tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61577179058921650052024-02-22T08:31:19.338-08:00ISO 9001:2015 UpdateCraig Cochran's blog on quality and standardsCraig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-32461671990801520892017-07-05T09:43:00.001-07:002017-07-05T09:43:17.832-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jkzstESORLOH3ghYGCNMk7yFZw-8z5W0qAzMnJPICrJ6IOoQx1bjddu2NYwxDRoOWu7u02VcWMDe6WSPK7MM-2epFDMWm5YGh384uYq0jkyedwwbtZYSihwxqB8TdBxJO5rIOaJz1h8/s320/Internal+Auditing+in+Plain+English+COVER.jpg" width="211" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A successful internal audit program is essential to the
success of any management system. A successful internal audit program also
requires successful auditors. Auditing isn’t taught in school and doesn’t
always come easily to those just starting out. Fortunately, bestselling author Craig
Cochran has distilled down the essential elements of a successful internal
audit program into plain English that anyone can understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Just as he did with his bestselling <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/ISO-9001-2015-Plain-English/dp/1932828729/" target="_blank">ISO 9001:2015 in Plain English</a></i> book, Cochran has <span style="background: white;">written a comprehensive yet easily understandable
guide to internal auditing. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Internal-Auditing-Plain-English-Effective/dp/1932828168/" target="_blank">Internal Auditing in Plain English</a></i> was written so that anyone at any level of the
organization can understand the basics of a successful internal auditing
process. Plus, the book goes beyond the basics with comprehensive detail about
establishing an internal audit program, selecting and training auditors,
auditing requirements, interview techniques, planning audits, reporting, audit
follow ups, and much more. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This straightforward book is ideal for
people who are new to internal auditing, experienced auditors who want to get
more out of their audits, and for employees who just need a basic understanding
of what internal auditing is and how it applies to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cochran uses real-world examples and
frequently asked questions to help build a comprehensive understanding of a
successful internal audit program and to build the skills of successful
internal auditors. Click here for your copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Internal-Auditing-Plain-English-Effective/dp/1932828168/" target="_blank">Internal Auditing in Plain English</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-74894729967700619042016-01-26T21:17:00.001-08:002016-01-26T21:17:34.344-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDQjYTg9yQcF-d-4Kxi_taOqn9ngGPMlpFyT4yWVsA0psRO_cuUwMV3VZILLtmJmUik5ASL6L0zJJ3iuJJY-C0Z9IMDeSo00b0pMU6ZjKXZJB_rsUixOb2IItupWitijPp5AFdymTLlc/s1600/Yay+audits+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDQjYTg9yQcF-d-4Kxi_taOqn9ngGPMlpFyT4yWVsA0psRO_cuUwMV3VZILLtmJmUik5ASL6L0zJJ3iuJJY-C0Z9IMDeSo00b0pMU6ZjKXZJB_rsUixOb2IItupWitijPp5AFdymTLlc/s320/Yay+audits+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Most
Important Audit Questions for ISO 9001:2015</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #000066; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">By Craig
Cochran</span></b><span style="color: #000066; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">If
you’re preparing to start auditing against ISO 9001:2015, you’ve probably
already asked yourself the timeless question: What the heck am I going to ask
these people? There’s no worse feeling in the world than being in the middle of
an audit and realizing that you don’t have anything to say in the way of
questions. Preparation and planning can remedy this, of course, but the fact
remains that ISO 9001:2015 includes a lot of new requirements that have never
been part of most audits. In order to expedite your thinking, these are what I
believe to be the most important audit questions for ISO 9001:2015:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1. What can you tell me
about the context of your organization?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> This question is the starting point of ISO
9001:2015, appearing in section 4.1. The standard uses the clunky term
"context," but this could easily be substituted by asking about the
organization’s internal and external success factors. Questions about context are
usually directed at top management or the person leading the QMS (formerly
known as the management representative). As an auditor, you’re looking for a
clear examination of forces at work within and around the organization. Does
this sound broad and a little vague? It is. Thankfully the standard provides
some guidance, saying that context must include internal and external issues
that are relevant to your organizations’ purpose, strategy, and goals of the
QMS. Many organizations will probably use SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats) to help get their arms around context, but it’s not
a requirement. What the organization learns with this will be a key input to
risk analysis. (NOTE: Not everybody will understand the term ‘context.’ Be prepared
to discuss the concept and describe what ISO 9001:2015 is asking for.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">2. Who are your interested
parties and what are their requirements?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> The natural follow-up to context is interested
parties, found in section 4.2. The term "interested parties" has a
bizarre, stalker-like ring to it, so smart auditors might want to replace it
with "stakeholders." Remember, effective auditors try to translate
the arcane language of ISO 9001:2015 into understandable terms that auditees
can grasp. Typical interested parties are employees, customers, supplier,
business owners, debt holders, neighbors, and regulators. As an auditor you’re
making sure that a reasonable range of interested parties has been identified,
along with their corresponding requirements. The best way to audit this is as
an exploratory discussion. Ask questions about the interested parties, and
probe what they’re interested in. If you’ve done some preparation in advance of
the audit, then you’ll know whether their examination of interested parties is
adequate. That brings up an important planning issue: You will have to do a bit
more preparation before an ISO 9001:2015 audit. Why? So you’ll have a grasp of
context and interested parties. How can you evaluate their responses if you
don’t know what the responses should be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">3. What risks and
opportunities have been identified, and what are you doing about them?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Risks and opportunities
could accurately be called the foundation of ISO 9001:2015. No fewer than 13
other clauses refer directly to risks and opportunities, making them the most
“connected” section of the standard. If an organization does a poor job of
identifying risks and opportunities, then the QMS cannot be effective, period.
Auditors should verify that risks and opportunities include issues that focus
on desired outcomes, prevent problems, and drive improvement. Once risks and
opportunities are identified, actions must be planned to address them. ISO
9001:2015 does not specifically mention prioritizing risks and opportunities,
though it would be wise for organizations to do this. Risks and opportunities
are limitless, but resources are not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">4. What plans have been put
in place to achieve quality objectives?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Measurable quality objectives have long been a
part of ISO 9001. What is new is the requirement to plan actions to make them
happen. The plans are intended to be specific and actionable, addressing
actions, resources, responsibilities, timeframes, and evaluation of results.
Auditors should closely examine how the plans have been implemented throughout
the organization, and who has knowledge of them. Just as employees should be
aware of how they contribute to objectives, they should be familiar with the
action plans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">5. How has the QMS been
integrated into the organization’s business processes?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> In other words, how are
you using ISO 9001:2015 to help you run the company? This is asked directly of
top management (see section 5.1.1c) and is a very revealing question. The point
is that ISO 9001 is moving away from being a quality management system standard
and becoming a strategic management system. It’s not just about making sure
products or services meet requirements anymore. The standard is about managing
every aspect of the business. Remember sections 4.1 and 4.2 of ISO 9001:2015?
There we examined the key topics of context and interested parties. These
concepts touch every corner of the organization, and this is exactly how ISO
9001:2015 is intended to be used. Top management should be able to describe how
the QMS is used to run the company, not just pass an audit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">6. How do you manage
change?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
This topic comes up multiple times in ISO 9001:2015. The first and biggest
clause on the topic comes up in section 6.3. Here we identify changes that we
know are coming, and develop plan for their implementation. What kind of
changes? Nearly anything, but the following changes come to mind as candidates:
new or modified products, processes, equipment, tools, employees, regulations.
The list is endless. An auditor should review changes that took place, and seek
evidence that the change was identified and planned proactively. Change that
happens in a less planned manner is addressed in section 8.5.6. Here the
auditor will seek records that the changes met requirements, the results of
reviewing changes, who authorized them, and subsequent actions that were
necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">7. How do you capture and
use knowledge?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> ISO 9001:2015 wants organizations to learn from their experiences, both
good and bad. This could be handled by a variety of means: project debriefs,
job close-outs, staff meetings, customer reviews, examination of data, customer
feedback. How the organization captures knowledge is up to them, but the
process should be clear and functional. The knowledge should also be maintained
and accessible. This almost sounds like it will be “documented” in some way,
doesn’t it? That’s exactly right. One way to audit this would be to inquire
about recent failures or successes. How did the organization learn from these
events in a way that will help make them more successful? It’s the conversion
of raw information to true knowledge, and it just happens to be one of the most
difficult things an organization can achieve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">These
are by no means the only questions you’ll want to ask. They’re just the
starting point. We didn’t even mention management review, corrective action, or
improvement—all of which are crucial to an effective QMS. The seven topics discussed here are the
biggest <u>new</u> requirements that auditors will need to probe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">About the Author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Craig
Cochran has assisted over 5,000 companies since 1999 in QMS implementation,
problem solving, auditing, and performance improvement. His most recent book is
ISO 9001:2015 in Plain English, available from Paton Professional: </span><a href="http://www.patonprofessional.com/iso-9001-2015-in-plain-english/"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.patonprofessional.com/iso-9001-2015-in-plain-english/</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Also
on Amazon: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/ISO-9001-2015-Plain-English/dp/1932828729/">http://www.amazon.com/ISO-9001-2015-Plain-English/dp/1932828729/</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-33618862032121394142015-12-12T22:18:00.005-08:002015-12-12T22:27:41.098-08:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Thanks to Quality Digest for the interview they did with me on Friday (Dec 10, 2015) during their Quality Digest Live show. What a professional and fun organization to work with. </span><br />
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Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-55748819820351873492015-12-11T11:41:00.000-08:002015-12-12T22:27:51.680-08:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">My friends at Quality Digest were kind enough to publish this great article about the new book, "ISO 9001:2015 in Plain English." A big thanks to Mike Richman (QD Publisher) and Dirk Dusharme (QD Editor in Chief). </span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"></span></span><a href="http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/standards-article/121015-iso-90012015-introduction.html#sthash.hQ16a7wv.cmfs">ISO 9001:2015—An Introduction | Quality Digest</a><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-11170530739604341652015-10-22T21:30:00.001-07:002015-10-22T23:42:56.604-07:00Records, Retained Documented Information, and ISO 9001:2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2n9y2TdBYWBGeygBmF5wM504OfVuq4LkS8xSVXwDYfobHMAKS2IHdG-bpzQf06B2IU38qSctZWOXHRsb4jmZpzv0p6npvXNp34x8_dlPLLqbmp6WTACz4x00fxxscKVnLfcAWiqZImU/s1600/File-Stack-close-up-shot-on-wh-12177137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2n9y2TdBYWBGeygBmF5wM504OfVuq4LkS8xSVXwDYfobHMAKS2IHdG-bpzQf06B2IU38qSctZWOXHRsb4jmZpzv0p6npvXNp34x8_dlPLLqbmp6WTACz4x00fxxscKVnLfcAWiqZImU/s320/File-Stack-close-up-shot-on-wh-12177137.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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ISO 9001:2015 does a lot of things right, but using clear
language is not one of them. One of the most glaring examples is the
transformation of the word “records” into “retained documented information.”
That’s right, they took one word and turned it into three. And the three words
are not nearly as intuitive as the one word they replaced. Regardless of what
you call them, records are the proof of something happening. They are
historical, referring to past events. As such, they are not revised. Records
might be “corrected” in some cases, but they are never revised. Only documents
are revised. (We’ll address documents and their status in ISO 9001:2015 in a
future article.) The primary control of records is that of housekeeping: knowing
where they are stored, who is responsible, how long they’re kept, etc. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here is a summary of records requirements in ISO
9001:2015: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->24 records are required in ISO 9001:2015. This
is compared to 21 records required in ISO 9001:2008. Some of the 24 records
required by ISO 9001:2015 are actually repeat requirements. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->20% of all the record requirements come from section
8.3, Design and development of products and services. That amounts to 5 records,
which is the same number required by ISO 9001:2008. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->A completely new record that is required in
9001:2015 is retained information on changes: review of changes, persons
authorizing the change, and necessary actions arising from change (section
8.5.6)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->ISO 9001 continues its redundant ways. ISO
9001:2015 requires records of evidence of processes being carried out
effectively TWICE, once in section 4.4.2 and again in section 8.1.e.1. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->More redundancy: ISO 9001:2015 requires records
that demonstrate conformity of products & services processes TWICE, once in
section 8.1.e.2 and again in section 8.6.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->5 of the records in ISO 9001:2015 have
qualifiers. They are “to the extent necessary” and “as applicable.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->One item listed as “retained documented
information” (i.e., record) is actually a document. That is design outputs.
Design outputs are living information such as specifications, engineering
drawings, recipes, formulas, and bills of material. Since they are living, they
are subject to revision, meaning they are documents. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->A handful of requirements would be virtually
impossible to have evidence of without records, and yet records are not
required by ISO 9001:2015. These include context of the organization (4.1),
interested parties (4.2), planning of changes (6.3), and customer feedback
(9.1.2). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->One of the strangest record issues of all is the
omission of calibration records in ISO 9001:2015. This has been replaced by the requirement to ‘retain
information on fitness of purpose for measuring instruments,’ which would include calibration. I expect many people implementing ISO 9001:2015 will get a bit confused by this. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Do not let anyone tell you that the “correct” terminology
is retained documented information. If you like that term, then by all means
use it. If you prefer the term ‘records,’ you can use that in its place. Always
remember that documents are records are two different things. That one fact
alone will make any QMS easier to use and understand. <o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-53873944265997276012015-10-12T08:05:00.000-07:002015-10-12T08:06:50.771-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDhkVHpyqcMS06JFe8YiT1k9hzb0zPT4_hVXk8Q0oCQjr27YsdfansKg9K1tyMkn0b6bL0_3FnQ8U9nE6ndclJnwiy6si11oAcpqGMd0UFOWohXZIuXeCOrt2j0CG908apo-qIWDIGCc/s1600/TSI+Communication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDhkVHpyqcMS06JFe8YiT1k9hzb0zPT4_hVXk8Q0oCQjr27YsdfansKg9K1tyMkn0b6bL0_3FnQ8U9nE6ndclJnwiy6si11oAcpqGMd0UFOWohXZIuXeCOrt2j0CG908apo-qIWDIGCc/s320/TSI+Communication.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nobody believes in communication more than Darryl Keeler.
As President of Tech Systems Inc., communication is possibly the single biggest
part of his job. After all, Tech Systems Inc. (<a href="http://www.techsystemsinc.com/">www.techsystemsinc.com/</a>) is security
systems integrator with employees in over 32 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Being
a medium-sized company with business across such a wide geographic has its
challenges. Darryl Keeler long ago decided that robust and continuous
communication needed to be a guiding principle. “Communication is the key
factor in maintaining a high level of employee satisfaction,” Darryl assured
me. “And satisfied well-informed employees ensure that we have highly satisfied
clients.” Darryl personally writes the Friday Finale, a company newsletter summary
that ends each week and which goes out to every employee. It maintains a warm touch,
covering birthdays, work anniversaries, and anything personal of importance
that is happening with teammates. It also addresses business updates from the
previous week. TSI Family Emails (TSI stands for Tech Systems Inc) is their way
of communicating items that are of high importance to the entire company, sort
of “red alert” emails. These include process changes, policy changes, and major
customer developments. The TSI Family Emails are one step beyond the Friday
Finale’s in terms of business importance. The Tour De Focus is one of the
company’s most impressive communication processes. This is where Darryl Keeler
travels around the country and meets with every company employee. He simply
sits down and asks for comments or opportunities for the company to improve
based on individual opinions. These are
all captured and recorded, and the leadership team works through all of them
and gets back with the folks who suggested the improvements. This entire list is posted on SharePoint for
everyone to review, and the ideas always number in the hundreds. The employee
portal is the live repository of information that team members use for their
jobs. Only the most current versions of documents are available, and it also
includes phone lists, updates, tutorials, and training materials. Finally, the
leadership team of Tech Systems meets every Monday to go over financials, hot
company topics, and opportunities for improvement. The Monday meeting also
serves as the primary feeder of information into their monthly management
review. Communication is clearly the oil that flows through the engine of Tech
Systems Inc. And the president of the company, Darryl Keeler, is head mechanic
and communicator. <o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-64584361250182673662015-10-06T11:46:00.000-07:002015-10-06T11:47:19.111-07:00Control of production at I. Technical Services<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlc2z9rT2DMthFG7ZqlXbX-pzj8wNwGXCTPLqn8vlSoNnnmvy43L1XZU_nHKqtAmbwKZhEr9Bj1LMsmR3bL8y9WMs5QnxP3YK0GdOwHT6WGvSefT4_bcs3njQb-SZVLN3_h-YFcQc3SU/s1600/20150918_150335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlc2z9rT2DMthFG7ZqlXbX-pzj8wNwGXCTPLqn8vlSoNnnmvy43L1XZU_nHKqtAmbwKZhEr9Bj1LMsmR3bL8y9WMs5QnxP3YK0GdOwHT6WGvSefT4_bcs3njQb-SZVLN3_h-YFcQc3SU/s320/20150918_150335.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Managing operations can be as simple as ringing a bell.
That’s the philosophy that I. Technical Services has taken in Alpharetta,
Georgia. I. Technical Services (<a href="http://www.itechserv.com/">www.itechserv.com</a>)
performs electronic manufacturing services, including PCB assembly, system assembly,
test engineering, repair, and logistics. They compete against low-cost
companies in Asia and elsewhere, so they have to be as efficient and lean as
possible. One of their most efficient processes for managing production is
their “bell meeting.” At 9 AM every morning, their production supervisor rings
a ship’s bell mounted on the wall. All the managers and supervisors assemble
under the bell for a stand-up meeting that lasts about 15 minutes. They discuss
what is running that day, what needs to be shipped, and any obstacles or
concerns. Important notes are recorded on a white dry-erase board right below
the bell. “Everybody leaves that meeting knowing exactly what needs to happen,”
Quality Manager, Hector Rivera, stated. “It’s the best investment of 15 minutes
you can imagine.” Throughout the day, employees refer to the production notes
on the white board, keeping themselves focused on what was agreed to. They ring
the bell again at 3 PM every day, and the key players once more gather around
the bell. The focus of this later meeting is to get everybody caught up on the
current status of production. Where are we right now? What is left to be done?
Will we meet all of our commitments today? Resources are re-arranged, as
needed, and last minute roadblocks are removed. The General Manager, Lauren
Thompson, summarized the process by saying, “When we come together under the
bell, we’re not managers of different departments. We’re a single team working
to wow the customer. It reminds us why we’re there in the first place.” I.
Technical Services has conducted their bell meeting twice a day for years. It’s
a very simple, yet powerful process for controlling production. <o:p></o:p></div>
Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-39031086266400411682015-09-28T17:12:00.000-07:002015-09-28T17:17:48.831-07:00Goodbye, Quality Manual<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIv2iTtIJ-RdhdLGKMK9YJpYmIcQ8hUl3TcOXFw0RqLn0gN1fdNyDUZZ384XNr_tXOLjbm3IuJP7qH5uzeHDLorIdDNbwDZY9aPjn4JkfTG6jyZXeqlhH3ai-1MFkgECuE8ZH5Oukpzs/s1600/Goodbye%252C+Quality+Manual.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIv2iTtIJ-RdhdLGKMK9YJpYmIcQ8hUl3TcOXFw0RqLn0gN1fdNyDUZZ384XNr_tXOLjbm3IuJP7qH5uzeHDLorIdDNbwDZY9aPjn4JkfTG6jyZXeqlhH3ai-1MFkgECuE8ZH5Oukpzs/s320/Goodbye%252C+Quality+Manual.jpg" /></a>Who loves their quality manual? Please give me a show of hands. Hmm, not much enthusiasm. That’s because the quality manual for most companies serves no other purpose than something to give to customers or auditors. Most employees have never seen or heard of their company’s quality manual. And yet it has been a required document of ISO 9001 since the standard was first published. That has changed in ISO 9001:2015. There is no mention of the words “quality manual,” and the only true leftover requirement is that you have to document your quality management system (QMS) scope. I expect that many companies are going to drop their quality manual altogether now that it’s no longer mandated. But wait! Let’s re-imagine the quality manual as a document that actually helps the organization.
First of all, let’s get rid of the rehash of ISO 9001 requirements. Most quality manuals feature this, and the rehash constitutes 95% of the words included. If you want to see what ISO 9001 says, get a copy ISO 9001. The quality manual should be completely focused on the company, period. Secondly, let’s think of the quality manual as a sort of “User Guide for the company’s QMS.” What would an employee or interested party need in a user guide? Well, let’s provide the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Structure and contents of the management system </li>
<li>Road map to lower-level documents within the system </li>
<li>Company history and background </li>
<li>Overall process flow of the organization </li>
<li>Company’s products and services described in a clear, practical manner </li>
<li>Organization’s strength and capabilities </li>
<li>What to expect during an audit and how to prepare for one </li>
<li>Responsibilities and authorities of key personnel </li>
<li>The scope of the QMS </li>
</ul>
Some of these items have always been included in quality manuals, and others are new additions. The point is to assemble all the high-level content that people need to know into one consolidated location. This could be accomplished in 3-4 pages at the most. Since it’s so lean and streamlined, employees might actually see value in using it. The quality manual could truly become the gateway to your company’s management and business systems. Now we’ve got something useful. But let’s drop the name “quality manual.” Any thoughts for what this information should be called?Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-20064132341773828392015-09-20T17:43:00.000-07:002015-09-20T17:43:33.802-07:00Ecolink Inc.’s Quality Policy and Cultural NormsEcolink Inc. is small company, but you couldn’t find a Fortune 100 company that takes its organizational culture more seriously. Located in Tucker, Georgia, Ecolink (www.ecolink.com) develops and formulates industrial degreasers and solvents. Maybe not a glamorous business, but Ecolink long ago saw an opportunity to leverage its environmental stewardship and help customers make smart choices. “Sustainability is simply the right thing to do,” the company President, John Roudebush, explained. “Secondly, it gives us a huge opportunity to tap into new business. We get a lot of new customers by saying, ‘We’re here to sell you less and safer chemicals.’ It’s a message the really resonates with the environmental, health, and safety community.” The focus on reduction of environmental impacts became one of the driving themes of Ecolink’s business. When the company implemented ISO 9001, they wanted a quality policy that really set the tone for their business practices and strategy. Environmentalism was one of the key principles that was stressed. Never mind that it was a “quality” policy, the point was that this was a major part of their business strategy and it needed to be highlighted in their policy. As John Roudebush led the company through the development of the quality policy, other important themes emerged. These included work-life balance, positive karma, and high integrity and ethics. The final result was a wide-ranging and unique quality policy that truly fit the organization it was written for.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZXJXpKisHzSw8Qerp9B7XkRUeHt-WlAOFQCp8yoQyPkesnfPdOUPO62IxYD8bkhWh3YkGQO42wuyg8bh5VmoxvzaeVhYkCbG85GghBAz9g84sl96Z6wQt8Y42QLHVdGog5LfFHMv0Ik/s1600/5.2+Quality+Policy+EXAMPLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZXJXpKisHzSw8Qerp9B7XkRUeHt-WlAOFQCp8yoQyPkesnfPdOUPO62IxYD8bkhWh3YkGQO42wuyg8bh5VmoxvzaeVhYkCbG85GghBAz9g84sl96Z6wQt8Y42QLHVdGog5LfFHMv0Ik/s320/5.2+Quality+Policy+EXAMPLE.jpg" /></a>
John Roudebush decided that he wanted to go one step further than the quality policy. What sort of employee behaviors would reinforce the principles this company was founded on? This led to the development of the Ecolink Behavioral/Cultural Norms. They represented a natural extension of the quality policy, but defined actions and behaviors that could be put into practice every minute of the day. Over the years the Behavioral/Cultural Norms grew to 25 specific actions that reinforced the organizational culture that John Roudebush was trying to establish. These included such things as “Check your ego at the door,” “Do what’s best for the client,” and “Create a feeling of warmth in every interaction.” In order to make sure every employee understands the Behavioral/Cultural Norms, Ecolink maintains a weekly schedule whereby each employee gets a turn to discuss what a norm means to them. The employees bring the concepts to life through practical examples of how the norms guide their actions. So, when an auditor asks, “How do you communicate and support your quality policy?” John Roudebush tells them to sit back and relax. It might take a while. Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-67142677208285495802015-09-11T12:26:00.000-07:002015-09-11T12:35:06.195-07:00Organizational knowledge and ISO 9001:2015<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89uekiQ-F0ln-tZQEJfqm5t2jTz52cqvYc9SxZGl2PzIAk-zSoStx8c57sruWhHJ8pDYEtUzBxpCNPGv7j_8mU7jivVP0qSDc4bj2ELtJbeEhOK8EMwIpxr3o13I64OGCUPd51e0CNH0/s1600/Einstein+%2526+ISO.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89uekiQ-F0ln-tZQEJfqm5t2jTz52cqvYc9SxZGl2PzIAk-zSoStx8c57sruWhHJ8pDYEtUzBxpCNPGv7j_8mU7jivVP0qSDc4bj2ELtJbeEhOK8EMwIpxr3o13I64OGCUPd51e0CNH0/s320/Einstein+%2526+ISO.jpg" /></a>
One of the more unusual new requirements in ISO 9001:2015 is the one for organizational knowledge. It basically says that your company will determine the knowledge necessary for running its processes and producing conforming products. Could you even be in business and NOT have this sort of knowledge? No. So, at first blush this seems like one of those meaningless requirements that companies and auditors just gloss over. The notes at the bottom of that section (7.1.6) provide valuable context, though. The notes state that knowledge is gained through experience, and they go on to give some examples of how knowledge is obtained: lessons learned, failures, successes, sharing of knowledge, improvements. Now you start to get the picture. This so-called organizational knowledge is always a work-in-progress. You’re continually building it on a day to day basis, as you hit home runs….and strike out with the bases full. ISO 9001:2015 also says that this knowledge will be maintained. That means kept up to date and made accessible. Far from a meaningless requirement, you now see an important process for continual improvement. Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-65476420867287050762015-09-11T09:09:00.000-07:002015-09-11T09:10:40.710-07:00ISO 9001:2015 has been approvedThe ISO 9001:2015 ballot has been approved. There were 75 approvals, 0 disapprovals and 5 abstentions (Canada, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, and Qatar). It is planned at this time that the standard will show a September 15, 2015, publication date and it is scheduled for release on September 23, 2015. (On schedule)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhEx9cX845OEDarOFBu6HX_ugM2HUrOje79LErMG5j-gdh7yIcitw8vBLRFmgQ5Y9cEwvbWsHn0LYNnUKkkqGXlMMCf0EkWAVqFlcO5W0EWNfGo0yci81MBG_2BeqOLAvurDt59KMPh8/s1600/ISO+9001+2015+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhEx9cX845OEDarOFBu6HX_ugM2HUrOje79LErMG5j-gdh7yIcitw8vBLRFmgQ5Y9cEwvbWsHn0LYNnUKkkqGXlMMCf0EkWAVqFlcO5W0EWNfGo0yci81MBG_2BeqOLAvurDt59KMPh8/s320/ISO+9001+2015+logo.jpg" /></a>
Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-40716949093128913192012-03-04T19:57:00.004-08:002012-07-25T17:17:57.819-07:00Problem causes versus problem symptoms<iframe height="325" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rN1bMvWM0GI?fs=1" frameborder="0" width="395" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><br />This segment addresses the differences between problem causes and problem symptoms, their relationship, and the nature of actions taken to address both.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-87936669895313010952012-03-03T08:59:00.002-08:002012-07-25T17:18:19.674-07:00What is problem solving?<iframe width="395" height="325" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9AEIBEyjGBs?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe><br /><br />This segment is entitled "What is problem solving?" and it provides a basic overview of problem solving, including the nature of causes, the fallacy of a single root cause, and the need to match corrective actions to the most significant causes.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-8613464291951415472010-09-10T12:45:00.000-07:002010-09-10T12:55:41.685-07:00New book: Problem Solving in Plain English<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Q7wISRPGBvKQWk23Gww6KQ_sxSQ0YON9OnEsS_9IXPVQT-dEUlpGm4g9rUqfLiZxnU55PIa2q_HGFoVj1iqAvftkr7ao6sJ8ecR9P6pfd-1rNrDGY5n_-xCtwID3dBhjcLZzE1CZWXQ/s1600/ProblemSolvingInPlainEnglish-CraigCochran.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Q7wISRPGBvKQWk23Gww6KQ_sxSQ0YON9OnEsS_9IXPVQT-dEUlpGm4g9rUqfLiZxnU55PIa2q_HGFoVj1iqAvftkr7ao6sJ8ecR9P6pfd-1rNrDGY5n_-xCtwID3dBhjcLZzE1CZWXQ/s400/ProblemSolvingInPlainEnglish-CraigCochran.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515373861019231746" /></a><br /><br />Buy it <a href="http://www.patonprofessional.com/p-209-problem-solving-in-plain-english.aspx">HERE</a><br /><br /><strong>New Book Explores Best Ways for Organizations to Solve Problems</strong><br /><br />Effective problem solving is the most neglected organizational competency, often perpetuated by complacence about the status quo, a culture of blame, reluctance or inability to pursue true causes and lack of time. To address these issues, Craig Cochran, the north Atlanta region manager for Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, has written a new book, Problem Solving in Plain English (Paton Press, 2010).<br /><br />“Managers need to re-examine their processes and problem-solving and think beyond the surface. If they understand their current process, then they can consider causes and potential causes of problems,” Cochran said. “Rarely is there a single root cause to be acted upon; most problems have a web of interrelated causes and potential causes.”<br /><br />According to Cochran, effective problem solving is equal parts art and science, and he explains why problem-solving efforts that start out strong with motivated team members and supportive managers often fizzle out before they produce any benefits. Cochran suggests using a structured problem-solving method that focuses on processes rather than people.<br /><br />“There are two major problem-solving myths: the perfection myth and the punishment myth. The perfection myth is the belief that if everyone tries hard enough, no mistakes will be made. The punishment myth says that if we punish wrong-doers, fewer mistakes will be made,” he explained. “Using a structured problem-solving method ensures a degree of consistency and provides the framework for the successful application of analytical tools.”<br /><br />This book is ideally for managers with long-standing business problems, as well as front-line employees who are often intimately familiar with dealing with them. Cochran covers a variety of topics, including selecting the right problem; forming effective problem-solving teams; planning and implementing corrective actions; verifying effectiveness; writing a problem statement; identifying root causes; and defining the current process.<br /><br />Cochran has an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Quality Manager, Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Quality Auditor, and Certified HACCP Auditor through the American Society for Quality. He is also certified as a Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor through the Registrar Accreditation Board of the Quality Society of Australasia (RABQSA). <br /><br />Cochran is also the author of The Continual Improvement Process: from Strategy to the Bottom Line; Customer Satisfaction: Tools, Techniques, and Formulas for Success; Becoming a Customer Focused Organization; and ISO 9001: In Plain English, all available from Paton Press (www.patonpress.com). He has written numerous articles in national and international publications and is frequently featured as a speaker at conferences on quality, performance improvement and management.<br /><br />For additional information, please contact Craig Cochran (678-699-1690); E-mail: craig.cochran@innovate.gatech.edu).<br /><br />Writer: Nancy Fullbright<br />Media Relations Contact: Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu) <br /><br />Buy it <a href="http://www.patonprofessional.com/p-209-problem-solving-in-plain-english.aspx">HERE</a>Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-67137024761973197742010-03-28T07:27:00.000-07:002010-03-28T07:35:22.162-07:00Shakespeare’s Lessons on Leadership: Macbeth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcMQuPhBWS27QDLPk4Ynng7A8h8Ub0jKWmFv4CgSGIC4CR3DePhiIr2VqLHhX-bXD4HyvFaTpRA5QwDYMM8oY_CC9Q20Ov_2r195mFdyGjlN_cBakDcc0A3U0Y81plO9xgGdL2DVUa_k/s1600/macbeth.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcMQuPhBWS27QDLPk4Ynng7A8h8Ub0jKWmFv4CgSGIC4CR3DePhiIr2VqLHhX-bXD4HyvFaTpRA5QwDYMM8oY_CC9Q20Ov_2r195mFdyGjlN_cBakDcc0A3U0Y81plO9xgGdL2DVUa_k/s400/macbeth.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453693275603089282" /></a><br /><br /><br />War heroes are a special category of leaders. People don’t have any trouble getting excited about them. They embody a number of quintessential leadership attributes: bravery, resoluteness, and strength. This is exactly the sort of leader Shakespeare gives us at the beginning of Macbeth, one of the Bard’s most popular works. Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman and field general, has just defeated a rebellion, with Macbeth himself slaying one of the rebels and putting his head on a pike. Nobody can say enough about Macbeth and his virtues. The King of Scotland, Duncan, gushes like a schoolgirl about Macbeth:<br /><br />O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman! (Act 1, Scene 2, line 24)<br /><br />Macbeth is awarded a promotion from the King before even returning from the battlefield, receiving the title of Thane of Cawdor. We learn about all of this through dialogue before the character Macbeth makes an appearance. It’s an auspicious beginning that seems to lead to leadership immortality. But wait, this is a tragedy, remember? Events are bound to turn dark. In Macbeth, events turn very dark. <br /><br />We first meet Macbeth as he walks across a heath with his fellow warrior Banquo. They are finished battling and are heading home. One can only imagine their exhaustion as they trudge across the heath. On the way, they meet three witches. Not something you might see everyday, but certainly a trio that would grab your attention. The witches each greet Macbeth in turn, using his present title, his new title (which he doesn’t know about yet), and the title of King:<br /><br /> First witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!<br /> Second witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!<br /> Third witch: All hail, Macbeth, that shall be King hereafter!<br /> (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 48-50)<br /><br />All of this comes as a bit of surprise to Macbeth and Banquo, who ask the witches to explain themselves. The witches vanish into the mist, leaving Macbeth and Banquo with many questions. A short time later, they meet two other noblemen who confirm a piece of what the witches had told them: Macbeth has just been named the Thane of Cawdor. This starts Macbeth wondering: If part of what the witches said was true, is it all true? Will I really become King? The idea of becoming King starts to work on Macbeth’s brain like a parasite, nibbling at the edge of every thought he has. It consumes him. The remainder of the play illustrates what happens when a leader allows ambition to ride roughshod over everything. Are there any leadership lessons here? You bet there are. <br /><br /><strong>A leader possesses courage</strong><br /><br />There is no doubt Macbeth possesses incredible physical courage. When he has a job to do, he simply does it, without much thought of the danger it might put him in. The first mention of Macbeth’s courage comes from the report of an injured man returning from the battle:<br /><br /> For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—<br /> Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, <br /> Which smoked with bloody execution, <br /> Like valor’s minion carved out his passage<br /> Till he faced the slave;<br /> Which nev’r shook hands, or bade farewell to him,<br /> Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,<br /> And fixed his head upon our battlements. (Act 1, Scene 2, lines 16-23)<br /><br />According to this report, Macbeth personally leads the assault on the rebels. As a leader, he is not content to stand in the rear and provide directions. No, he is slashing and chopping at the enemy as if he were cutting through a field of sugar cane. A leader of this sort provides immediate inspiration to his or her followers. Most business leaders don’t have the opportunity to demonstrate leadership in such a dramatic manner, but they can still embody the spirit of Macbeth by personally leading whatever initiatives they direct. Instead of a sword, a modern leader may take up a broom, a cash register, a forklift, or a computer terminal and demonstrate they believe in their cause enough to get their hands dirty doing some of the work. This is the essence of leadership. <br /><br />When Macbeth faces his foe, he cuts him down the middle, chops off his head, and turns the head into a landscape ornament. This is possibly ruthless, but it is undeniably resolute. It speaks of courage enough for Macbeth and his entire army. To Macbeth, this kind of leadership is nothing more than a day’s work. His first words in the play are spoken to his fellow warrior Banquo as they head home:<br /><br />So foul and fair a day I have not seen. (Act 1, Scene 3, line 38)<br /><br />That is all Macbeth has to say about it. Essentially, he is saying, “It was a rough day that came out okay.” These are the words of a man who lead the charge into battle. His own courage doesn’t surprise him and he doesn’t feel the need to comment on it. Great leaders know their courage, and their actions require no remark. Too many leaders are in love with their own legends. When a leader begins to think too highly of himself and his deeds, it puts blinders on his judgment. The course is to be brave, lead the charge, and let your actions speak for themselves. <br /><br />Macbeth’s physical courage dwarfs another kind of courage, however: psychological courage. Macbeth allows others to suggest deeds that he knows are contrary to his principles, but he lacks the psychological courage to stand up to these suggestions. A leader must embody both physical courage and psychological courage in order to be effective. Macbeth may be a hell hound on the battlefield, but when his wife says, “Jump!” he says, “How high?” That leads us to our second lesson: <br /><br /><strong>A leader is never manipulated</strong><br /><br />Much is said about leaders who try to manipulate others. The manipulative leader, especially business leader, is almost a cliché. Much less is said about leaders who allow themselves to be manipulated, despite this happening with surprising frequency. Macbeth certainly allows it to happen to him. His wife, Lady Macbeth, reads a letter in which Macbeth describes his conversation with the witches and how one of their prophesies has already come true. Lady Macbeth reflects on Macbeth’s nature and how it will require some modification:<br /><br /> Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be <br /> What thou art promised. Yet I do fear thy nature;<br /> It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness<br /> To catch the nearest way. (Act 1, Scene 5, lines 16-19)<br /> <br />Lady Macbeth is saying, yes, you’ll end up being king, in spite of yourself. Lady Macbeth suspects there is a “nearest way” that will lead to Macbeth becoming King. She is seeking the straight line that is the shortest path between points. Macbeth is the Thane of Cawdor now, and she wants him to follow the easy path to King, which of course involves murder. Lady Macbeth doesn’t think he has it in him, though. Whether Macbeth is inclined to take the shortest route or not, Lady Macbeth has a plan:<br /><br /> Hie thee hither, <br /> That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,<br /> And chastise with the valor of my tongue<br /> All that impedes thee from the golden round<br /> Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem <br /> To have thee crowned withal. (Act 1, Scene 5, lines 26-31)<br /><br />What could be more insidious than “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear”? Basically, Lady Macbeth is saying, Get yourself over here so I can reprogram your mind. She plans to manipulate him into taking whatever action is necessary to become King as soon as possible. Lady Macbeth knows that Macbeth has some redeeming characteristics (“…All that impedes thee…”), but she sees these qualities as weaknesses that must be overcome. <br /><br />Macbeth lets himself be manipulated. He lacks the psychological courage to rebuff his wife. When Lady Macbeth tells her husband, “…You shall put this great night’s business into my dispatch…,” there is no doubting what she has in mind: the murder of the King. Macbeth responds with a few stoic words:<br /><br /> Macbeth: We will speak further. <br /> Lady Macbeth: Only look up clear. <br /> To alter favor ever is to fear. <br /> Leave all the rest to me. <br /> (Act 1, Scene 5, lines 72-75)<br /> <br />Macbeth response is ambiguous. Is he saying he agrees with her plan, but that they will develop it further, or is he telling her to put a lid on it? If Macbeth’s statement is ambiguous, there is nothing ambiguous about Lady Macbeth. She tells her husband to put on his game face and leave the thinking to her. Macbeth has a few minutes alone to think about this. His decision is that Lady Macbeth’s plan is a bad idea:<br /><br /> We will proceed no further in this business:<br /> He [Duncan] hath honored me of late, and I have bought <br /> Golden opinions from all sorts of people, <br /> Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, <br /> Not cast aside so soon. (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 31-34)<br /><br />It seems that Macbeth is trying to take back his leadership role. He says Duncan has been pretty good to him lately and everybody seems to think Macbeth is a fine fellow. Why rock the boat? Macbeth is taking a wait and see tactic, which seems reasonable when a leader is faced with a proposition of the kind his wife is proposing. Lady Macbeth will have none of it, though. She insults Macbeth’s courage and manhood, aware he doesn’t have the psychological courage to withstand the barrage:<br /><br /> Art thou afeared<br /> To be the same in thine own act and valor<br /> As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that<br /> Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,<br /> And live a coward in thine own esteem…?<br /> (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 39-43)<br /><br />Lady Macbeth is asking her husband if he is afraid to go after what he really desires. She even pulls out the dreaded C word (coward), which would have to been a big blow to a war horse like Macbeth. He can’t stand it:<br /><br /> Prithee, peace!<br /> I dare do all that may become a man;<br /> Who dares do more is none. (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 45-47)<br /><br />Hush, woman, I’m as much of a man as anybody! Sure you are. Lady Macbeth knows he can be twisted, so she turns the heat up a notch. She even says she would rather smash the brains out of a nursing baby than have a coward like Macbeth for a husband:<br /><br /> I have given suck, and know<br /> How tender ‘tis to love the baby that milks me:<br /> I would, while it was smiling in my face,<br /> Have plucked my nipple from its boneless gums, <br /> And dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you<br /> Have done to this. (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 54-58)<br /><br />In the face of such a withering attack, Macbeth collapses like a wet tent. He agrees to everything, ceding his leadership role to his wife:<br /><br /> I am settled, and bend up <br /> Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. <br /> (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 79-80)<br /><br />How is it that Macbeth seems so easily manipulated? After all, the guy was a war hero who possessed a great deal of physical strength, raw courage, and prowess with a sword. This isn’t the sort of person one would expect to be steered like a mule. Could it be that Macbeth didn’t have much confidence in his decision making? Once someone convinced him of what to do, he jumped to it with steely resolve. Macbeth was not someone who felt comfortable making independent decisions, though. His biggest decision came at the prodding of his wife, and all subsequent decisions are in response to this flawed and manipulated decision. Once a leader has been manipulated in such a significant way, it’s nearly impossible to turn back. The bad decision breeds more bad decisions. Even Macbeth understands that he is on a hellish road that he cannot exit:<br /><br /> I am in blood<br /> Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, <br /> Returning were as tedious as go o’er. (Act 3, Scene 4, lines 137-139)<br /><br />A leader must be painfully honest with himself about his strengths and weaknesses. If Macbeth lacked the analytical strength and judgment for good decision making, this is something he should have addressed. Relying on bad advice was no substitute. In the era of Macbeth, leaders were assumed to arrive fully formed for their roles. Now we realize a leader is never fully formed; he or she always remains a work in progress. One strength leads to another weakness and true balance is very rare. That is why leaders must be attuned to their weaknesses, so manipulation becomes harder to accomplish. Humility and adherence to principles are two attributes that can help. <br /><br /><strong>A leader remains true to his principles </strong><br /><br />Macbeth begins the play with his principles intact. His guiding principles are valor and honor, and he acts on these themes. Macbeth is certainly viscous on the battlefield, but his viciousness is in the service of valor and honor. All in all, he’s a principled leader. <br /><br />The witches plant a seed in Macbeth’s head that causes his grip on these principles to loosen. They present him with a tempting proposition: he will become king. It’s not even a proposition as much as a promise. The witches explain nothing, but only throw the promise out in front of him. Macbeth begins to think he must do something to fulfill the witches’ prophesy, though the idea of murder disturbs him:<br /><br />…Why do I yield to that suggestion<br />Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair<br />And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, <br />Against the use of nature? Present fears<br />Are less than horrible imaginings. <br />My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, <br />Shakes so my single state of mind that function<br />Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is <br />But what is not. (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 134-142)<br /><br />Shortly thereafter, the King’s son, Malcolm, is pronounced the Prince of Cumberland. This appointment pricks at Macbeth, since it seems to block his path to King. His principles weaken and ambition takes hold of his brain. The idea of taking action begins to seem necessary, even though Macbeth understands the action is contrary to his principles:<br /><br />The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step <br />On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,<br />For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;<br />Let not see my black and deep desires:<br />The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be<br />Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.<br />(Act 1, Scene 4, lines 48-53)<br /><br />Lady Macbeth weakens him further, completing the divorce of his principles from his psyche. Macbeth has one last blast of principled thought before giving up the ghost:<br /><br /> First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, <br /> Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,<br /> Who should against his murderer shut the door,<br /> Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan<br /> Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been<br /> So clear in his great office, that his virtues<br /> Will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against <br /> The deep damnation of his taking-off…<br /> (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 13-20)<br /><br />An effective leader must always embrace a core set of principles. These are unshakable values the leader truly believes in and which inform all decision making. The principles act as the foundation for everything the leader does. The leader may not call attention to these principles, but his actions and decisions are always consistent with them. Macbeth abandons his principles when faced with temptation and manipulation. Did he even have any principles to begin with? Yes, it’s clear that he did, but he allowed them to fall by the wayside. The abandonment of his principles causes the demise of him and many of those around him. When a leader abandons his principles, the results are often fatal. Do not imagine that this does not apply to business leaders. The death analogy can be translated to the demise of the organization. Consider crash of Enron and the greed that motivated the company’s executives; their actions are not so dissimilar from those of Macbeth. <br /><br />It is often helpful for a leader to document his principles in some manner. This may take the form of a mission statement, vision statement, charter, or some other “motherhood” statement. These types of documents are often discredited as cruel jokes on the organizations for which they are written. They don’t have to be. If the document reflects the underlying principles of its leaders and serves to keep everybody focused on what the leaders really believe in, then they serve a critical purpose. It all comes down to whether actions and decisions of leaders reflect the documented principles. Clarifying the principles in writing, then communicating them to everyone, is the first step. <br /><br />There are famous examples of leaders who remained true to their principles, but who had the wrong principles. Adolf Hitler is a notable example. As Chancellor of Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, he remained steadfastly aligned to his principles. The only problem was that his principles included global conquest and annihilation of entire races. Macbeth’s principles are admirable when we first meet him. He just allows them to dissolve into the mist of Scottish countryside. Most leaders can claim they have ethical and constructive principles. Whether they uphold their principles on a continual basis is another matter. <br /><br /><strong>A leader maintains a sense of humility</strong><br /><br />Humility is an essential attribute for a leader. It enables a leader to realize he is not infallible. His decisions and actions are not always perfect, and other people may have better ideas. Humility forces a leader to reach out and utilize all the resources at his disposal, namely the other people in his organization. A lack of humility leads to huge blind spots in the leader’s vision. It also causes the leader to ignore events that call his decision making into question. <br /><br />Macbeth gradually drains himself of all humility. A humble leader would have an awareness of his weaknesses and taken action to address them. Macbeth’s weakness is an inability to make independent decisions, probably resulting from a lack of judgment and weak analytical skills. He seems to have no recognition of this, though. This lack of recognition leads Macbeth to accept advice and information from his wife and the three witches without the appropriate amount of critical analysis. <br /><br />Over time, Macbeth’s lack of humility blossoms into full fledged arrogance. This is the result of two pieces of information the witches provide him:<br /><br />1. Macbeth will not be vanquished until Bernam Wood transports itself to Macbeth’s castle. <br />2. No man born of a woman can harm Macbeth. <br /><br />Macbeth believes he is invisible. Nothing can harm him, since the two conditions cited by the witches are very unlikely. Macbeth’s lack of humility blinds him when one of the conditions seems to be occurring. <br /><br />Messenger: As I did stand watch upon the hill, <br /> I looked toward Birnam, and non, methought, <br /> The wood began to move. <br />Macbeth: Liar and slave! (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 33-35)<br /><br />Here Macbeth is faced with an indication that he may not be invincible, after all. His angry reaction is typical from a leader lacking humility. How dare anybody utter the unvarnished truth! Macbeth goes on to threaten the truth-teller with torture and death. This exposes a paradox of the un-humble leader: followers become less and less inclined to challenge the leader’s flawed vision, which further divorces the leader from reality. In this kind of environment, all but the most zealous followers defect from the cause. Macbeth faces this exact situation, as his followers flee his castle for less tyrannical surroundings. <br /><br />A lack of humility within a leader creates a slippery slope that is hard to repair. It is part of a continuum that nearly results in the leader’s destruction:<br /><br />1. Lack of humility: The leader believes he can do no wrong. Dissent is not encouraged. Some followers may still attempt to exert their opinions, but it is difficult. <br />2. Arrogance: The leader reacts with scorn and anger at anybody challenging his views. Followers know better than to present alternate points of view. <br />3. Delusion: The leader believes he is invincible. Evidence to the contrary is ignored or rejected. <br />4. Destruction: Since the leader is blind to reality, he is not even aware as his empire crumbles around him. The few remaining followers are not willing to communicate the truth. <br /><br />This is exactly the path Macbeth takes. He finally faces death from a man who was delivered by Cesarean section, which was fulfills the witches’ prophesy that only a man not born of a woman can harm him. <br /><br />The world of Macbeth serves as a warming to all civilized people. If your leaders don’t have true courage (physical and psychological), if they don’t uphold their principles, if they fold under pressure, and ultimately believe they are infallible, life will become unbearable. Near in the end of the play, Macbeth himself sighs with weariness at the life he has created. It is a brief flicker of reality that comes too late to act upon: <br /><br />Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player <br />That struts and frets his hour upon the stage<br />And then is heard no more. It is a tale<br />Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury<br />Signifying nothing. (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 24-28)<br /><br />Macbeth is a work that all leaders would benefit from studying and remembering, both as a warning and a reminder to create a world worth living in.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-92028256094845704272009-12-02T20:04:00.000-08:002009-12-11T04:24:27.757-08:00Santa’s Customer Survey<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24ICVCPYqPz-CgIpgiEf74t3i_8DQnVjj13S4q1vs-dC38LWYRcEV5tPT-v29iXdD2uXz1rJ-yTBV8BxEqlWG6DwydAkeyP6bJydzDmJOK6wHeJFZEzZTogAKbct4mUpNKOUFtzCHgDI/s1600-h/Santas's+Customer+Survey+PICTURE.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24ICVCPYqPz-CgIpgiEf74t3i_8DQnVjj13S4q1vs-dC38LWYRcEV5tPT-v29iXdD2uXz1rJ-yTBV8BxEqlWG6DwydAkeyP6bJydzDmJOK6wHeJFZEzZTogAKbct4mUpNKOUFtzCHgDI/s400/Santas's+Customer+Survey+PICTURE.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410858797974447362" /></a><br />What an exciting time of year! Yes, it’s exciting because it’s Christmastime and all, but it’s also because we’re doing something we’ve never done before. You’re probably asking, “What could a worldly and sophisticated fellow like Santa Claus never have done before?” Why, implement a customer survey, that’s what. <br /><br />I admit it sounds a little odd. Santa brings joy and happiness, right? Right! That’s the way it’s been for hundreds of years. I had a 110% customer satisfaction rating. Not that I actually asked anyone, it was just one of those things I knew. Everybody knew. Santa Claus topped the JD Power list before J.D. Power was even born. <br /><br />Lately things have changed, though. People are so demanding. Gimme, gimme, gimme! I blame it on video games and a lack of exercise. We’ve even started getting complaints. That’s right, complaints. Who on Earth would file a complaint against Santa Claus? Crazy, right? Well, it has happened more times than I would like to admit. I’ve heard it all: “I didn’t get what I wanted,” “The toys seemed cheap,” “It didn’t come with batteries,” “I wanted money,” “Jewelry is what really grates my cheese.” I even got a complaint from a guy who said I didn’t leave a present for his girlfriend, and he was married to someone else! I’m telling you, people have gone nuts. Nuts or not, they’re my customers. That’s the bottom line. <br /><br />So, complaints were becoming an ugly fact of life at the North Pole. My head elf, Horatio, and I were sorting through complaints one night when he said something that really grabbed my attention. <br /><br />“Handling complaints is a mug’s game, old man,” Horatio said. “We need to get ahead of the curve.” <br /><br />I set down my mug of eggnog and squinted at the little devil. “What are you talking about?” I growled. <br /><br />That’s when Horatio gave me one of my most important lessons of my long life. He said we’d never succeed just by trying to deal with complaints. We needed to be proactive. When I heard that, I felt like busting him into Saint Patty’s Day. After all, I’m the King of Proactive. How could I possibly pull off Christmas Eve without being proactive? Gimme a break. But I had to admit that I wasn’t proactive when it came to customer feedback. I assumed that everyone who didn’t complain was satisfied. Horatio said that for every complaint we received, there were probably hundreds of other people who had a complaint, but didn’t bother to tell us about it. He said that we needed to reach out to our customers and find out what they thought, and take action on their perceptions before they ever had a chance to complain. At first, all this MBA mumbo-jumbo just made me mad. <br /><br />“I’m Santa Claus!” I bellowed. “Isn’t that good enough?”<br /><br />Horatio looked me dead in the eye and said, “The Easter Bunny is kicking our butts. Heck, even the Tooth Fairy is gaining ground on us.”<br /><br />It turns out that these jokers already had customer surveys and focus groups. And their objective was overtaking us in customer loyalty and brand recognition! We had targets on our backs and I didn’t even know it. <br /><br />We had to act fast. Horatio and I made plans to begin working on a survey the very next morning. We convened my Executive Elf Council at 8 o’clock sharp. The first thing we did was brainstorm service attributes that our customers cared about most. Horatio cautioned us that we couldn’t ask about every possible service attribute. If we did, we would end up with a 100 question survey that nobody would bother to complete. We had to focus our survey questions on the few important drivers of customer satisfaction. The trick would be identifying these few important drivers. <br />The elves brainstormed dozens of issues related to customer satisfaction. The issues ran the gamut from my rosy cheeks to where the reindeer relieved themselves. I counted up the ideas and was dismayed to find that we had brainstormed over 60 issues. Clearly, not all of these were created equal; we would need to prioritize. Horatio led us through a voting exercise whereby each elf had three votes to assign to what they believe were the three most important issues. And guess what? Nobody could agree on what were the most important! The votes were all over the map and we hadn’t succeeded in prioritizing anything. What did you expect from a pack of elves? We were at a standstill. <br /><br />"Let’s take a break,” Horatio said. “Everybody get up and stretch your legs. We’ll reconvene in ten minutes.”<br /><br />The break was a good idea, as it relieved a lot of tension. Have you ever seen a North Pole elf get tense and frustrated? It’s an ugly thing, I promise you. I spend at least half my time dealing with elf problems. After everyone had cleared out of the conference room, Horatio called me over. <br /><br />“It’s time to use some data,” he said. “Do you still have all the letters sent to you from children?”<br /><br />“Of course,” I said. “They’re in the big file cabinet in my office.”<br /><br />“Great. Give me a hand,” Horatio said. <br /><br />We carried 2 years worth of letters to Santa into the conference room. When all the elves had returned from the break, Horatio divided us into 5 groups. Each group was given a stack of letters. The task was to scan through each letter and see if it included any feedback. Most of the letters just asked for things, of course, but a few included some ideas for improvement. We tallied up the feedback and consolidated them into categories. Once we did this, the most important drivers of customer satisfaction became clear:<br />• Jolliness<br />• Generosity<br />• Communication<br />• Santa’s lap<br /><br />That last one seemed a little strange, but it came directly from our customers. I guess that’s the value of using real data to develop your survey, instead of just guessing at what your customers care about. Horatio said we could easily create a survey based on these satisfaction drivers. He suggested a simple question followed by a four-point scale. The scale would represent the best and worst possible responses on each end, with two additional points at equal intervals in between the extremes. <br /><br />“Santa, would you care to use your poetic wit to create some survey questions for us?” Horatio asked.<br /><br />“It would be my pleasure,” I said.<br /><br />Within a few minutes I had dashed off four concise questions:<br />• How would you rate Santa’s overall mood?<br />• Did Santa give you everything you wanted?<br />• How easy was it for you to communicate with Santa?<br />• Did you sit on Santa’s lap this year? If yes, how would you describe the experience?<br /><br />All the elves agreed that the questions accurately represented the four main issues. The elves, led by Horatio, developed a customized scale for each question. We all smiled with a sense of accomplishment. I was just about to suggest a big bowl of eggnog, when Horatio said, “We’re not quite finished.” <br /><br />You should have heard the chorus of boos and catcalls that rose up from that motley gang of elves. I thought I was going to have to spray them down with a garden hose, when Horatio soothed everyone with a wave of his hand. <br /><br />“Calm down,” he said. “It’s no big deal. We just need a couple of open-ended questions to put at the end of the survey.”<br /><br />Horatio explained that no matter how good a job we did at identifying the key drivers of customer satisfaction, we didn’t address everything. There were bound to be some issues that customers cared dearly about and which weren’t even on our radar screen. A couple of open-ended questions would enable customers to add anything that they thought was important to them. Horatio suggested two simple questions along the lines of “What did you like most” and “What did you like least.” They sounded fine to me. My cyber elf typed up the whole survey, which stretched to a whopped three quarters of a page long. Nice and tight, as I like to say. <br /><br />I told Horatio that we would mail it out right after the first of the year, using the addresses in my Rolodex. Horatio just laughed. He said we needed to use technology: our website, email, virtual focus groups. It would be cheaper, easier, and faster. Horatio said we didn’t have the luxury of time, and from what I saw from these complaints I believed him. We needed to make improvements now. <br /><br />The first of our electronic surveys have gone out and we’re already getting some great feedback. Review of customer feedback is one of the key agenda items during our weekly North Pole staff meeting. We go over each survey, discussing what people like and don’t like. At first I wanted to take action on every single comment. That’s when Horatio pulled back the reins. <br /><br />“Whoa there, big boy,” he said. “Let’s focus on the important few, not the trivial many.”<br /><br />Turns out that Horatio had been reading a W. Edwards Deming book. Now I’m reading it. If you want to know anything about the Pareto principle, you just talk to your ol’ friend Santa Claus. I’ll get you squared away. <br /><br />Anyway, we prioritize our feedback and select at least one issue to take action on at every staff meeting. A team is assembled to come up with an improvement plan. We track process improvements through our corrective and preventive action system. That’s another new thing we developed. It’s just a simple database that applies project management to problem solving and process improvement. We enter the issue into our system, assign a champion, appoint team members, agree on a due date, and track the action all the way to completion. At the beginning of each staff meeting, we review open corrective and preventive actions. When elves and reindeer know that I’m going to hold them accountable, our improvements never slip through the cracks. A good dose of follow-up always ensures success. <br /><br />Of course, anything that looks or smells like a complaint jumps to the front of the line. We handle complaints immediately like we always have. The difference now is that complaints aren’t the only tool we use for feedback. We’re addressing perceptions long before they have a chance to turn into complaints. Complaints are an important feedback tool for our customers, but the proactive feedback we’re capturing on our survey is even more important. It’s the engine that drives our improvement machine. <br /><br />You’re probably wondering about the improvements we’ve made, and I don’t blame you. Here are just a few: <br />• I now attend jolliness refresher training, just to sharpen my game. I don’t want anybody to say I wasn’t jolly, dammit. <br />• I’ve established a toll free phone number that is staffed with elves 24/7. This should make it easier for kids to get in touch with me. <br />• We repainted my Santa Throne a nice white color, like vanilla ice cream. I learned that the fire engine red throne was intimidating to some children. <br /><br />I can’t tell you how much we’ve learned from our survey. One of the many valuable lessons is that customer sometimes have unreasonable expectations of what Santa can and will do. We’ve begun a PR campaign to calibrate expectations. When our customers know up-front what to expect, they tend to be much happier in the long run. For example, we’ve had to educate people that Santa does not bring money, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, guns, or items of a sexual nature. This is a kid’s program, for goodness sake! You would think that people would have a little common sense, but you know how that goes. We explicitly state our limitations right on the website for all the world to see. Just click on the tab that says, “Stuff that Santa Doesn’t Bring.” <br /><br />Another thing Santa doesn’t do is bring presents to naughty people. Trust me, I know who’s been naughty. We have some state-of-the-art technology that can detect naughtiness from half way around the world. Horatio pointed out that the term “naughty” was a bit vague. Now we clearly define the actions that could lead to a judgment of naughty. There are no surprises, but here are just a few to give you a flavor for what Santa doesn’t appreciate:<br />• Cruelty to animals or children<br />• Lying <br />• Cheating<br />• Stealing <br />• Relying on others to do what you should do yourself<br />• Voting Democratic<br /><br />Ho, ho, ho! That last one was a joke. Don’t anybody get bent out of shape; Santa has a right to be funny every now and then. The lowdown is we have a list, so if you want a present from Santa don’t be naughty. And don’t send me an email asking for sex toys or a big fat spliff. Even asking for these things can get you bumped into the category of naughty. <br /><br />We have even more plans for next year. My idea is to leave a little comment card in every stocking. The card will ask everyone to go to my website (with parental supervision, of course) and leave feedback online. Before Christmas Day is even half-over, we’ll have thousands of feedback entries. Horatio is going to write a computer program that slice and dice the feedback in every imaginable way. He has all kinds of wild ideas for statistical analysis, but I told him, “Santa wants it simple. Give it to me in pictures, little fellow.” So Horatio also plans on boiling the trends into some simple charts and graphs that even an old fat man in a red suit can understand. <br /><br />So, would you like to see our customer survey? I would value your comments on it. We’re constantly trying to fine-tune our feedback tool so we get the right information. We could ask 100 questions, but the key to success is keeping it short and sweet. Let us know what you think, and of course feel free to provide some feedback on my performance in general. Like our Quality Policy says, we’re dedicated to providing a profound, positive, and memorable Christmas experience, while continually improving our performance. Those aren’t just words on the North Pole conference room, they’re the beliefs we live by. Oh, and if you leave cookies for me this year, please note that I’m especially partial to Do-Si-Dos from the Girl Scouts. Leave out a plate of those babies and I might just overlook some naughtiness!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbqazMhBwpI2N5K83aizDdfUSMPI9LN6K9Lyngpa4nsb-WILd0Gz3SSa8ISxAiOt9xA1AgzbrYfes7mAFS8DbQecZj-jfhV4HVNT4nakltoPa8OptSnIA1tUXKNeYJfUTZ2kmB5DODbY/s1600-h/Santa+Claus+Customer+Survey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbqazMhBwpI2N5K83aizDdfUSMPI9LN6K9Lyngpa4nsb-WILd0Gz3SSa8ISxAiOt9xA1AgzbrYfes7mAFS8DbQecZj-jfhV4HVNT4nakltoPa8OptSnIA1tUXKNeYJfUTZ2kmB5DODbY/s400/Santa+Claus+Customer+Survey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410858429297579746" /></a>Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-88811241391461045362009-11-17T19:53:00.000-08:002009-11-17T20:00:20.763-08:00Product Certification: Developing Meaningful ProgramsProduct certifications have exploded in recent years. Products ranging from pine lumber to children’s toys carry some sort of certification, and the organizations issuing certifications are as diverse as the products themselves. What are the practical values of these certifications? What are the pitfalls and limitations? In this article I will explore these issues and propose some recommendations for a product certification program that is meaningful and helpful to consumers and producers alike. <br /><br /><strong>The changing marketplace</strong><br /><br />The variety and sophistication of products that are available to the general public has exploded in the last half century. Products that would have been considered extravagant or even unimaginable are now commonplace, available day or night at the local big-box retailer, or delivered by a brown UPS truck. Automation of manufacturing methods and the reduction of variability have driven down product costs, and improvements in logistics have moved products to consumers in every corner of the world. The range of manufactured goods has never been broader or more impressive. <br /><br />With the increase of product variety and sophistication, consumers have more exposure to information about product attributes, performance properties, and potential dangers. The growth of information technology and the increased velocity of the news media has helped educate consumers, establishing an awareness of what products can and should do under conditions of actual use. <br /><br />Risks that were once unknown or well-concealed are now widely communicated. The communication of risks runs the gamut from scientifically verifiable to the blatantly fabricated. Most consumers don’t possess the technical background to discriminate between the real and the imagined; they only know that a product is reported to have risks and this perception affects purchasing behavior. <br /><br />Another factor that influences consumer behavior is the litigious nature of society in the United States. If a product doesn't perform as expected or causes injurious results, civil action may be brought to redress losses. Lawsuits may be filed against the designer, manufacturer, distributor, or seller of the product, often with the only consideration being who has the deepest pockets. Information about products risks or dangers, even if inaccurate, can form the basis for legal action. Lawsuit judgments frequently run in the millions of dollars and outcomes of this sort can easily destroy a company. <br /><br />Consumer behavior aside, some products carry with them inherent and irrefutable risks. Aircraft components and parts must be certified to ensure their reliable performance over defined time frames. Any product failure while in flight can have disastrous consequences, so the product’s performance must be known with a high degree of certainty. Other products have similar safety risks. Notable examples include electrical appliances, children’s toys, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Many of the programs associated with known safety risks are administered by government agencies on behalf of the public. <br /><br />Safety is not the only concern of consumers. Other concerns span the range of human emotions and interests, and they vary greatly from person to person and from region to region. These include the following, to name just a few: <br /><br />• Environmental impact<br />• Exploitation of workers and social responsibility<br />• Exploitation of animals and animal testing<br />• Energy efficiency<br />• Use of renewable energy<br />• Material reutilization and use of recycled components<br />• Antimicrobial effectiveness<br />• Recyclability at end of product life<br />• Ergonomic performance<br />• Sustainable production processes <br /><br />In the past, a product simply had to do what it was supposed to do. Expectations of products are much more demanding and complex now. Consumers come to the marketplace armed with a baffling array of concerns and agendas, and producers are left with the challenge of choosing the battles that will lead to reduced risk and long term success. <br /><br /><strong>Product certification with credibility</strong><br /><br />In response to consumer concerns, producers have embraced the use of product certification systems. These systems provide assurance that a product possesses certain qualities about which consumers and stakeholders feel strongly. There are literally thousands of different product certifications representing almost every imaginable product attribute. The challenge for the consumer is know what makes a credible certification. After all, consumers make important product choices that affect their family’s health and welfare, so they need to be informed about certification claims. One certification seal looks just as official as any other; the magic is knowing what lies behind the seal. <br /><br />There are five main elements that comprise a credible product certification program: <br /><br />• Openness<br />• Objectivity<br />• Quality management system<br />• Competent personnel<br />• Accreditation <br /><br />Let’s examine each one of these and discuss what they mean in practical terms. <br /><br /><strong>Openness</strong><br /><br />This is exactly what it sounds like: equal and open access to the product certification. A reputable certification scheme must be available to all organizations that produce the applicable products. The certification can’t be contingent on financial inducements, group memberships, or geographical location. The certification should be available to all products that meet the certification criteria, and any organization can apply. This can be contrasted with the following examples:<br /><br />Join our club. “Sure, you can apply for product certification, but you have to become one of us first. Join our club, pay the dues, support our causes, and we’ll certify your product.” A scheme of this sort has nothing to do with the product attributes and everything to do with building a membership base in an organization. <br /><br />Pay to play. It is entirely reasonable for a certification body to charge application fees and recover its product testing costs. Nothing in the world is free, and even nonprofit organizations need to develop a revenue stream. What is not reasonable is to require payoffs to obtain certification. Pay-to-play systems like this have no technical merit and exist only to line the pockets of the certifying body. <br /><br />Only locals need apply. Some product certifications exist as a form of boosterism for a country’s products. Boosting a country’s products is a role of economic development agencies and public relations firms, not product certification. Product certifications that are contingent on geographical location are inherently closed to many products that might otherwise apply. <br /><br /><strong>Objectivity</strong><br /><br />Objectivity is the cousin of openness. Objectivity means that all products are treated the same way with regard to certification. The same criteria are applied to everybody, and all products are evaluated in the same manner. One of the biggest things that compromises objectivity is money. When the product certification scheme exists solely as a way to make money for the certification body, then you can be sure that the scheme is not objective. Here are some common examples of nonobjective product certification systems: <br /><br />In-house certification. Companies occasionally develop certification programs for their own products. No other products need apply. How could a scheme like this be considered objective? It isn’t. Nobody certifying its own products can maintain any level of objectivity or impartiality. It’s analogous to judging your own child in a talent contest. <br /><br />Take my advice. “So, you’d like to obtain certification? Let us help you! We not only grant certification, we offer consulting and advice for companies working in that direction. If you sign up for our consulting program, we feel confident that your products will pass certification.” A product certification like this is nothing more than a back door to selling services. There’s no objectivity, because naturally the certification body is going to favor the products for which it has provided services. A reputable certification body never offers consulting or assistance to organizations seeking product certification. <br /><br /><strong>Quality management system</strong><br /><br />A credible certification body will have a functioning and effective quality management system (QMS). This system will include written procedures that guide its operations, defined responsibilities and authorities for personnel, clear criteria for certification, and systematic improvement processes. The point is that the certification body should manage itself in a controlled and methodical manner. There’s little credibility in a certification granted by an organization that can’t get its own act together. A quality management system based on ISO 9001 or ISO Guide 65 is recommended, and the certification body should consider having its QMS certified by an independent third party. Some of the symptoms of a certification body that does not have an effective QMS include the following: <br /><br />• Delays in testing and certification decision<br />• Lost records and applications<br />• Misplaced product samples<br />• Problems that don’t get corrected<br />• Internal confusion and repeat errors<br />• Unreceptive to customer feedback<br />• Inconsistent criteria for product certification <br /><br />One of the most valuable questions that can be asked of a certification body is, “What is your own quality management system based upon?” If the response is one of confusion, then you can be sure that there is no quality management system in place and the certification scheme might be a sham. <br /><br /><strong>Competent personnel</strong><br /><br />For a certification body to have any credibility, it must be staffed by personnel who are technically competent in the area of the certification. This type of competency can’t be farmed out to other organizations. Essential in-house competencies include an understanding of the following: <br /><br />• The product and its features<br />• Customer requirements and expectations<br />• Possible product failures and shortcomings<br />• Legal and regulatory issues applicable to the product <br /><br />In short, the certification body is staffed with experts in the product. It is possible for the certification body to subcontract the product testing, but it can’t subcontract the technical competence of its people. <br /><br />The certification body should have established requirements for the competency of its personnel, training on a defined basis, evaluation of effectiveness, and records of training. Only through the training of its personnel and continually maintaining their competencies can a certification body reliably make decisions on product certification. <br /><br /><strong>Accreditation</strong><br /><br />Finally, a certification body should accredit its product certification scheme. The most widely applied accreditation criteria is defined in the international standard ISO/IEC Guide 65—“General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems.” Accreditation to ISO/IEC Guide 65 is granted by independent third-party organizations who themselves have demonstrated the ability to evaluate other certification bodies in a consistent and fair manner. <br /><br />Many of the attributes recommended by this article would be difficult for a consumer to verify at a certification body, but one question will generally captures the spirit of all of them: “Is your product certification system accredited to ISO Guide 65?” Failure to go the final step and accredit the product certification system means a cloud hangs over any products certified by that body.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-47216050452029909112009-02-18T13:08:00.000-08:002009-02-18T13:12:35.876-08:00Don't Fail Your Customers with the 5 Whys<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgfRX2mxx7xjQYHQXfBi_sAvJe5uDA7ZKGHkP_Y8ydbVhbdzz59eYIxo2ZHZyp2h0b0gvpw3VI4Y0mva6CGi-bZh_QvTl5imI_3mxHSI8wOOHfc-BSlYexvLBluxLUb1kqXTDXwyWSRM/s1600-h/Don'tFailWith5Whys+-+GRAPHIC.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 321px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgfRX2mxx7xjQYHQXfBi_sAvJe5uDA7ZKGHkP_Y8ydbVhbdzz59eYIxo2ZHZyp2h0b0gvpw3VI4Y0mva6CGi-bZh_QvTl5imI_3mxHSI8wOOHfc-BSlYexvLBluxLUb1kqXTDXwyWSRM/s400/Don'tFailWith5Whys+-+GRAPHIC.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304247525217091394" /></a><br /><br />So you have a customer complaint. It’s not just any complaint, but a huge one from your biggest customer. The problem affects millions of dollars in business and threatens the survival of your company. Are you going to take action? Of course! You put together a team of top players and attack it head-on. <br /><br />Team members investigate the problem and perform a detailed 5-Why analysis. They start with the problem statement and ask, “Why did that happen?” repeatedly, drilling down deeper with each iteration: <br /><br />Problem: There were seven data errors in reports issued to our largest customer in the last month <br /><br />• Why? Because lab reports are getting in the wrong project folders. <br /><br />• Why? Because the project numbers are written illegibly on the folders. <br /><br />• Why? Because the customer service representatives are rushed when preparing folders. <br /><br />• Why? Because there are only two representatives taking calls for all divisions. <br /><br />• Why? Because business expanded rapidly in the past year and management neglected to re-examine the work load of the customer service representatives. <br /><br />After 5 Whys, the team has found what it believes to be the root cause of the problem: customer service representatives who are overworked. The team takes action to remove the root cause, which is the addition of a third customer service representative. A person is quickly transferred and trained, and the action is deemed effective by objective observers. A pizza lunch follows, including a congratulatory address by the president of the company. A week later, three more reports have data errors in them. Your company is dropped by its largest customer. Everybody was certain the problem solving was effective, but it obviously wasn’t. What happened? <br /><br /><strong>Why the 5 Whys alone don’t work</strong><br /><br />Asking why one time after another assumes that the problem is perfectly linear, with one cause directly related to another. If we keep asking “why?” we’ll eventually get back to the root cause. However, real problems are much more complex than this. One cause does not always lead directly to another cause. There are contributing factors and hidden variables that mess up our ingenious chain of causes. If we try to treat every problem as nothing more than the result of a single chain of causes, we’ll miss the complexity that exists in the process. <br /><br />The other reason that the 5 Whys is ineffective is that it focuses only on today’s causes. People enter the problem-solving process by asking, “In this exact problem that occurred, what was the chain of causes that led to it?” The 5 Whys ignore the causes of tomorrow. For problem solving to be truly effective, we can’t only consider the causes we know about now. We’ve got to consider the potential causes of tomorrow. The 5 Whys will expose some of the current causes, but it will rarely reveal potential causes. We need to consider the entire universe of causes: actual and potential, present and future, large and small, obvious and elusive. The key to uncovering this is gaining an understanding of the process that produces the problem. <br /><br /><strong>Understand the process first, and then ask why</strong><br /><br />To address customer complaints in a thoughtful way, we must achieve an intimate understanding of our process. I don’t mean what the process should be; I mean what the process actually is. Whatever process is involved in the complaint must be described, step by step, as it is actually happening now. Existing procedures may not be much help to us in this regard. Procedures often describe how a process is supposed to operate, without any obstacles, surprises, errors, or creativity on the part of employees, but the world deals up all of these things on a regular basis. <br /><br />Put away your procedure when investigating a complaint. Instead, assemble a team of people intimately knowledgeable about the process. The people you want are the ones who actually do the work and get their hands dirty. Utilize people from different perspectives: production, quality, engineering, logistics, and purchasing. Managers should be represented also, but their perspective is often woefully uninformed about the tasks and activities taking place. <br /><br />Explain to your team that you’re working to address a complaint and you need to understand the process that results in the complaint. The team will create a flowchart for the process as it actually exists. This will lead to an exploration of causes, but only after we’ve gained an understanding of the process from start to finish. Here are the supplies you’ll need to facilitate a session: <br /><br />• Flip chart <br /><br />• Markers <br /><br />• Large sticky notes <br /><br />Plan on keeping your flowchart exercise very simple. Fancy symbols won’t help you understand your process any better. In fact, the only “symbol” you’ll use will be large sticky notes. Also, avoid the temptation to use a laptop computer or other electronic device to help you construct the flowchart. Creating the flowchart on a flip chart will enable all team members to crowd around and personally contribute to the process. You don’t want to introduce any barriers to the creative process. Computers, by their nature, relegate the majority of team members to observers, which is the opposite of what you want. <br /><br />If possible, tell team members a day or two in advance that they’ll be making a flowchart for the process. Ask them to think about the various tasks, activities, and decisions that are part of the process. This way they’ll be well-prepared when the session begins and the team will use its time more efficiently. <br /><br />Here are the key steps to constructing a flowchart that we can use in problem solving: <br /><br />• <strong>Determine boundaries.</strong> Decide on starting and stopping points for the flowchart, and keep in mind that many problems originate on the periphery of the process. Make your starting point far enough upstream in the process to capture the early planning and logistics steps. Likewise, make the stopping point far enough downstream that you capture inspection, storage, and follow-up steps. <br /><br />• <strong>Identify each step in the process.</strong> Beginning at our assigned starting point, identify the first step (task and decision) of the process. Write this on a large sticky note, writing only as many words as will fit. Continue doing this sequentially for each step in the process. Decide if each is a task or a decision, and put a “T” or a “D” in the lower right-hand corner of the sticky note to indicate this. It’s also helpful to write the decision steps in the form of a question to fully differentiate them from the task steps. Encourage participation and dynamic discussion of the process as a team. Anybody who attempts to dominate the process should be gently reminded to allow everyone to take part. <br /><br />• <strong>Arrange the steps in order.</strong> Determine the sequential order of the tasks and begin placing them on the flip chart. The first step will go at the top, with subsequent steps flowing downward. As the team begins assembling the flowchart with the sticky notes, forgotten tasks and decisions almost always spring to mind. That’s the point of using sticky notes--they can be easily moved. Add new tasks as necessary and rearrange existing tasks until everybody agrees that the flowchart accurately represents the process. <br /><br />• <strong>Connect the steps with arrows.</strong> Connect the tasks and decisions with arrows, indicating the flow of the process. Each task has a single arrow exiting it. Each decision has two arrows exiting it, with each arrow representing a different decision outcome. Make sure to label the arrows that exit the decision boxes indicating which answer to the decision outcome that they represent. The most common labels for decision arrows are yes and no, although they can be labeled with anything that makes sense in reference to the decision required by the decision box. <br /><br />• <strong>Check for accuracy.</strong> No matter what kinds of preparations are made or how smart the team members are, there are bound to be errors with a flowchart. When the team is finished constructing the flowchart, verify it by “walking the process.” Take your flowchart to where the work is actually being done and check that you haven’t forgotten any steps or made errors in sequencing. Make corrections as necessary. <br /><br /><strong>Identify causes</strong><br /><br />The big benefit of starting with a flowchart is that it forces us to consider the entire process, not just the parts that we know best or are most likely to be involved. The team can now begin to identify the actual and potential causes that occur at each step of the process. Start at the top of the flow diagram and brainstorm what could possibly go wrong and lead to our customer complaint. Instruct the team members to think about the following possibilities at each step: <br /><br />• Mistakes that can be made <br /><br />• Confusing tasks <br /><br />• Incomplete instructions <br /><br />• Conflicting goals <br /><br />• Communication barriers <br /><br />• Anything else that can go wrong <br /><br />Cast a wide net as you speculate on causes. Hunches are OK, and no proof is needed. The spirit of this is the same as brainstorming: All ideas are treated as potentially significant, without criticism. Write each of the potential causes on the flowchart next to the steps to which they apply. <br /><br />Another way to think about causes is to call them failures. Ask the question, “What failures could lead to our customer complaint?” Whether they’re called causes or failures doesn’t really matter. The point is be to as inclusive as possible, taking a full inventory of what could go wrong at each step of the process as it actually exists. At the end of the exercise, your team will have identified dozens of potential causes. Now it’s time to narrow the field. <br /><br /><strong>Narrow the causes to the most significant</strong><br /><br />It’s unlikely that you have the resources to act on all the actual and potential causes. That’s why you have to narrow your focus. One of the easiest ways to do this is through a multiple-voting process. Each person on the team is assigned four votes to use for what he or she believes to be the most significant causes. Team members can cast their votes anyway they wish: placing one vote on each of four separate causes, placing two votes on two causes, whatever they decide. Choose a colored marker that is different from the ones used for constructing the flowchart and writing the causes. The votes can be cast as check marks beside the causes to which they relate. <br /><br />After all votes are cast, the facilitator will tally up the number of votes for each cause. You’re going to take action on not one root cause, but on a number of significant causes that contribute to the complaint in question. How many causes should the team act on? There’s no magic number, but taking action on five to seven causes for relatively obvious problems and 10 or more causes for complex problems seems to work well. List the top causes, as indicated by the number of votes they received, on a separate flip chart. It’s helpful at this point to allow a brief discussion on each of the top causes. The facilitator can begin this by saying, “Who would like to say a few words about this cause?” The point is to bring everyone up to speed on each of the top causes. This builds a richer understanding of the causes and creates a basis for taking action. <br /><br /><strong>Plan and implement action</strong><br /><br />Now we come to the most important step of all--action. Each of our top causes must be matched with an action that will remove it or reduce it to an acceptable level. The team will consider each cause in turn and agree on an action for it. Here are the specific variables that should be identified: <br /><br />• Action to be taken. Be as specific as possible in defining the action to be taken. <br /><br />• Responsible party. Who will lead the implementation of the action? Preferably, each action should be assigned to someone who has participated in the problem-solving session. Team members are invested in the process, due to their involvement up to this point, and they have an understanding of the process variables. <br /><br />• Required resources. List the money, people, supplies, time, and other resources that will be required to carry out each action. <br /><br />• Expected completion date. State when the team believes that the action can be completed. Because you’re striving to assign actions to team members, you can get commitment from each responsible party on the completion date. <br /><br />Agree on a date when the team will reconvene and review the progress on action items. Let it be known that top management will be present during the review meeting. This will highlight the importance of making progress on the assigned actions. Team members don’t want to appear remiss in front of their peers, but they’re mortified to appear remiss in front of top management. Visibility and accountability ensure that nobody drops the ball. <br /><br />Keep your customer abreast of the progress you’re making on the complaint. Because the actions were triggered by customer feedback, it only makes sense to provide some feedback of your own. “Here’s what we’re doing to improve our service to you,” sends a powerful message. It also cements the organization’s commitment to follow-through on the actions being implemented. The ultimate result of the entire process I’ve described is to create customer loyalty. Focusing on the entire process when attacking customer complaints, instead of just asking 5 Whys, will achieve this.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-14893097316921413422008-12-22T10:02:00.000-08:002008-12-22T10:38:01.895-08:00Defining the Problem<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jd30yXDMfxryr7j8Dz0DvU0vB5ugk8QKWFBbGID70dEHmxtvXq2njyEMFD1Wz4eKO9lJ_wTJxg7EpwBHtaX5DKiQoaX1jtAJGWHoGrg0pdCGIRCQh2-s6A7AnZYngmwaW-ZUCBOGDAQ/s1600-h/ProblemstatementHeader.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jd30yXDMfxryr7j8Dz0DvU0vB5ugk8QKWFBbGID70dEHmxtvXq2njyEMFD1Wz4eKO9lJ_wTJxg7EpwBHtaX5DKiQoaX1jtAJGWHoGrg0pdCGIRCQh2-s6A7AnZYngmwaW-ZUCBOGDAQ/s400/ProblemstatementHeader.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282677594091007842" /></a><br /><br />A few years ago, we had a mysterious scratching sound in our attic. My 5-year-old daughter was terrified, and everybody’s sleep was being interrupted on a nightly basis. <br /><br />“We need to do something about the noise in our attic,” I told my daughter. <br /><br />“No!” she cried. “Don’t go into the attic. It’s too scary.” <br /><br />I talked to my daughter, and it was obvious that the vagueness and seeming enormity of the problem terrified her. She didn’t understand the problem, thus it was overwhelming. In my daughter’s mind, the sound in the attic could be bats, snakes, ghosts, vampires, or big hairy monsters. I took my daughter’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. <br /><br />“I’m a little scared, too,” I told her. “But if we can learn more about the problem, I bet we can solve it.” <br /><br />My daughter seemed dubious, but she agreed to help me investigate the situation. We went into the attic with a flashlight, stabbing the beam of light into the dark and dusky corners. It didn’t take long for us to figure out the nature of our problem. We saw tiny eyes and furry little faces staring at us. <br /><br />“They’re just squirrels,” my daughter giggled. “They snuck into the attic.” <br /><br />“I guess the scratching doesn’t scare you anymore,” I said. <br /><br />“No,” she said, “it’s not scary. We know what the problem is. It’s not scratching sounds; it’s squirrels.” <br /><br />My daughter had made a profound discovery about problem-solving. She knew how to define a problem. Armed with that knowledge, she was prepared to help solve it. <br />We have to define exactly what the problem is. Big hairy problems are scary and unsolvable. We also have to move beyond the immediate symptoms of the problem and explore the deeper details. It’s OK to start with a big hairy problem, but we have to quickly sharpen our focus. Only then can we really understand what we’re facing and begin solving it. <br /><br />The diagram in figure 1 illustrates the process of defining a problem. We start with the vague and symptomatic and move toward the specific and factual. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBI0x_dNLlM_SHsTPtpidYmz2eZWnUDiQxW9PoqTHZsCxZ4RkA92Gs-wJ3qhcEEXvPRf31P1i9e7G0uAKXUe_1gYgJbz9Dyht2tNzKfiByaOZoHSJbXqDikjkpB6fJ8RHjOiNOGOCPFPI/s1600-h/Funnel+diagram.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 325px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBI0x_dNLlM_SHsTPtpidYmz2eZWnUDiQxW9PoqTHZsCxZ4RkA92Gs-wJ3qhcEEXvPRf31P1i9e7G0uAKXUe_1gYgJbz9Dyht2tNzKfiByaOZoHSJbXqDikjkpB6fJ8RHjOiNOGOCPFPI/s400/Funnel+diagram.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282679703472186930" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Specific details instead of symptoms</strong> <br /><br />Symptoms (such as the scratching sound in the attic) are the raw materials of a problem statement, but they’re only the start. It’s usually necessary to do some preliminary investigation to determine exactly what the problem is. Just as my daughter and I went into the attic with the flashlight, you may need to examine your process, inspect products, talk to customers, and analyze data. <br /><br />There’s a fine line between defining the problem and determining causes. In the attic example, one could argue that by stating the problem as “squirrels in the attic,” I actually began root cause analysis. Should we have backed up a step and stated the problem as “scratching sounds in the attic?” The issue is one of perspectives and how far we should push beyond symptoms. During problem definition, you generally want to get one step beyond the symptoms. Any more than one step and you’ve probably ventured into determining causes. One step beyond the symptoms, and we’re simply nailing down specifics; we’ll be much better prepared to take effective action when the time comes. The action we take with symptoms can be much different than the action we take with a well-defined problem. Consider the example in figure 2. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37WEdzeRedsgqGBi7pC9Dmr7B6uSfXZhztIo2j_jWHrvr354l-Gyo-pJiW4SL70cRwtnHZZtenfWKSiRQfeqZApDyoIQ8cRssKUgt4QoBfCTqhARo3iba8x0fuhQma4T9aAdkrKSe-BM/s1600-h/Figure2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37WEdzeRedsgqGBi7pC9Dmr7B6uSfXZhztIo2j_jWHrvr354l-Gyo-pJiW4SL70cRwtnHZZtenfWKSiRQfeqZApDyoIQ8cRssKUgt4QoBfCTqhARo3iba8x0fuhQma4T9aAdkrKSe-BM/s400/Figure2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282683550843295426" /></a><br /><br />In both cases, we’re basically dealing with the same problem; we’re just choosing a different starting point. In the first example, we’re starting with the symptom as our problem statement, and this leads to drastically different solutions. In the second example, the problem statement goes beyond the symptom and gets specific. <br /><br />Crafting a problem statement is one of the most important steps in problem-solving. If it’s done carelessly, the resulting problem-solving is doomed. Spend the time and the effort to nail down the problem statement in specific, factual terms. The process of developing a problem statement is an evolution in many respects, as illustrated in the diagram in figure 3. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUhPMlqXMe8ke37FwKM6gQHjP-ekHyA4wjC3kd2iXuErGtT3NFr-wgI_DXw-6awwCx0SEVoSU6iTa3huoV81i3h4Klf2ucyCYg8mPuT4f_8GkJByxriL6jbZtEGojJQyKG_Lidb2wz6c/s1600-h/Evolution+of+a+Problem+Statement.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUhPMlqXMe8ke37FwKM6gQHjP-ekHyA4wjC3kd2iXuErGtT3NFr-wgI_DXw-6awwCx0SEVoSU6iTa3huoV81i3h4Klf2ucyCYg8mPuT4f_8GkJByxriL6jbZtEGojJQyKG_Lidb2wz6c/s400/Evolution+of+a+Problem+Statement.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282683867231656418" /></a><br /><br />Writing problem statements that move beyond symptoms is relatively easy. Simply define the facts along these angles, and you’ll have a workable problem statement: <br /><br />• How was the problem first reported? This is the unfiltered problem statement, exactly as it came to you. In many cases it will be one or more symptoms, and it may not even be accurate. Problems reported by customers are often so brief as to be unusable, such as “no good” and “doesn’t work.” <br /><br />• Who experiences the problem? Few problems are universal. Most only affect certain people, depending on a variety of factors. It’s important to know who experiences the problem. The people identified are usually the ones we need to interview to gain a deeper understanding of the facts related to the problem. <br /><br />• What exactly is the problem? Here is where some preliminary investigation comes in handy. Find out what is happening beyond the raw symptoms. Take nothing for granted and attempt to independently verify all facts. If the problem was reported as “doesn’t work,” you will want to find out exactly what that means. <br /><br />• When does the problem occur? If we can pinpoint when the problem is happening, we are much closer to understanding its causes. Interviews and data analysis are often key to determining the timing of problems. <br /><br />• Where does the problem occur? Most problems are localized to a specific place or set of places. What those places are will often indicate the causes and dictate how the problem must be solved. Keep in mind that “where” can refer to a location within a facility or a location on a product (such as with a product defect). <br /><br />• How often does the problem occur? Frequency of occurrence helps clarify the scope and magnitude of a problem. Armed with information about frequency, we have a much better idea of the resources that will be needed to attack the problem. <br /><br />• Why does it matter? Problems never exist in a vacuum. For a problem to exist, a standard, requirement, or expectation must be violated. It’s very helpful to know what standard that is. Sometimes that standard itself turns out to be false and the problem simply goes away. <br /><br /><strong>Eliminate bias</strong><br /><br />If we try hard to stick to the facts, we’ll likely have a problem statement that is free of bias and prejudices. We may believe the problem is that, “The idiots in the stockroom can’t manage their inventory,” but such a biased problem statement will not lead to any meaningful problem-solving. Check your problem statement by asking the following questions: <br /><br />• Could anyone perceive something as a personal attack? <br />• Are any personalities specifically mentioned? <br />• Does anything sound biased or prejudicial? <br /> <br />If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then the problem statement must be revised before proceeding. The best problem statements make no assumptions; they simply document the current state. <br /><br /><strong>Keep suspected causes out of the problem statement</strong><br /><br />Smart people like to get ahead of the ballgame. After all, time and resources are in short supply, so it makes sense to combine steps and increase your mileage. This approach often backfires when it’s applied at the problem-definition stage. People are tempted to write the suspected root cause of the problem into the problem description. In other words, they jump ahead and short-circuit the entire problem-solving process. It’s all well intentioned, of course, but it needs to be avoided at all costs. Take a look at figure 4. Anytime you see these words in a problem statement, beware of assumptions being made. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIFm_bnwFEWE-07ECX74EiOdSc8y64nPQVVPgmDtnf-3r5urIssK15hR_elcnOPEyLynKrTNBp6uTm_bVikALg2PrOjZwW0QfCYoHScDESa7KTpjG-2Kx4Zxjz_wkIlcaiaRa1ECswo-Q/s1600-h/Figure4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIFm_bnwFEWE-07ECX74EiOdSc8y64nPQVVPgmDtnf-3r5urIssK15hR_elcnOPEyLynKrTNBp6uTm_bVikALg2PrOjZwW0QfCYoHScDESa7KTpjG-2Kx4Zxjz_wkIlcaiaRa1ECswo-Q/s400/Figure4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282684266644394162" /></a><br /><br />Now is not the time for guessing at the cause of our problem. We will do that at a later stage. All we need now is to define the specifics of our problem as factually as possible. <br /><br /><strong>Methods for defining the problem</strong><br /><br />There’s a certain amount of investigation that must occur to arrive at the problem statement. The challenge at this stage is to simply determine the facts. Find the facts and write them clearly. If you do a good job of defining the problem from all angles, the remaining steps of problem-solving are often easy. The methods we’ll discuss include: <br /><br />• Observing the problem yourself <br />• Interviewing <br />• Analyzing data <br />• Photographing the problem <br /><br /><strong>Observing the problem yourself </strong><br /><br />This is the single best way to understand a problem. Find out where the problem exists and go see it yourself. By seeing the problem first-hand, the facts of the situation are not filtered through someone else’s perceptions. <br />The act of observation can mean a couple of different things: <br /><br />• Actually observe the problem occurring. An example is running a machine that always overheats. We can start the machine and watch as it becomes hot. <br />• Observe the effects of the problem . An example is examining the motor of the machine that overheated. It may be impossible to watch the machine overheat (as it may be completely broken), but we can certainly observe the results. <br /><br />Depending on the nature of the problem, one of these conditions may be impossible to witness. That’s often the case with direct observation. In the case of a plane crash, for instance, the problem can only be observed once. If you weren’t lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to be on the scene, then you couldn’t have observed it. This is why interviewing becomes valuable. You may not be able to observe the problem, but there are people who did observe it, and they will probably be willing to talk to you. <br /><br /><strong>Interviewing</strong><br /><br />Interviews build on the symptoms that have already been reported. The interviewer must guide the interviewee through all the questions necessary to move away from raw symptoms and factually describe the situation. One of the challenges of interviewing is soliciting specific details. People often speak in broad generalities, but this is no help in developing a problem statement. Anytime someone describes a problem in absolute terms, you need to drill deeper and arrive at specifics. Some of the words to watch out for include the following: <br />• “Always” <br />• “Everywhere” <br />• “Everybody” <br />• “Completely” <br /><br />When faced with absolute terms such as these, gently challenge the thinking of the interviewee. If the interviewee says that the problem happens all the time, ask him if the problem happens at midnight. If the interviewee says that the problem happens everywhere, ask her if it happens in the front office. Narrow the focus to what the interviewee really knows to be true. Make sure that the interviewee understands that you’re interested in hearing about his or her personal experiences, not a restatement of what he or she heard from other people. <br /><br />You may encounter people with strong opinions about the problem. In particular, you are likely to hear speculation about the potential causes of problems. It’s nice that people want to be helpful, but what are needed are facts about the problem, period. Thank people for their help and steer them back to the task at hand. You may want to make a list of people who seem to have deep insights about the problem; we may be able to use them later in the “determine causes” step of problem-solving. <br /><br /><strong>Analyzing data </strong><br /><br />Data are recorded information, typically in the form of numbers or measurements. Paradoxically, some of the most closely held beliefs are the most flawed. The old quality control adage is useful to keep in mind as you define your problem: “In God we trust. All others must bring data.” <br /><br />Data generally fall into two categories: <br />• Primary data. These are data that are collected for a specific purpose, such as problem-solving. These data didn’t exist until we began collecting them. <br />• Secondary data . These are data that already exist. They have been collected for some purpose unrelated to the problem that we’re facing, but we can still use them. <br /><br />Whenever possible, you should make use of existing data (i.e., secondary data). It relieves you of the burden of collecting your own data and enables you to focus on the analysis, which will help shape your problem statement. Most organizations are not lacking in data; they just need to be located, organized, and analyzed. <br /><br /><strong>Photographing the problem</strong><br /><br />A photograph can communicate complex information at a glance. It can also put you on the scene of the action, in cases where it would be very expensive or logistically impossible to see the problem yourself. Even if you are able to see a problem first-hand, a photograph can help you communicate it to others in a way that words can’t. The beauty of digital photos is that they can be shared instantly, considerably expanding the range of problem-solving. <br /><br />When photographing a problem, keep the following points in mind: <br /><br />• Get permission to take photographs. This is needed when you are on someone else’s property, such as that of a customer or supplier. Some organizations are very sensitive about the presence of cameras. <br /><br />• Photograph from different angles and perspectives . Just as you want different viewpoints with your interviews, you want different viewpoints with your photographs. A photograph with an unusual perspective can often reveal a detail that gets missed by many astute inspectors. <br /><br />• Indicate the scale. Depending on the context, it can be difficult to know the size of something in a photograph. This is especially true with close-up photography. If there could be any doubt about the size of something being photographed, include a reference item (such as a penny) or a scale (such as a ruler) within the photo frame. <br /><br />• Use a tripod for close-up photography. Most cameras are prone to produce blurry close-ups unless they are held very still during exposure. An alternative can be using a flash, but this often causes reflections and overexposures with close-ups. <br /><br />Use a variety of methods to define your problem. Mix and match them with the objective of writing a problem statement that truly defines the obstacle. The output of this step serves as the input of the next step, so do whatever is necessary to produce a good product. A poorly conceived problem statement results in an effective solution only by luck.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-65686820748944686792008-08-15T21:13:00.000-07:002008-08-15T21:21:06.832-07:00High Impact Auditing<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMil1bnMi1WrNpDmE11WA1D-XxbdDoO3DTpOHjP-67VegKNXXJQ5nquLqmGFEbQC8RN1vuG7hSzTOba9TpeIXLdrF9ffoTdQfWzal5NrSKkGmoqyzBatnKbKjeAi4fkMAWuZ5IhqLW7UA/s1600-h/High_Impact-Intro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMil1bnMi1WrNpDmE11WA1D-XxbdDoO3DTpOHjP-67VegKNXXJQ5nquLqmGFEbQC8RN1vuG7hSzTOba9TpeIXLdrF9ffoTdQfWzal5NrSKkGmoqyzBatnKbKjeAi4fkMAWuZ5IhqLW7UA/s400/High_Impact-Intro.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234965591349524418" /></a><br />Internal auditing, the process by which an organization examines its ability to meet internal and external requirements, can be one of the most effective tools for triggering continual improvement. It can also be an expensive waste of time and a source of endless frustration and conflict. Which it becomes for you depends on how your organization plans and manages its audit system. <br /><br />Auditing is not only a balancing act--identifying positive and negative aspects of a company’s performance--but also a planned activity, with auditors and auditees agreeing on the audit’s time, place and scope. Surprise audits are neither necessary nor desired. Internal audits generally use an organization’s existing personnel for the task, although outsiders are occasionally called in. <br /><br />Internal audits offer huge benefits, both to the organization’s top management and the auditors. Top managers can:<br />* Discover what’s really going on within the organization, which allows for more objective decision making <br />* Learn of potential problems before they explode into issues that pose significant risk to the organization <br />* Ascertain where failures occur, enabling the containment of these problems and initiation of corrective action <br />* Identify where resources should be directed <br />* Determine how effective their training efforts are <br />* Learn which processes and personnel are particularly effective, which can trigger recognition<br /><br />For their part, internal auditors:<br />* Gain exposure to other parts of the organization, which broadens their experience<br />* Are exposed to best practices they can implement in their own departments<br />* Learn how they contribute to the organization’s success, which increases motivation and employee retention <br />* Expand the organization’s competency and knowledge base through their experience <br /><br />An effective internal audit system must work in concert with other systems, especially corrective and preventive action. An internal audit takes a snapshot of the organization, identifying nonconformities, opportunities for improvement and positive practices. Auditors don’t propose specific actions, fixes, solutions or recommendations. They simply identify where failures and successes occur. By their nature, audits typically identify more failures than successes, and these failures are called audit nonconformities. <br /><br /><strong>Requirements vs. opinions</strong><br /><br />To identify a nonconformity, a requirement is needed. You might have a concern, remark or opportunity, but it’s not a nonconformity unless it’s clearly tied to a requirement, a fact that’s often overlooked.<br /><br />Any activity, process or outcome that doesn’t meet requirements is a nonconformity. A number of sources, such as ISO 9001, inspection checklists, purchase orders and product specifications, could introduce specific requirements the organization must implement. The auditor’s opinions, notions, philosophies and personal experiences, however, don’t constitute requirements. When people audit with an eye toward driving continual improvement, requirements are sometimes “invented,” albeit usually with good intentions. One of the best techniques for ensuring audit nonconformities are written correctly is insisting that they’re structured in two parts:<br /><br />Requirement--Exactly what the organization has committed itself to do <br /><br />Finding--Exactly what the organization has or hasn’t done that contradicts the requirement <br /><br /><strong>Objective evidence</strong><br /><br />Objective evidence is a factual recounting of what was seen, heard or experienced during the audit. Gathering this evidence takes the most time and effort. <br />It is recorded in the “finding” portion of the requirement and describes exactly how the organization failed to fulfill the requirement. <br />Objective evidence meets a number of criteria. Among other things, it’s:<br />* Not subject to bias or prejudice. Auditors can’t allow their personal feelings to influence their interpretation of the evidence. <br />* Traceable. As many identifiers as possible should be recorded (e.g., date, time, function, department, machine, customer, order number and product code). <br />* Expressed as simply as possible. Sometimes auditors will provide a paragraph or more of detail, thinking that more data will provide more convincing evidence. However, the objective evidence is best streamlined and to the point. <br /><br />Objective evidence is stated in such a way that the first half of the nonconformity directly contradicts the requirement. Enough detail is provided to facilitate traceability--but not so much that it overwhelms. Auditees expect concise and clearly written findings. <br /><br />Consider the following correct audit write-up:<br /><br />* Requirement: The general manager stated that all employees are expected to understand the facility’s key measures and how to contribute to them. (Note that the requirement comes from the general manager’s statements, which function as requirements when he’s talking about something under his control.)<br />* Finding: Three out of five employees sampled randomly in the shipping department didn’t understand the facility’s key measures or how to contribute to them. (Note that the finding’s language mirrors that of the requirement, stating exactly how the organization failed to meet its commitment. The sample size is defined, and the location is also identified. Employee names, however, are appropriately omitted.) <br /><br />Now look at this incorrect write-up:<br />* Requirement: All employees should understand key measures. (Note that it isn’t clear whether this is an opinion or a requirement. Where did this “should” come from?)<br />* Finding: Employees were ignorant of the organization’s objectives and strategic direction, and they were obviously unprepared to assist in continual improvement. (Note that here, the finding’s tone is subjective and accusatory. Sample size and other identifiers are omitted, which provides insufficient traceability.)<br />It generally takes a number of audits before an inexperienced auditor can confidently draw conclusions from objective evidence and write nonconformities clearly and concisely. Practicing the audit process with an experienced auditor is time well spent. <br /><br /><strong>The system, not the people</strong><br /><br />One of the best ways to understand the system and its effectiveness is through people: how they receive and interpret information, carry out instructions, produce goods and deliver services according to requirements, and satisfy customers. Nevertheless, an audit must always focus on the system itself.<br /><br />Some auditees might suspect that an audit constitutes a personal attack on their jobs, and auditors must be prepared for that reaction. They should calmly explain that the audit process is all about the system, put the auditees at ease and depersonalize the process as much as possible. If people are uneasy about the audit process, they won’t provide objective evidence, and the audit, in turn, won’t trigger continual improvement. <br /><br />Does this mean people never screw up? Of course not. But when failures are identified during an audit, they’re system failures. Very few nonconformities occur due to willful employee misconduct. If someone makes a mistake or fails to carry out a job step, it’s usually because the system is flawed and error-prone. Fix the system, and people will have less opportunity to screw up. <br /><br /><strong>Auditing strategic processes</strong><br /><br />Not all organizational processes have the same strategic significance. An internal audit system that’s oriented toward continual improvement will focus on strategic issues. Most management system standards such as ISO 9001 require that organizations schedule audits based on status, importance and prior audit results. This means organizational processes with more strategic importance will be audited more often. <br />The following audit questions reflect on processes that typically have high strategic importance:<br />* Customer satisfaction. What methods does the organization use to capture customer perceptions? How are data on customer perceptions reported and analyzed? Has overall customer satisfaction improved?<br />* Corrective and preventive action. Is there proof that root causes or potential root causes are being identified? Are actions taken to eliminate root causes or potential root causes? Are data on corrective and preventive actions reported and analyzed?<br />* Leadership. Has the organization determined its mission and strategy? Are organizational performance and direction communicated throughout the organization? Has top management led the review and action on key measures and other important information that indicates organizational success?<br />* Internal auditing. Do auditing schedules clearly reflect the strategic importance of processes and the results of previous audits? Does the organization’s management take corrective action on nonconformities raised by audits? Are the corrective actions effective, based on the evidence?<br />* Design and development. Are design inputs and outputs recorded and approved? Is progress against the design plan periodically reviewed? Is the design process’s output validated under conditions of application or use?<br />* Transformation. How is work planned and scheduled? What information guides work performance in general? How do employees receive feedback on their work? Do employees understand how their efforts affect key measures?<br />These audit questions are examples and might not be applicable to all organizations. Other processes could have strategic significance, depending on the organization’s nature and competitive environment. <br /><br /><strong>Training auditors</strong><br /><br />Many audits produce poor results because auditors haven’t received proper instruction or been given opportunities to practice what they’ve learned. The organization must invest the necessary time and effort in making its auditors competent and confident before they’re assigned an audit. <br /><br />Auditors must be familiar with:<br />* Practical interpretations of the standard adopted by the organization<br />* The audit’s purpose and how it drives continual improvement (i.e., by providing a balanced picture of the organization and triggering corrective and/or preventive actions)<br />* Phases of the audit and various activities within each phase <br />* Sources of audit requirements (e.g., the standard, procedures or sales orders) <br />* Methods of gathering objective evidence and drawing valid conclusions<br />* Diplomacy skills and effective interpersonal communication<br />* Audit role-playing under controlled conditions<br />* Writing nonconformities in the prescribed format <br />* Actual auditing with an experienced auditor <br /><br />Auditor training doesn’t necessarily need to be formal or even classroom-based. The style and format of training will differ significantly from one organization to the next. However, auditors must have a conceptual understanding of the process and a practical grasp of techniques, both backed up by sufficient practice. When auditors truly understand their roles and responsibilities, the process should result in strategic continual improvement. <br /><br />A successful audit almost always results when an individual takes personal ownership of the process. He or she must be able to carry out the following five complex and linked activities, which create strategic continual improvement. <br /><br /><strong>Audit scheduling</strong><br /><br />An audit schedule defines the auditing that will take place during an extended period of time, usually six months or a year. The purpose of the schedule is to communicate when and where the audit team’s services will be needed, when the organization can expect to be audited, and what requirements will be included in the audit.<br /><br />Audits scheduled far in advance always produce better results. Note, too, that the processes considered more strategically important to the organization are scheduled for audits more often. Processes and functions that have performed poorly in previous audits are also scheduled for frequent audits. Regardless of other considerations, all processes, functions and departments within the scope of the management system must be audited at least once a year. <br /><br />The schedule can be keyed to organizational processes, departments, functions, facilities, an ISO standard element or something else. However, it must clearly communicate which audits are coming up and when. Audit schedules should provide enough detail to guide the overall process and help with the next step, audit planning. <br /><br /><strong>Audit planning</strong><br /><br />An audit plan is focused, detailing a single audit’s scope, objectives and agenda. The plan provides a chronology of the audit from start to finish: which processes will be audited, exactly when they’ll be audited, who will do it and which requirements will be audited in each segment. Even details such as meetings, breaks and lunches are shown on the plan in order to clear up any timing conflicts between auditees and auditors and keep the audit on track.<br /><br />Typically, the audit plan is distributed several days prior to the audit. Auditees often request alterations to the plan based on logical concerns and existing commitments. By all means, modify the plan to accommodate them. The one variable that usually never changes, however, is the audit’s scope. <br /><br /><strong>Audit supervision</strong><br /><br />The audit’s on-site phase consists primarily of gathering evidence. The lead auditor takes part in this and also manages the overall process. These duties typically include:<br />* Leading the opening meeting <br />* Managing and communicating changes to the audit plan<br />* Ensuring that the audit stays on track <br />* Insisting that auditors remain objective, consistently evaluating all evidence<br />* Encouraging auditors to write up their findings during the audit to avoid a time crunch directly before the closing meeting<br />* Reviewing all nonconformities to ensure that they’re logical, valid and clear<br />* Providing performance feedback to audit team members so individuals can target areas for their personal improvement<br />* Resolving all conflicts constructively <br />* Apprising the auditee of the audit’s progress <br />* Leading the closing meeting <br />* Ensuring that the entire audit is conducted professionally and positively <br /><br />If these duties sound difficult, it’s because they are. Many organizations have ineffective audit processes because the so-called lead auditor doesn’t understand his or her responsibilities. An accredited lead auditor course is a very good investment for individuals who function as lead auditors for their organizations. <br /><br /><strong>Audit reporting</strong><br /><br />The first formal reporting that takes place during an audit is the closing meeting. The lead auditor presents a verbal summary of the audit, including positives and negatives. Depending on the audit’s size and duration, the closing meeting might last from 15 minutes to more than an hour. The meeting allows for back-and-forth dialogue between auditors and auditees. During the closing meeting, auditee management is presented with the written audit observations and/or corrective action requests, and these form the basis for discussion of the audit results. <br /><br />Subsequent to the closing meeting (and occasionally during the closing meeting), an audit report is presented to the auditee management. This summarizes the audit’s overall themes and trends. Usually it’s written by the lead auditor, based on evidence gathered by the entire audit team. The report doesn’t belabor every audit observation because these should have already been addressed during the closing meeting. Audit reports should be as concise and streamlined as possible. Graphics such as matrices and Pareto diagrams are helpful. <br /><br /><strong>Verification and closure</strong><br /><br />The auditee management is usually asked to respond to audit nonconformities by an agreed date. The response should include investigation into the root cause, proposed corrective action and a date when the action should be completed. <br /><br />The lead auditor reviews the responses to determine whether the investigation and proposed corrective actions are adequate. This is the first stage of verification. <br />One of the most important jobs the lead auditor and auditing team can perform is a careful scrutiny of auditee responses. Accepting weak investigations and/or corrective actions does nobody any favors and certainly doesn’t trigger continual improvement. If a response doesn’t identify a plausible root cause or propose a corrective action related to it, the lead auditor must diplomatically reject the response and explain to the auditee why it’s adequate. The auditee is the audit process’s customer and should be treated with the same respect that any other customer would receive. <br /><br />The second stage of verification occurs when the auditee notifies the lead auditor that corrective action has been implemented. At this stage, the lead auditor or a team member will verify that the corrective action has been fully implemented and the root cause of the original nonconformity has been eliminated.<br />Verification is sometimes performed by reviewing records or documents submitted by the auditee; alternatively, an on-site visit is made to review evidence in person. The nonconformity’s nature and significance will determine whether on-site verification is necessary. <br /><br />Once all audit nonconformities have been addressed with effective corrective action, the audit is considered closed. However, this doesn’t mean it’s forgotten. A high-level discussion of audit results is an important input to the business review process, and audit trends influence resource allocation and strategic decision making.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-82944765255377322582008-06-27T11:50:00.001-07:002008-06-27T11:58:06.244-07:00Improving the Quality of Leadership<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKWdN4oAEWXsi8VdhqsnDMcECXFTbHueEglx0mjjGLxkehjoq7onHgH9sSkT7FWsvxoSf5zAm1octPNn1g_jnrU6XN5r3XTdZtkxdwbKpHgePOdb1YN-_8wnTe27KYU8IIGCENz-O1Pc/s1600-h/Improving_Intro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKWdN4oAEWXsi8VdhqsnDMcECXFTbHueEglx0mjjGLxkehjoq7onHgH9sSkT7FWsvxoSf5zAm1octPNn1g_jnrU6XN5r3XTdZtkxdwbKpHgePOdb1YN-_8wnTe27KYU8IIGCENz-O1Pc/s400/Improving_Intro.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216635841057367410" /></a><br /><br />Leadership is the genesis of everything that takes place within an organization. From idea to launch, growth to maturity, decline to demise, leadership affects everything that takes place within an organization. Nothing is more important to success, and yet many organizations suffer from poor leadership because nobody understands what it is and how to practice it. <br /><br />How do we define leadership? It’s the process of influencing personnel, strategy, decisions and activities to fulfill an organization’s mission. To some, this definition implies that people in most organizations won’t have the opportunity to lead, but that’s a narrow interpretation. Everybody has an opportunity to influence business excellence at some level. The more people who practice leadership, the stronger an organization will become.<br /><br />Leadership is composed of four basic elements:<br />* Clarity--possessing a clear vision for the future<br />* Communication--passing along that vision in an understandable way<br />* Credibility--being worthy of trust <br />* Character--demonstrating the inner qualities that facilitate true leadership <br /><br />Let’s examine each of these components, see what they really mean on a practical level and figure out how to put them into practice. <br /><br /><strong>Clarity</strong><br /><br />The world offers countless variables and uncertainties. A leader can sort through these complications and point out a clear path to a company’s goals. As a result, people become less anxious about the future and more confident about where the organization is heading. Leaders can’t necessarily reduce uncertainty, but they can help others understand its aspects, which in turn will strengthen the organization to meet future challenges. <br /><br />A leader’s clarity can reveal the following to an organization:<br />* Unique ways of securing resources<br />* Opportunities for success<br />* Threats and associated risks<br />* Insight into competitors’ actions<br />* Internal strengths and the best ways to leverage them<br />* Constructive evaluation of internal weaknesses<br />* Helpful alliances <br />* How events affect employees<br />* Objective analysis of internal performance<br /> <br />Clarity is an analytical process. Leaders who possess clarity can see relationships and solutions where others see only confusion. Granted, leaders often receive expert advice on various topics, but ultimately they’re the people who draw diverse information into a coherent whole. A leader’s clarity successfully drives the organization’s strategy. <br /><br />The analytical strength required for clarity can be developed in much the same way that athletes perfect a skill. The requirements are the same for both: practice, hard work and discipline. Like athletes, leaders’ training programs never end. As long as they’re focused on providing clarity to their organizations, leaders must continually sharpen their analytical skills.<br /><br />As a leader, how can you do this? Here are some practical steps:<br />* Avoid passive activities such as sitting in front of the television. Passive activities slow down brain activity and encourage analytical laziness.<br />* Read a wide range of material and avoid falling into ideological ruts. Leaders seek out books that don’t necessarily mirror their own thinking.<br />* Question pronouncements of fact, especially when they’re asserted by authority figures. Leaders verify facts for themselves and draw their own conclusions. Skepticism and curiosity are useful tools.<br />* Strive for a constant state of learning. This doesn’t necessarily mean taking formal classes, but make a point of cultivating new ideas and deepening your knowledge of old ones. This keeps your mind limber and strong.<br />* Stay physically fit. Fitness reduces stress and improves clarity. Mental fitness and physical fitness are closely related for most living creatures.<br />* Become an active listener. Simply listening to what people say can provide a great deal of clarity in itself. People who want to impress others talk often; leaders talk less and listen more.<br />* Pursue creative outlets of expression. Whether you enjoy oil painting or hedge trimming, be creative in your recreational activities. Such creativity will enhance your clarity during normal working hours.<br />* Embrace unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations. Learn to conquer your fear of the unknown. Leaders are masters of dissecting the unknown and making sense of it--and they don’t scare easily.<br /> <br />Get into the habit of analyzing facts from a unique perspective, drawing conclusions and making decisions. Don’t allow fear about the risks and challenges facing your organization to paralyze you. If a decision you make leads the company in the wrong direction, reverse course. “It’s common sense to take a method and try it,” observed President Franklin Roosevelt. “If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” These are wise words for all prospective leaders. As long as you can learn from your mistakes, they have value. <br /><br /><strong>Communication</strong><br /><br />The best leaders are often known as great communicators. Communication is the vehicle by which a leader’s clarity is shared with the rest of the organization. <br />A leader communicates most effectively in person. Others are less likely to doubt their leader’s beliefs and commitments when he or she has the courage to voice them. Written policies, declarations, memos and e-mails can be effective but are best used as backups to a leader’s spoken words. <br /><br />As with other aspects of leadership, communication skills can be learned. A number of distinct attributes characterize effective communication:<br />* It’s smooth, but spontaneous. A rehearsed speech often comes across as stiff and bureaucratic. Does this mean public addresses shouldn’t be rehearsed? No. In fact, leaders should continually practice and sharpen their communication skills, emphasizing a natural, free-flowing style.<br />* It’s appealing to each person. Leaders recognize that an organization consists of individuals. Everyone hearing the communication will inevitably analyze it in terms of how it relates to him or her personally. Thus, a leader helps each person understand why a course of action or decision is important. <br />* It’s convincing. Leaders must really believe in what they say and provide specific examples. The message then becomes personal, delivered directly from the heart. Everyone listening to the leader will understand why the message is relevant.<br />* It’s free of errors. Nobody’s perfect, but leaders in particular must get their facts straight before they speak. The communication should be grammatically correct, coherent and factual. A wise leader enlists the help of competent proofreaders and fact-checkers before communicating.<br />* It’s concise. A smart leader keeps his message streamlined. It’s worth noting that Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, considered one of the most significant speeches in U.S. history, is fewer than 300 words long. Now that’s concise.<br /> <br />Some people never develop clarity, but communication skills can be mastered with practice. Study communicators whom you particularly admire. Note the attributes that make them great speakers. Which of their traits can you cultivate in your own communications? Overcome your resistance and take every opportunity to practice in front of groups. <br /><br /><strong>Credibility</strong><br /><br />Like beauty, credibility is in the eye of the beholder. One person might find a leader credible, while a different person won’t. Although neither determination is necessarily correct, both are legitimate because they’re perceived as such. Perceptions are facts--at least to the perceiver. <br /><br />Leaders must acknowledge credibility’s capricious nature. Because no one is capable of universal approval, wise leaders will aim for a credible middle ground by appealing to a wide audience. Results and behavior both influence credibility.<br />Nothing builds credibility like positive results. Leaders who can demonstrate success inspire confidence and trust in others. Positive results particularly impress when they relate to an endeavor the organization is currently pursuing, but a leader can garner credibility from an almost limitless list: new products, gained market share, games won, goals scored, donations received, legislation passed, etc. In fact, successful leaders often move from one field to another--for example, a trusted business leader who wins an elected office. Even without political experience, business success lends credibility to the new endeavor.<br /><br />Past results might get a leader in the door, but the ability to consistently achieve results sustains credibility. Leaders must take actions that produce positive results, and they must let everyone know about them. These announcements should be low-key, factual and generous in acknowledging others’ roles. The point is not to brag about achievements but to maintain credibility and prepare for continual positive results.<br /><br />Leaders’ behavior is constantly scrutinized. Every action is analyzed for flaws and errors that cast doubt on their credibility. Although this isn’t particularly fair, it’s a fact leaders must understand and manage. They’re held to a higher standard than everybody else.<br /><br />People have vastly different standards for what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Behavior that can damage credibility includes the following:<br />* Illegal activity. Sometimes even an unsubstantiated charge is enough to damage credibility. <br />* Sexual indiscretion. This includes extramarital sex, aggressive flirting, suggestive remarks and blatant interest in pornography. <br />* Recreational drug use<br />* Excessive alcohol consumption. Depending on the environment, even moderate consumption can harm credibility. <br />* Offensive or insensitive language. This includes dirty jokes, profanity, derogatory statements, insults and racist remarks. <br />* Self-serving decisions and actions<br />* Lying and spreading misinformation<br />* Inconsistent or unfair treatment of subordinates<br />* Indecisiveness<br />* Irreverent or sacrilegious actions<br />* Tattoos, body piercing or unusual hairstyles<br />* Frequent emotional outbursts<br />* Unorthodox hobbies <br />* Unusual viewpoints<br />* Flamboyant dress<br /> <br />Obviously, not all of these are equal in import. Some are legal issues, others moral or ethical, and some simply matters of personal choice in a free society. However, they can compromise credibility, depending upon the observer. Leaders must decide whether their behavior will harm their credibility. Some of the items listed are private issues, but keep in mind that they, too, can affect credibility. And credibility affects that most elusive of leadership qualities: character.<br /><br /><strong>Character</strong><br /><br />Character consists of those inner qualities that guide and motivate us. Strong character enables leaders to choose the right fights, make the right decisions and reach their goals. While credibility focuses outward on other people’s perceptions, character concerns internal qualities that only the leader and his or her closest confidants can really perceive. <br /><br />Like other elements of leadership, character can be studied and improved. It’s the most difficult element to change, though, because much of it is hardwired into a person’s psyche. Many leaders act upon character qualities without realizing it. Character resides in the mind and heart, operating on both conscious and subconscious levels. <br /><br />Character revolves around three basic components: leading for the right reasons, acceptance of responsibility and humility. Let’s look at each of these and explore how someone might use them to develop their own leadership abilities.<br />People have a wide range of reasons for wanting to lead, and not all them are good. The best leaders want to lead because they believe they can raise their companies to new levels of success and in doing so, benefit everyone in the organization. <br /><br />Exceptional leadership focuses outward and concerns what the leader can do for the organization. Of course, leaders are often well-compensated for their efforts, but the compensation isn’t why they wish to lead. They’re dedicated to excellence and improving the lives of those around them. Does this sound contrary to the way many leaders behave? Unfortunately, it is.<br /><br />Consider some of the right reasons for leading. These include:<br />* Carrying out a positive vision for the organization<br />* Reducing organizational risk<br />* Ensuring long-term survival <br />* Making improvements<br />* Outperforming competitors<br />* Removing obstacles<br />* Enhancing clarity and creativity<br />* Helping the organization’s mission evolve as the company grows<br />* Holding oneself to unimpeachable standards<br />* Challenging oneself to be the best <br />* Providing a positive future for one’s family<br />* Being a role model<br /> <br />Some of the wrong reasons to lead include:<br />* Stroking one’s ego<br />* Impressing people<br />* Getting rich<br />* Settling scores and acting on grudges<br />* Fulfilling a sense of entitlement <br />* Elevating one’s social status<br />* Enjoying special perks and privileges<br />* Benefiting a subset within the organization<br />* Helping friends at the organization’s expense<br />* Imposing extreme ideologies contrary to the organization’s mission<br />* Attracting members of the opposite sex<br /> <br />Only the leader truly knows the reasons for his or her desire to lead. Others can speculate, but all leaders must look within and honestly appraise their motivations. If they fall into the “wrong reasons” column, leaders must seriously evaluate their fitness to lead. When these negative motivations manifest themselves in a leader’s behavior, credibility is damaged. <br /><br /><strong>Responsibility</strong><br /><br />No greater responsibility exists than leading others. Many people rely on leaders and their ability to assess situations fairly and accurately. Successful leaders understand and accept this responsibility. It might sometimes require them to make decisions that don’t necessarily benefit themselves but that will benefit the organization. True leaders are no strangers to self-sacrifice. <br /><br />An eye-opening exercise for leaders is to list all the people who depend on them: employees and their families, suppliers, customers, stakeholders and others. Any leader who isn’t humbled by this exercise hasn’t fully grasped the depth of the responsibility involved. <br /><br />Leaders are responsible not only for the people they lead but also for their own actions. Many leaders ignore this responsibility, however, and become detached from the ethics of their own actions. In their minds, they’re bigger than life. Their actions become less important than pursuing their objectives. Failing to act ethically eventually derails them. For this reason, humility is another attribute that leaders must cultivate. <br /><br /><strong>Humility</strong><br /><br />Leaders are not perfect. Even the best have flaws like everybody else. This is a fact, though you wouldn’t know it from the way many leaders act. They’re showered with money, perks, privileges and praise, and they begin to think they must indeed be perfect to merit all those rewards. This means trouble. <br /><br />All leaders must have a healthy confidence in their abilities, balanced by a sober understanding of their own failings. A leader’s strengths won’t shine every day of the week. Leaders are only humans, not deities; they’re stuck down here with the rest of us. <br /><br />Leaders who lack humility will exhibit a number of dangerous traits, such as:<br />* Denying facts that run counter to their policies<br />* Reluctance to take advice <br />* Selective data interpretation<br />* Exhibiting anger toward views that challenge their own<br />* Unwillingness to change course, even when evidence suggests the need to do so <br />* Cultivating sycophants<br />* Discouraging risk-taking and the entrepreneurial spirit<br />* Willingness to lie and deceive in order to bolster their positions<br />* Inability to laugh at themselves <br />* Lack of accountability for their own behavior<br /> <br />Leaders who lack humility will eventually destroy their organizations. In the short term, they might propel their companies to outrageous heights, but inevitably hubris will plunge them, and those counting on them, into chaos. Mark Mendenhall of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga refers to this phenomenon as the “Icarus paradox,” after the figure in Greek mythology whose wax wings melted when he flew too close to the sun. All leaders must fear the sun’s effects on their own wax wings. <br /><br />Hubris is a poison that spreads from the leader and infects the entire organization. Smart, independent-thinking people defect, leaving only “true believers” or those too tired to fight. The healthy dynamic of dialogue and debate disappears, and the organization becomes stilted and inflexible. <br /><br />Every leader must guard against this. How? Luckily, the same activities that breed clarity also tend to generate humility. True wisdom, which is the pinnacle of clarity, recognizes how little one really knows. When a leader begins to perceive this, humility follows naturally. <br /><br /><strong>The leader’s journey</strong><br /><br />Leadership represents a lifelong journey. It must be pursued with discipline, persistence and great personal strength. Mastering clarity, communication, credibility and character are the necessary first steps. Integrate these qualities into the activities you face daily. If you consistently practice them, you’ll grow into a true leader, and your organization will achieve many of its goals as a result.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-33835408811100952362008-06-06T06:56:00.001-07:002008-06-27T11:58:43.477-07:00ISO 9001 in Plain English<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhliJjQDAEN0bzRv2lS8zJ7gkwG3tuk7UTAsgtaFkdiMFOg2kfj8SUUpjoEDVzazUOg1nnQDtYpYyOrPCBVs29GseUuN7hFRV7csmvF9TWrx3Rjfch16mLkQmMMn71ixnYVdEowQnqBLYo/s1600-h/ISO+9001+in+Plain+English+Cover+(with+border).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhliJjQDAEN0bzRv2lS8zJ7gkwG3tuk7UTAsgtaFkdiMFOg2kfj8SUUpjoEDVzazUOg1nnQDtYpYyOrPCBVs29GseUuN7hFRV7csmvF9TWrx3Rjfch16mLkQmMMn71ixnYVdEowQnqBLYo/s400/ISO+9001+in+Plain+English+Cover+(with+border).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208767307994658578" /></a><br /><strong>New Book Translates International Quality Standards into Plain English</strong><br /><br />Buy it <a href="http://www.patonprofessional.com/pm-135-1-iso-9001-in-plain-english.aspx">HERE</a><br /><br />Although international quality standards were written to apply to a wide variety of organizations worldwide, many companies have a difficult time interpreting them. To address this problem, Craig Cochran, the north Atlanta region manager for Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, has written a new book, ISO 9001: In Plain English (Paton Press, 2008).<br /><br />“To make the international standards applicable to everybody, they are not particularly applicable to anybody,” he noted. “The words and phrases used are not typically those that workers are accustomed to using. If you don’t have extensive experience interpreting international standards, putting them to use in your own company can be very difficult.”<br /><br />ISO 9001 is an international quality management system standard that presents fundamental management and quality assurance practices applicable to any organization. The generic requirements of the standard represent an excellent foundation of planning, control and improvement for just about any enterprise. Companies that are ISO 9001 certified have a demonstrated baseline of managerial discipline and control, and, according to Cochran, they also have higher rates of customer satisfaction.<br /><br />The newly-released book is targeted toward anybody who has to implement or audit within an ISO 9001 management system. After a 20-year career in quality, Cochran wrote the book to share some of his experiences in implementing quality systems.<br /><br />“People interpret ISO 9001 in diverse ways, including those that are often just plain wrong. Because I’ve been working with the ISO 9001 standard since 1988, I thought people might benefit from my experiences,” he said. “I have assisted in implementing ISO 9001 in nearly one thousand organizations, ranging in size from two to 20,000 people, and in every imaginable industry.”<br /><br />Cochran’s book includes sections on process approach, relationship with ISO 9004 (a standard on continual improvement), compatibility with other management systems, application, vocabulary and definitions, general requirements, management responsibility, resource management, product realization, and measurement, analysis and improvement. For additional information about this book or Georgia Tech’s quality services, please contact Craig Cochran (678-699-1690); E-mail: (craig.cochran AT innovate.gatech.edu).<br /><br />About the Enterprise Innovation Institute: <br />The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.<br />http://innovate.gatech.edu<br /><br />Press release writer: Nancy Fullbright<br /><br />Buy the book <a href="http://www.patonprofessional.com/pm-135-1-iso-9001-in-plain-english.aspx">HERE</a>Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-9173325928063946682008-05-12T19:25:00.000-07:002008-05-12T19:31:12.926-07:00Sound the Alarm!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxT-xow6OhPSvxz19eUIh0WxYUF24iov4kyAflN-TD_FvNlAXLyzLhRhWYELrSOH_cf1yUHKBmXvDe5tetTMgz8d_0YhXnlWBAim0_PFpkQ0NG3l7uMmft4tWAB4wJe789pUWpRZfgUDk/s1600-h/GraphicFromArticle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxT-xow6OhPSvxz19eUIh0WxYUF24iov4kyAflN-TD_FvNlAXLyzLhRhWYELrSOH_cf1yUHKBmXvDe5tetTMgz8d_0YhXnlWBAim0_PFpkQ0NG3l7uMmft4tWAB4wJe789pUWpRZfgUDk/s400/GraphicFromArticle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199683124592139218" /></a><br /><br />It's odd to think of complaints as customer satisfaction tools. After all, they indicate the polar opposite of customer satisfaction, don't they? But that's exactly the point: An effective complaint system is your customer satisfaction warning signal. Imagine a big red light mounted on the wall of your conference room. When a customer complains, the light blinks a glaring shade of crimson as a deafening buzzer blares. This is how your complaint system should function.<br /><br />Complaints communicate customer perceptions, and perceptions compose the largest determinant of customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, however, complaint systems are completely reactive: You're not reaching out to your customer--you're relying on the customer to reach out to you. This is a risky proposition. Many customers simply aren't going to take the time to lodge a complaint. They may believe their time is too valuable, might not have confidence in your ability to solve the problem, have decided to take their business elsewhere or have a hundred other reasons not to complain. For every complaint your organization receives, there may be four or five others you'll never know about.<br /><br />Because of its reactive nature, a complaint system should be used in combination with one or two proactive tools. These extend an organization's tentacles deep into the environment, while the complaint system acts as the last line of defense. If the proactive systems are effective, you'll hear about many issues long before they escalate to a complaint. But the complaint system will still exist--a monolith guarding the entrance to your customer satisfaction realm.<br /><br /><strong>Point of contact</strong> <br /><br />An effective complaint system must be easily accessible to your customers. A single toll-free phone number is typically the best mode of contact, even if your organization is a large multifacility company. Don't confuse your customers with instructions such as: "If you're calling about our outdoor recreation products, dial the Chuckamucka facility. If you're calling about our watercraft products, dial the Simpleville facility…"<br /><br />Provide one phone number for complaints, and make sure it's posted prominently in multiple places (e.g., the user's manual, the assembly guide, the packing list, the exterior box, the invoice or the thank you note). Make it clear to even the most casual observers how to call if they have a problem. Don't fret that you're treating your customers like children. They want to be treated like children, at least in terms of getting in touch with you easily. <br /><br />Customers stand a significant chance of becoming irritated when they call to complain. Don't put them on hold or send them into voice mail. They'll only become more irritated, and this will hamper their ability to communicate the details of their problems. Establish whatever staffing or infrastructure is necessary so that customers can speak to a real person. It's a good investment.<br /><br />Another communication faux pas is transferring a customer from one telephone extension to another. The first point of contact should be adequately trained and have the necessary tools for soliciting and recording the complaint's details. If the employee isn't able to carry out the task, take whatever action is necessary so that it can be carried out. Practicing complaint calls raises an employee's confidence and facilitates his or her ability to deal with the customer. <br />Although other communication media such as faxes, e-mails or Web forms can function as first points of contact for complaints, voice contact is still the best. Customers with complaints want to talk to someone, and fast. Speaking directly with a human provides assurance that the problem will be solved and everything will turn out OK. <br /><br /><strong>Empathy</strong><br /><br />Empathy is an important part of dealing with customers who have complaints. What exactly does empathy mean? Simply that the person talking to the customer understands the situation from the customer's point of view. He or she understands why the customer might be upset, is able to share some of the same feelings and lets the customer know that he or she would probably feel the same way. <br /><br />Is it appropriate to express regret because of the problem? Sure. The customer has experienced something unpleasant, and it only makes sense to say you're sorry about it. Saying, "I regret you had this problem" isn't a confession of guilt. You're merely saying what one friend or business partner would say to another when something goes wrong. However, the organization's representative should stay away from any talk about guilt or fault-finding.<br /><br />Empathy allows the customer to feel that he or she isn't alone in the situation. The customer has an ally of sorts, an advocate. Creating this feeling in the customer is critical to defusing any anger or ill feelings the customer may possess. Empathy is also the first step toward turning the negative experience of the complaint into a positive one and ultimately rebuilding the customer satisfaction that might have been lost. <br /><br />Obviously, the more upset and emotional a customer is, the more empathy will need to be applied to the situation. Everybody's communication style is different, but the essential message that most customers must hear is this:<br />* I can certainly understand how you feel about this situation.<br />* We regret that you were inconvenienced.<br />* We'll investigate this problem as quickly as possible and let you know what we learn.<br /><br /><strong>Getting the details</strong><br /><br />In addition to expressing empathy, the person receiving the complaint must gather the details. Exactly what went wrong? Allow the customer to provide a general description, then begin to sharpen the particulars. Typical information includes the following details:<br />* What was the exact nature of the problem? Generalities won't cut it. The problem statement must provide enough detail and depth to facilitate investigation.<br />* When did the problem occur? The date is certainly necessary, as might also be the time. <br />* Where did the problem occur? The state, city, plant, retail outlet, department, production line and machine all might be important. <br />* Who were involved in the situation? What roles did they play?<br />* What product was involved? What were the part numbers or service types?<br />* Were there any specific batch numbers, serial numbers or other identifiers that provide traceability?<br />* Was the problem isolated or generalized across all products?<br /><br />Consistently gathering this breadth of information is difficult without a structured form. Most organizations custom-design complaint forms based on their individual needs. Decide exactly what information you need to investigate customer complaints and take effective action; then design your form around these needs. Certain sections of the complaint form are almost universal, including:<br />* The person to whom the complaint is assigned<br />* The response due date<br />* The cause(s)<br />* The action taken<br />* A verification of action taken <br />* A closure signature and date<br /><br />Also make sure to include proof of follow-up communication with the customer as one of the requirements of the form, if that's something your organization elects to do (it's a very good idea). <br /><br /><strong>Project management</strong><br /><br />Each complaint should be assigned to a project manager whose job it is to assemble the necessary resources and ensure that all phases of the problem-solving process are carried out. This individual should have the project management skills to ensure that the correct people are involved and that they have the proper tools to address the problem. The project manager should also have the authority to remove barriers and motivate action. The space on the complaint report labeled "assigned to" is usually where this manager is designated. <br /><br />This might sound a little overblown to some people. After all, we're just talking about a customer complaint, right? Yes, but a customer complaint can be a very complicated affair. Consider all the steps that constitute a response to a typical customer complaint: <br /> Clearly defining the problem<br /> Identifying the root cause<br /> Proposing a range of acceptable corrective action<br /> Choosing the action<br /> Implementing the action<br /> Following up to ensure the action was effective<br /> Reporting the action and results back to the customer<br /> Updating procedures and other documentation as necessary to reflect changed methods<br /><br />More steps could be added, depending on the nature of the complaint; complex projects require a project manager. Think about the effective and ineffective corrective actions you've been a party to. One of the keys to the effective action most likely was assigning someone responsible for driving the project through to completion, i.e., a project manager.<br /><br />Effective project management of customer complaints includes at least three distinctive hallmarks:<br />* Clear assignment of ownership for each complaint<br />* A defined problem-solving method. This is a logical step-by-step process for addressing the problem in a lasting way. The eight steps previously outlined constitute a problem-solving method.<br />* Involvement of a wide range of personnel. It goes without saying that managers don't have all the answers. Organizations must use all their available creativity and intellect when customers complain. Executives, managers, supervisors, operators, trainers, technicians, administrators and troublemakers could all be drawn into the problem-solving process. <br /><br />Like a fire alarm, the best complaint systems swing the entire organization into action. The more people involved in the complaint investigation, action and follow-up, the more likely it is the organization will learn from the experience and not repeat the same mistakes. Team-based problem solving is a particularly effective tool for getting personnel involved. This doesn't necessarily mean decision making by committee, which is usually a disaster. It simply means that a wide range of people are contributing.<br /><br />The overall management of the complaint system should be assigned to a complaint administrator. This person has a number of important responsibilities:<br />* Supervising the input of information into the complaint database<br />* Routing the complaint form to the appropriate project manager<br />* Ensuring that fields in the complaint database are updated as investigation and action proceed<br />* Escalating the complaint when investigation and action aren't proceeding according to plan<br /><br />Organizations have a habit of assigning the role of complaint administrator to someone with very little real authority. This is a mistake because it may be misinterpreted as an indicator of how inconsequential the customer complaint system really is. The role of complaint administrator is a big one, and its assignment shouldn't be taken lightly.<br /><br /><strong>Complaint management software</strong><br /><br />Complaint management software can facilitate the tracking and analysis of complaints significantly. The software's complexity and sophistication is meaningless; the important thing is that the person managing the complaint system can determine the status of all complaints at a glance and easily convert raw data into graphics.<br />Many complaint management software packages can be bought off the shelf, and many of these are effective. It's often much cheaper and easier, though, for the organization to develop its own software tools. A complaint database can be developed in a matter of minutes using relational database or spreadsheet software. Complaint databases typically include fields for most of the spaces found on the complaint form. It's also a good idea to put the complaint database on a server, with read-only access granted to the organization as a whole. <br /><br /><strong>Justified vs. unjustified complaints</strong><br /><br />Some organizations have decided that it's a good idea to classify complaints according to whether they are "justified." This makes logical sense, but it's the worst thing a company can do for building customer satisfaction. If I'm a customer, all my complaints are justified. Why else would I bother complaining? If you try to tell me that my complaint is "unjustified," it's only going to make me angrier than I already am.<br /><br />Once the customer experiences a problem, it becomes the company's problem. Regardless of the fault of the problem, customer satisfaction has been affected, and action must be taken. Consider these scenarios:<br /><br />* The customer used the product incorrectly, and the performance was adversely affected; the complaint is deemed unjustified. But why did the customer use the product incorrectly? Was the application known prior to the sale? Were the instructions unclear? Is there any chance that the customer was misled, even unintentionally?<br /><br />* The customer says the product was damaged, but the type of damage described could only have happened at the customer location; the complaint is deemed unjustified. But should the product's packaging be improved? Should you provide guidelines for proper handling?<br /><br />* The customer said the shipment arrived late, but he or she selected the carrier; the complaint is deemed unjustified. But should you stipulate longer lead times when this carrier is used? Should you offer to contact the carrier on the customer's behalf? Should you assist the customer in selecting alternative carriers? <br /><br />* The customer said the service person was rude, but the truth is that he was provoked by one of the customer's employees; the complaint is deemed unjustified. But should you provide your personnel training in dealing with difficult people? Should you coach your employees in conflict resolution?<br /><br />In each of these cases, an argument could be made that the problem was the customer's fault. Taking this position, though, does nothing to enhance customer satisfaction, nor does it further the organization's long-term objectives. Savvy organizations will look for ways to error-proof their products with customers. <br />Of course, some problems are truly the customer's fault. When these situations occur, the organization might not be obligated to replace the product, provide credits or refunds, or accept returns. In all cases, however, customers must be treated in a diplomatic, cordial manner.<br /><br /><strong>Reporting back to your customer</strong><br /><br />Humans are naturally curious. If you give someone feedback, it's difficult to refrain from wondering what the person does with it. This is especially the case with negative feedback based on a purchased product. Customers want to know what action has been taken. After all, the customers had a negative experience related to something they spent their hard-earned money on. They even took the time to tell the organization about it. Now they're curious. What are you going to do about it?<br />If your organization is interested in turning the negative experience into a positive one, someone must take the time to report back to the customer. The communication should include three key elements:<br />* The results of the investigation into the problem<br />* The action taken<br />* A statement of thanks for reporting the problem<br /><br />Reporting action back to the customer closes the loop on the issue. It also lets the customer know that you take his or her feedback seriously and are committed to making improvements. In some cases, it can determine whether your organization remains a supplier to this customer.<br /><br /><strong>Implementation procedures</strong><br /><br />The following steps represent implementation guidelines for an effective complaint system:<br />* Determine what information is needed in order to investigate and take action on customer complaints. Build your complaint form around this information. <br />* Establish contact methods for customer complaints. Remember that voice contact is preferred by most customers. Test the contact method in various situations to ensure it works. <br />* Develop a written procedure for how complaints will be handled. Stipulate responsibilities, authorities, protocols and problem-solving steps, as appropriate. <br />* Appoint someone as the complaint administrator. This person will be responsible for inputting information into the complaint database and routing the form for investigation and action. <br />* Educate the customer on how to contact the organization in the event of a complaint.<br />* Train all employees in their roles within the customer complaint system.<br />* When a complaint occurs, use structured problem-solving techniques to address them in a systematic manner (Refer to the article, "Six Fundamentals of Effective Problem Solving," Quality Digest, September 2002).<br /><br /><strong>Communication about complaints</strong><br /><br />Complaint information should be one of the most widely disseminated topics in an organization. Trend data should be posted on every departmental bulletin board, along with the details of relevant complaints involving that department. Complaints, their root causes and eventual corrective action must be made topics of any regular communication that takes place throughout the organization.<br /><br />Top management should be the most knowledgeable about complaints. Business review meetings should include a discussion of complaints as one of the primary agenda topics. Top management should aggressively review progress on determining root causes and taking effective action. When this happens, the effectiveness of the overall complaint system increases significantly and customer satisfaction stands a chance of being salvaged.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-73676568182379625712008-04-23T18:54:00.000-07:002008-04-23T19:02:33.146-07:00Dear Boss<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwSxjBxU9ju90rOPkBfbQokXq0S_uSD8SDyV1xwHgl1wub5ZtI1gP8EJ9_qA6gBTFsY9b29OlA8nRvlPDudVAwoJoeZzKDm48egsmILFXAW8i-GkGLjsq8XIrFayvzWKXlAE9j-u4KeQ/s1600-h/DearBoss.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwSxjBxU9ju90rOPkBfbQokXq0S_uSD8SDyV1xwHgl1wub5ZtI1gP8EJ9_qA6gBTFsY9b29OlA8nRvlPDudVAwoJoeZzKDm48egsmILFXAW8i-GkGLjsq8XIrFayvzWKXlAE9j-u4KeQ/s400/DearBoss.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192626356710201826" /></a><br /><br />Dear CEO:<br /><br />I'd like to thank you for the nice pizza party you threw at our ISO 9001 kickoff event. Everybody enjoyed it and appreciated your inspiring words. The joke you told about the elephant, the preacher and the procedure notebook was very amusing. Your sense of humor is exceptional, especially for a member of top management.<br /><br />The purpose of my letter is to prepare you for the work we have ahead of us. I know how busy you are, and it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day issues of running our organization. However our new quality management system (QMS) is the way we're going to run our organization, and you'll be a key to its success. Your engagement in this effort will determine whether we use our QMS to become more competitive and customer-focused, or if it will be only a piece of paper on the wall. <br /><br /><strong>Chief, we need a little strategic planning</strong><br /><br />As you know, identifying processes is a key step in implementing our management system. Let's make sure we identify at least one customer for every process. Whether it's an internal customer or an external customer doesn't matter. What matters is that the people working within every process understand that they serve someone outside of their own little kingdom. Right now, some of our processes operate as if they serve only themselves. We need to drive a customer focus from one end of this organization to the other, and our QMS will help us do it. <br /><br />One of the key processes is strategic planning. ISO 9001 doesn't require strategic planning, but it's the logical starting point for a lot of things that the standard does require. Everything we do demands the high-level guidance that strategic planning delivers. At least once a year you should assemble your best and most diverse advisors and scan our competitive environment. What do our customers require and desire? How are these requirements and desires changing? As an organization, how well are we positioned to address the changing market and our ever-evolving customers? We need to match ourselves against the realities of our environment, identify actions that will drive us forward and implement these actions with a clear plan. This is the essence of strategic planning. If our ISO 9001 system is disconnected from strategy, then we have a serious problem. <br /><br /><strong>Ditto for objectives</strong><br /><br />Objectives flow directly from our strategic plan. They tell everyone what specific initiatives are important to our success. Please help us choose strategic, hard-hitting objectives. They should tie directly to our strategic plan, translating that document into simple metrics that everyone can understand. Because our strategic plan will be focused on better serving our customers, our objectives will also be tied to customers. Each process will have objectives that directly relate to the customers it serves. <br /><br />Resist the temptation to have two sets of objectives, one for the sake of ISO 9001 and the other for "really" running the business. We only need one set of objectives that everyone understands. Don't bother to call them "quality objectives" because that will only cloud the issue. Somebody might hear the term "quality" and try to narrowly define what the objectives may address. Our objectives should address how we drive success, period. <br /><br />As chief executive, you are uniquely qualified to communicate our objectives and their significance. This message could come from somebody else in the organization, but it's much more effective coming from you. Explain to everyone how each of our objectives affects our long-term success, and ensure that all employees know exactly how they contribute to achieving objectives. Above all, make sure that we all know how we affect our customers in our everyday actions.<br /><br /><strong>Which brings me to management review</strong><br /><br />You should strive to make management review your forum for reviewing data and making decisions. We're not doing it for the sake of ISO 9001; we're doing it to ensure our success. Management review should occur regularly and rely on timely information. If we already have top-level meetings for reviewing our organization's progress, then let's just turn these into our management review. It doesn't matter how we do it; the only requirements are that the review is your event, and we must cover the specified inputs and outputs. We can get as creative as we want. Management review should never be done just to satisfy an ISO 9001 requirement. The point is to review data, make decisions and become a more successful organization over the long term. <br /><br />Communicate broadly about all aspects of our QMS. We have a wide range of communication media; it's just a matter of using them. Take every opportunity to talk honestly to our organization about what we're doing and where we're going. Try to connect your message to the things we're doing in the QMS and how they affect our customers. Don't assume that we'll immediately understand. Be very explicit in your communication, and don't forget to allow room for us to respond. <br /><br /><strong>You rule customer feedback</strong><br /><br />Customer feedback is another key aspect of our QMS, possibly the most important. It's certainly the most critical data we receive. It communicates even more than our financials, which tell us only what has already happened and are poor predictors of the future. Not only can customer feedback predict our future, it's our gateway to long-term success. <br /><br />As our chief executive, you need to obsess about customer feedback. You should thirst for every bit of feedback we collect--positive or negative. Collect it we must because we can't sit around and wait for customers to call us. We need simple, concise tools for capturing feedback proactively. To collect feedback, let's use existing customer interactions instead of inventing new ones. Our organization already has multiple contacts with customers day in and day out, and these interactions can easily be leveraged to gather feedback. <br /><br />When customers complain, you should take it personally, mobilizing all of our resources to take corrective action. Not everyone realizes how critical customer complaints are, so you must remind them. Make it easy for customers to complain, and make it easy for us to fix their complaints. When customer feedback indicates something positive, find out what's causing the satisfaction. Share what you learn with everyone, and make it our new standard. If you're constantly asking about customer feedback, everyone will understand how important it is.<br /><br /><strong>Can you fix this?</strong><br /><br />Another thing to keep on your radar is our corrective and preventive action system. I suspect we're going to have difficulty motivating people to use these processes. Nobody likes extra work, and very often that's what these appear to be. Investigating and solving problems aren't extracurricular activities--they're a key job function for everyone. When problems come up or customers complain, you should say, "Let's open a corrective action." When a potential problem is revealed, you need to say, "Let's initiate a preventive action." In both cases, make sure that adequate resources are applied and that we follow through to completion. <br /><br />Very few of us have had training on problem-solving techniques. Can you fix that? Getting everyone up to speed on problem solving will be a huge step in our development as an organization. It will prepare us to take part in the corrective and preventive action process. You should participate in the training, too. You're busy, but you're not too busy to become a better problem solver. Your presence would also underline the significance of this training. If you're agreeable, I'll have a purchase order on your desk tomorrow for problem-solving training. Becoming better problem solvers is one of the best investments we can make. The better we are at problem solving, the better we will be at addressing the changing needs of customers. <br /><br /><strong>One word: training</strong><br /><br />That brings me to training in general. Training is one of our key processes for preventing problems in the first place. It's not optional. We don't have to spend piles of money and weeks of time, but we do have to train our people. I've worked for too many organizations where training was considered good to do if time and circumstances allowed. Once we got busy, training was abandoned. "Hey, we've got work to do!" everyone shouted. "Who's got time for training?" Then they wondered why customer complaints skyrocketed. It's simple cause and effect: Neglect training, and people will make mistakes. <br /><br />Here's a deal for you: We'll strive to keep the training lean, concise and relevant. In return, you'll frequently ask managers and supervisors how their training programs are going. Maybe you could periodically drop in on training to remind trainers and trainees alike of how important this process is to our success. You should keep yourself in a constant state of learning, too. Nobody needs training more than you, given the huge responsibilities that you face. <br /><br /><strong>Let's work smart on internal auditing</strong><br /><br />Internal auditing is a process you'll be involved with in the near future. You may never actually perform an audit (although it would be great if you did), but you'll certainly be an essential part of the process. A key role you'll play is making sure that audits are properly resourced. Insist that smart, insightful personnel are selected as auditors. Don't let auditor selection become an exercise in "who can we spare?" Invest the process with smart people, and the results will drive improvements. When audits reveal opportunities, ensure that we take corrective and preventive action. Our audits should focus on important, strategic issues. Ask how the audits are helping us become a better organization. Ask why our customers should care that we're doing audits. Help us keep our eyes on the things that matter, and audits will produce strong results. <br /><br /><strong>Boss, are you listening?</strong><br /><br />One of the final topics I'd like to talk about is trust. Please trust me when I recommend that we do something to improve our organization. It's your prerogative to disagree with me, of course, but at least trust that I have our organization's best interests in mind. Just because I'm an employee doesn't mean I can't have good ideas. Too many business leaders fall into the trap of thinking that great ideas have to come from outside the company, especially from someone with a briefcase and a business card with the word "consultant" printed on it. The answers to most problems lie right here within our organization; we just have to listen to them. The title CEO should be changed to CLO, for Chief Listening Officer. You'll listen to data, listen to customers, listen to competitors, listen to suppliers and, of course, listen to us, the employees. All this listening, combined with wise action, will ensure that we do the right things. <br /><br /><strong>You hold the key</strong> <br /><br />Finally, be aware that our QMS is a bellwether of our success. A failing management system is a predictor of much larger failure. If we let our QMS decay, become bureaucratic or too inwardly focused, we'll seal our doom. We must use our system to look outward and see where the market and our customers are moving. Your interest, involvement and leadership are the only ways that our QMS will remain viable and improve. If a piece of our system serves no purpose, have it removed. If we're not following our procedures, find out why. If something we do doesn't make sense, investigate further. The words "why" and "I'm listening" are your best friends. You have the power, through these words and your own innate wisdom, to keep us customer-focused and always improving. You hold the key.Craig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157717905892165005.post-58499791042673198602008-04-09T08:54:00.000-07:002008-04-09T09:12:38.108-07:00Building a Balanced Scorecard<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntedAlCWp-y1q0De7aBW8V-RxBsXCoPwcu1-NZ1P8JDieiqCbJ8IUUPas5BH6cxOfE7Bc7ATn8wt4ajXJqS7X37RrQf16u0VTCgMeoSckeZl3I7ENqOJKccMiD_FaA6cXPI9G8LniG8o/s1600-h/BalancedScorecardGraphic.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntedAlCWp-y1q0De7aBW8V-RxBsXCoPwcu1-NZ1P8JDieiqCbJ8IUUPas5BH6cxOfE7Bc7ATn8wt4ajXJqS7X37RrQf16u0VTCgMeoSckeZl3I7ENqOJKccMiD_FaA6cXPI9G8LniG8o/s400/BalancedScorecardGraphic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187275290731289954" /></a><br /><br />Most sane people wouldn't consider steering a ship by looking backward, but that's exactly what most companies do when they focus entirely on financial measures for decision making. The balanced scorecard, one of the most significant management philosophies of the last quarter-century, confronts that stratagem head-on with a simple core concept: Stop trying to manage your organization by financial measures alone. Why? Because financial measures always look backward. They tell you what happened last month, last quarter or last year, but they say little about what will happen in the future. <br /><br />Financial measures are important, but so are others. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, authors of The Balanced Scorecard (Harvard Business School Press, 1996), advocate the use of a balanced portfolio of business measures. What exactly is a balanced scorecard? It's a model of metrics, with four boxes representing different measurement categories. The four categories drive performance across different time frames: short, medium and long term. The intent is that organizations will analyze their performance across all four categories of metrics instead of just analyzing and acting on financial measures. Focusing on a balanced portfolio of measures will drive improvement over the long term. Anyone with any amount of business experience knows that financial success in the short term doesn't always translate into long-term success, and that's the underlying wisdom of the balanced scorecard.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAckhQS1fDIP-7oUxC83cd4SnVGZXSvIIQsOhCV49JOcieR36ibdAVwWYIkhzU-orxhQyOEdwJ9Wgpn2uDHqigjBWvjPBok2YXu4ZlADvU8L_g2EFirrd4x40L9gFuFlbHOTxKm8Xsvno/s1600-h/Balanced+scorecard+diagram.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAckhQS1fDIP-7oUxC83cd4SnVGZXSvIIQsOhCV49JOcieR36ibdAVwWYIkhzU-orxhQyOEdwJ9Wgpn2uDHqigjBWvjPBok2YXu4ZlADvU8L_g2EFirrd4x40L9gFuFlbHOTxKm8Xsvno/s320/Balanced+scorecard+diagram.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187276050940501362" /></a><br /><br />The specific measures that reside within each box of the balanced scorecard will be different from one organization to the next. In fact, one of the challenges of the balanced scorecard is in determining logical measures and getting accustomed to acting on them. Here's a summary of the four boxes and how they relate to one another: <br /><br /><strong>• Financial measures.</strong> These metrics drive performance over the short term because actions taken to improve financial measures show results quickly. Examples include revenue, profit and cash flow. Financial measures are important because they represent the immediate survival of the organization. They are usually considered the starting point for any balanced scorecard.<br /><br /><strong>• Internal performance measures.</strong> These drive achievement in the medium term because actions take longer to show results. Examples include efficiency, innovation and inventory turnover. Internal performance measures rarely show up on financial and accounting reports, but they indicate how well the organization manages its internal processes. Success on internal performance measures will have a direct, positive effect on financial measures, but the effect may take a number of months to appear. <br /><br /><strong>• Customer and marketplace measures.</strong> These drive success over the medium to long term because actions might take months or years to show tangible results. Examples include customer perceptions, brand loyalty and market share. Customer and marketplace measures look at success through the eyes of customers, a point of view that is often ignored or minimized. These directly affect financial measures but shift gradually over time. Once customer perceptions begin to move, their momentum is hard to control. This underlies the importance of having a strong grip on what customers really think and what the organization plans to do about it. <br /><br /><strong>• Human resource measures.</strong> These drive success over the long term because actions might take years to show tangible results. Examples include hours of training per employee, employee survey results and employee retention rates. Human resource measures are possibly the furthest removed from financial measures because they're often difficult to trace back to bottom-line numbers. But make no mistake---how well an organization manages its human resources certainly affects financial success. <br /><br />Organizations should try to produce effective results not just for next month but also next year and next decade. Actions taken to improve medium- to long-term metrics are investments in the organization's future. Other themes of the balanced scorecard include linking metrics to strategy, communicating metrics to all personnel and regular progress reviews. These common-sense concepts fit perfectly with the ISO 9001 requirement for measurable objectives. <br /><br />Are you ready to build a balanced scorecard for your organization? If so, here are some steps that will help ensure success. <br /><br /><strong>Involve top management</strong><br /><br />The balanced scorecard represents a significant shift in the way organizations gauge their performance. For this reason, top management must embrace the concept fervently enough to become its primary champion. This kind of sales job is no small feat. How do you generate such enthusiasm for a seemingly radical concept? Here's one path:<br /><br />• Describe what the organization is doing now, which is using financial measures primarily to make all decisions. Show how this has led to shortsighted decisions and mistakes. Make sure to be very diplomatic in how these problems are portrayed. <br /><br />• Describe the balanced scorecard and explain why it's superior to the measurement methods used by most organizations. Discuss companies that have utilized the concept and provide examples of the measures they used. Make sure to mention that the measures on a balanced scorecard are derived directly from the organization's strategy, which links them perfectly with long-term success. <br /><br />• Describe how the balanced scorecard could be used in your organization. Outline the strategic benefits to managing a balanced portfolio of measures that drive performance over the short, medium and long term. Explain how a balanced scorecard would remove the ambiguity and confusion that usually accompany the deployment of strategy. <br /> <br />Get top management energized by the concept. Having top management's ear can be very helpful. To achieve this, your sales job is actually twofold: You must sell the people who have top management's ear and then have them assist you in selling top management. The concept almost sells itself when presented correctly. Kaplan and Norton's book can facilitate your preparation, as can a number of others. If you've sold yourself on the concept and truly believe in it, then you'll be in a good position to spread that enthusiasm.<br /><br />Your best allies during this sales and education process can be your finance people. This might sound a little strange because these would seem to be the people with the most to lose from focusing on things other than financial measures. A smart CFO understands the pitfalls of managing for the short term, though. Use the financial leaders in your organization as sounding boards. It's likely that they'll see the obvious benefits of the approach. Once you have the finance people convinced, your president or CEO should be easy.<br /><br /><strong>Ask the right people the right questions</strong><br /><br />After top management has become engaged by the concept, someone has to do the dirty work--i.e., build the scorecard itself. A project of this sort will be challenging because the metrics of the past and present might not be much help. The starting point is the organization's strategy. What broad actions are you taking during the next year to stay competitive? The measures on the balanced scorecard will support the strategy, examining it from the perspectives of four quadrants: financial, internal performance, customers and the marketplace, and human resources. That means you'll have to go to the process owners and stakeholders who are tied to these perspectives. Typically, these are the people who are best prepared to assist in developing the respective parts of the balanced scorecard:<br />• Financial measures: finance, accounting, top management and sales<br />• Internal performance measures: production, design, quality assurance, engineering, purchasing and logistics<br />• Customer and marketplace measures: sales, marketing and customer service<br />• Human resource measures: human resources, training, health and safety<br /> <br />Note that top management is present in only one of these groups. This is so it won't unduly influence measures in the other three groups. There's no benefit to upholding the paradigms of the past when building a scorecard.<br /><br />The best way to engage each group is through a facilitated session during which you guide participants through an exploration of their own experiences and knowledge about the issues at stake. If the organization has a well-defined strategy, this process is relatively simple. What measures will support achieving the strategy? Define these from each of the four quadrants, and the resulting set of measures will become your balanced scorecard. <br /><br />The problem is that many organizations don't have a well-defined strategy. Some never get around to doing strategic planning at all. In that kind of organization, developing a balanced scorecard will prove challenging. Even when there's an existing strategy, it's often the result of "group think" or has little connection to the organization's practical requirements. <br /><br />I recommend holding a series of facilitated meetings with representatives from the four groups listed earlier. During these sessions, you'll guide the participants through a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis specifically focused on their functional areas. For example, participants in the customer and marketplace group will examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats through the eyes of their customers. The resulting measures will seek to maximize strengths and opportunities, and minimize weaknesses and threats, as viewed through their customers' perceptions. Here are some of the questions in each of the balanced scorecard sections:<br /><br />• Customer and marketplace SWOT analysis:<br />--In the eyes of our customers, what do we do especially well?<br />--What was our biggest customer service success last year?<br />--What problems do customers keep telling us about?<br /> <br />• Human resource SWOT analysis:<br />--What makes our people better than employees in other organizations?<br />--What employee skills and abilities could be improved?<br />--What skills and abilities do we think will be critical 10 years from now?<br /> <br />• Internal process SWOT analysis:<br />--What part of our organization experiences the least waste? What enables this efficiency?<br />--What efficiencies do our competitors have that we don't? What could we do to adopt these efficiencies?<br />--What's one process improvement we could implement that would put us ahead of the competition?<br /> <br />• Financial SWOT analysis:<br />--What financial assets do we manage especially well?<br />--What problems do our accountants keep telling us about?<br />--What financial advantages do our top competitors have we that we don't?<br />--What are the three most likely ways our capital could dry up in the next <br />five years?<br /><br />The full versions of these SWOT worksheets are available for download:<br />• <a href="http://www.qualitydigest.com/pdfs/SWOT_Customer.doc">SWOT--Customer </a><br />• <a href="http://www.qualitydigest.com/pdfs/SWOT_Financial.doc">SWOT--Financial </a><br />• <a href="http://www.qualitydigest.com/pdfs/SWOT_HR.doc">SWOT--Human Resources </a><br />• <a href="http://www.qualitydigest.com/pdfs/SWOT_Internal.doc">SWOT--Internal </a><br />• <a href="http://www.qualitydigest.com/pdfs/PMEWorksheet.doc">Proposed Measure Evaluation Worksheet </a><br /><br /><br />Each of the SWOT analyses will produce a set of measures. Not all the measures will appear on the final scorecard, of course, but at least one measure from each group will. The groups can trim their lists through a multivoting methodology (i.e., where each group member casts a predetermined number of votes) or through a more quantitative process. A tool called the proposed measures evaluation worksheet is also available at Quality Digest's Web site. Regardless of the method used to select your final measures, keep your list short. Having a punchy list of five to 10 measures will clearly communicate to everyone what matters most. If you adopt more than 10 measures for your balanced scorecard, the focus becomes diminished. People are able to concentrate on only a few things at a time, so don't overcomplicate the process. If your balanced scorecard is linked to your competitive reality, then it can be an indispensable tool to drive your long-term successCraig Cochranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16777183594743080932noreply@blogger.com0