Level
˃
˃
˃
˃
˃
˃ Strategic Level (CEO, Senior
Management, Board)
˃ Senior Management Level (Senior
Management Team)
˃ Operational Level (Management,
Project Managers)
˃ Team Level (Supervisor)
˃ Individual Level
Financial
Clients
Safety
Operations
People
Cycle
˃
˃
˃
˃
˃
˃
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Annual
3-5 Year Strategic Plan
Plan
Evolve
Execute
Measure
Business Outcomes
˃
˃
˃
˃
Sustainability
Shareholder Value
Repeat Clients
Engaged Staff
Key Review / Planning Cycles
Time Horizon
Plan
Execute
Measure
Evolve
Daily
Production Meeting
Toolbox Meetings
Production Performance
Safety Incidents
Client Complaints
Weekly
Management Meetings
Sales Meeting
Team Meeting
Sales Report
Production Output
Monthly 1 on 1 - Coaching
Monthly
Production & Financial Forecast
Resource Planning
Business Plan & Capital Plan
Team Building
Performance Appraisal
Break KPIs and review gates
down to daily, weekly,
monthly and annual cycles
People
Operations
Safety
Financial
Link KPIs and review gates to Key Result Areas
Clients
Annual
Balanced Scorecard
Profit Loss/ Cash Flow
Safety – LTI, MTI, Near Miss
Utilisation
Balanced Scorecard
Profit Loss/ Cash Flow
Safety – LTI, MTI, Near Miss
Staff Engagement
3W
Action
Items
(3 W) – 1
%
Major
Projects
(Stage Gate
process)
Balanced Scorecards
Would you fly in a plane with a pilot who has no
instrumentation, and therefore determined their positioning
and how the engines were running using instinct and
experience?
What gets measured gets managed
Linking KPI’s to KRA’s
Actual performance + forecast
Lead and lag indicators
Constant alignment
Balanced Scorecards
Objectives
Balanced Scorecard
Financial
Improving Cash-flow
Increasing Profit
Long term sustainability
# days outstanding
Profit contribution
Clients
Revenue streams
Sales growth
Working with clients of choice
Margin
Order book
Safety
Working towards ‘zero harm’
Near misses, audits
Lost time injuries (LTIs)
Medical treated injuries (MTIs)
Operations
Increasing productivity
Increasing production output
Reduced inventory / WIP
Volume Production
Work In Progress ($)
People
Increased staff retention
Increased staff engagement
Increased innovation
Pulse Survey Results
Staff retention
Employee Satisfaction
Business Performance
KRAs
Collaboration
Simple, integrated and effective – less is more
Do you really “work” as one team?
How much time do you spend managing paper
flow?
Is your team mobile, agile and flexible?
Systems that focus on “less is more”
Any questions?
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