Business Optimization – Workshop 1
Executive Summary Video
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Business Optimization is provided by Mr. Erickson MBHRM BSEE Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 24 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
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Learning Provider Profile
Mr. Erickson is a Certified Learning Provider (CLP) at Appleton Greene and has experience in management, human resources and production. He has achieved a Master in Business Human Resource Management and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He has industry experience within the following sectors: Construction; Consultancy; Consumer Goods; Food & Beverage and Manufacturing. He has had commercial experience within the following countries: United States of America, Canada, Denmark, and Japan, or more specifically within the following cities: Minneapolis MN; Denver CO; Edmonton AB; Nakskov and Tokyo. His personal achievements include: growing $12M business to $40M; implementing financial management control processes; training founder to be CEO; reorganizing operating departments that improved throughput and established performance improvement processes. His service skills incorporate: business strategy; organizational development; business systems; leadership development and financial management.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
This first workshop involves the top executive or Owner and his or her senior staff. The purpose of this workshop is to introduce this executive team to the components of the Business Optimization Process, referred to as the BOP, and to begin the first steps in implementing the BOP. The senior staff includes those who are responsible for the various disciplines within a company. These disciplines usually include sales, operations, distribution, financial management, and human resource management. Depending on the type and organizational structure of the company they can also include marketing, creative design, engineering and product development.
The BOP is mission driven. It is a corporate focused, team building process that teaches the types of skills needed to effectively improve an organization’s performance. It accomplishes this by training employees to systematically identify and solve the root cause of the problem that is most constraining the performance of the organization. It is a continuous improvement process that once implemented results in a higher level of satisfied customers and a more enjoyable work environment for the employees. These results lead to a financially stronger organization that brings long-term stability and better rewards and job security for everyone. The key components of the BOP include Systems Theory and Thinking, the Theory of Constraints, and Transformational Leadership principles.
The first objective in this workshop is to develop a mission statement for the BOP that is initiated by you, the Owner. This statement helps you explain why you are pursuing the BOP and provides clarity of purpose and direction for the organization during the implementation of the BOP.
Along with the BOP Mission Statement there needs to be a vision statement for the BOP. Whereas a mission statement clarifies the why, a vision statement shows the what. A vision inspires and challenges people to accomplish the mission. It is the vision that people grasp. Visions create the emotional energy necessary in motivating people to action. Visions let people see what it looks like when the mission is accomplished. Visions provide the realism and create the belief that accomplishing the mission is achievable. The BOP Vision Statement shows what it looks like when the mission of the BOP is accomplished.
Along with establishing the BOP Mission Statement and the BOP Vision Statement the participants in this workshop will begin to understand Systems Theory and Thinking as it applies to your organization. Organizations are systems and as such obey certain laws, have certain characteristics and follow certain principles that govern how systems function. Understanding these laws, characteristics, and principles make organizational change more successful. Therefore it is important that you begin to understand how the various parts of this organization interact and interconnect with each other.
In summary, the purpose of this workshop is to introduce you to the components of the BOP and guide you through the initial steps of the BOP beginning with developing the BOP Mission Statement and the BOP Vision Statement. Along with these initial steps you will learn the basics of System Theory and Thinking and how to incorporate System Theory and Thinking into your improvement efforts. Establishing a mission and vision at the beginning helps you tailor the BOP to the specific needs of your organization.
Objectives
1) BOP Mission Statement: Develop the BOP Mission Statement that defines and clarifies why you, the Owner are implementing the BOP.
2) BOP Vision Statement: Develop the BOP Vision Statement that expands the mission statement with emotion-based and image-based words used to motivate and inspire the people in your organization to accomplish the BOP mission.
3) Initial Announcement: Develop a written introductory announcement explaining in general terms that your company is beginning the implementation of the BOP.
4) Top Concerns: A list from each participant of the top three concerns the participant has concerning the implementation of the BOP.
5) Suggestions: A list from each participant of three suggestions the participant thinks the company could do to overcome these concerns.
6) Entropy: A demonstrated understanding of organizational entropy with a list from each participant of four areas in which the participant believes entropy is most apparent within the organization.
7) Inertia: A demonstrated understanding of organizational inertia with a list from each participant of two areas in which the participant believes resistance to change will be the greatest and two where he or she thinks it will be the least resistant.
8) Synergy: A demonstrated understanding of organizational synergy with a list from each participant of two areas the participant believes synergy is the strongest and two areas the participant believes synergy is the weakest.
9) Permeability: A demonstrated understanding of permeability of the boundary that separates this company from the environment in which it exists with a list from each participant of two areas where the participant believes permeability is the best and where he or she thinks it is the poorest.
10) Controllability: A demonstrated understanding of the controllability of the permeability of organizational system boundaries with a list from each participant of the top three areas the participant believes employees have the greatest ability to affect and the least ability.
Strategies
1) BOP Mission Statement:
a) A step-by-step process that guides you, the Owner in identifying your personal reasons for wanting to implement the BOP and using these personal reasons to create an initial draft of your mission statement for the BOP.
b) A step-by-step process that guides you and your senior staff is crafting a second draft of the BOP Mission Statement using your initial statement.
c) A process by which a few selected trusted and skilled employees edit this second draft that ends up being the approved BOP Mission Statement.
2) BOP Vision Statement
a) A step-by-step process that guides you and your senior staff in drafting the BOP Vision Statement based on the draft of the BOP Mission Statement.
b) A process by which a few selected trusted and skilled employees edit this second draft that ends up being the approved BOP Vision Statement.
3) Initial Announcement:
a) A process that guides you and your senior staff in drafting an initial communication message that gives an introduction of the BOP.
b) A process by which a few selected trusted and skilled employees edit this draft that ends up being approved for release to the rest of the organization.
4) Top Concerns: A form each participant fills out after the workshop after the mission and vision statements are approved. See Attached Form 1
5) Suggestions: The same form as above that each participant uses to list three suggestions the participant thinks would overcome these concerns. See Attached Form 1
6) Entropy: A form each participant follows after the workshop to review organizational entropy and to list three areas within the organization where the participant thinks entropy is the most apparent. See Attached Form 2
7) Inertia: A form that each participant follows after the workshop to review organizational inertia and to list two areas in which the participant believes resistance to change will be the greatest and two where he or she thinks it will be the least. See Attached Form 3
8) Synergy: A form that each participant uses after the workshop to review organizational synergy and to list two areas within the organization where the participant thinks synergy is the strongest and where he or she thinks it is the weakest. See Attached Form 4
See Attached Form 510) Controllability: A form that each participant uses after the workshop to review boundary characteristics and to list three areas within the organization where the participant thinks employees have the least ability to effect. See Attached Form 6
Tasks
1) BOP Mission Statement:
a) Prior to the workshop the Owner uses the process explained in the Planning section of the Introduction and writes his or her initial draft of the BOP Mission Statement and brings this draft to the workshop.
b) Prior to the workshop members of the senior staff work through the last part of the same process and bring their ideas about what they would like to see from the BOP to the workshop.
c) During the workshop participants will follow a decision making process and use a mission statement template to write a draft of the mission statement.
d) After the workshop three qualified and trusted employees will review and wordsmith this draft to help ensure that the mission statement will be understood and received positively by the employees.
e) The Owner will review and approve this version making it the official mission statement for the BOP.
2) BOP Vision Statement:
a) During the workshop participants will follow a vision writing and decision making process and use a vision statement template to write a draft of the BOP Vision Statement.
b) After the workshop three qualified and trusted employees will wordsmith this to help ensure that the vision statement will be motivational and inspirational and received positively by the employees.
c) The Owner will review and approve this version making it the official vision statement for the BOP.
3) Initial Announcement:
a) During the workshop participants will follow an example for an initial announcement and write a draft of the initial announcement of the BOP.
b) After the workshop three qualified and trusted employees will wordsmith this draft to help ensure that the announcement gives a general introduction to the employees concerning the BOP in a way that will be received positively and alleviate any potentially concerning thoughts or anxiety on the part the employees.
c) The Owner will review and approve this wordsmithed version making it official and ready for release.
4) Top Concerns: Each participant after the workshop reviews the final approved mission and vision statements and using a form (See attached Form 1) lists three concerns he or she has about implementing the Business Optimization Process.
5) Suggestions: Each participant after the workshop reviews his or hers concerns and using the same form as above (See attached Form 1) lists three suggestions that he or she thinks would alleviate or overcome these concerns.
6) Entropy: Each participant reviews the definition of organizational entropy and using a form (See attached Form 2) lists three areas within the organization where he or she thinks it is the most apparent.
7) Inertia: Each participant reviews the definition of organizational inertia and using a form (See attached Form 3) lists two areas in which the participant believes resistance to change will be the greatest and two where he or she thinks it will be the least.
8) Synergy: Each participant reviews the definition of organizational synergy and using a form (See attached Form 4) lists two areas within the organization where he or she thinks employees have the greatest ability to effect and two where he or she thinks employees have the least ability.
9) Permeability: Each participant reviews the definitions of boundary permeability and using a form (See attached Form 5) lists two areas within the organization where the participant thinks permeability is the best and two areas where he or she thinks it is the poorest.
10) Controllability: Each participant reviews boundary characteristics and using a form (See attached Form 6 lists to areas within the organization where the participant thinks employees have the greatest ability to affect the way the company operates and two areas where employees have the least ability.
Introduction
Planning
The first order of business during the workshop is to develop the mission statement for the BOP. The reason this is first is that it is important to set the stage upfront for why the Company is embarking on the BOP. It is also important that the mission be driven by the Owner since it is the Owner who has decided to implement the BOP.
In order to make the best of everyone’s time and in order to tackle an aggressive agenda it is important that the owner prepare an initial draft prior to the workshop. This draft will be the foundation for developing the BOP Mission Statement that will be used throughout the implementation of the BOP.
In order for a mission statement to be meaningful and effective it must be supported by the members of the organization. It must become a shared mission for those in the organization. The best way to accomplish this is to have multiple people involved in developi