StrategyDriven » Karen Juliano

Leadership Inspirations – Commitment

Karen Juliano — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:30:27 +0000

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses.”

Ken Blanchard
management expert and
author of The One Minute Manager

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Leadership Inspirations – Solving Problems

Karen Juliano — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:28:43 +0000

Albert Einstein is arguably one of the greatest problem solvers of all time. Whether examining a physical phenomenon or business challenge his thoughts on problem solving are timelessly applicable. Below are some of these philosophies:

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

“It takes a higher order of thinking to fix a problem than that which created it.”

and

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.”

Albert Einstein
Awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics,
Named Time’s Man of the Century in 1999,
and
Best known for his conception of the theories of special and general relativity

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Celebrating Our Second Year… Continuing a Trend of Innovation

Karen Juliano — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:06:45 +0000

July 1, 2009 marked the second anniversary of the StrategyDriven website and we have experienced considerable growth and innovation! Since July 1, 2008, we have tripled our number of registered members and have grown to a peak of:

1,035 registered members
9,107 unique monthly visitors
22,090 monthly site visits
69,519 monthly page views

Our website has also grown, now offering insights on strategic business planning and tactical execution through:

229 principle, best practice, and warning flag postings – covering 24 management and leadership categories
27 episodes of the StrategyDriven Podcast – ranked in the top three of all business podcasts during the last 12 months and twice voted as the number one business podcast!
20 Interviews
5 whitepapers
8 models and
the monthly edition of the StrategyDriven Newsletter – click here to sign up

As a community, we are fortunate to have had several of our members share their insights with us through posted comments including:

Mark Horstman, Manager Tools (www.Manager-Tools.com)
Todd Watkins, The Immigration Truth (www.TheImmigrationTruth.com)
John Bogard, Fountainhead (www.Fountainhead.org)
Kenneth Sawka, Outward Insights (www.OutwardInsights.com)
John Ringland, New Civilization Network (www.NewCiv.org)

Finally, we have been complimented by many reviewers and websites linking to us including:

examiner.com (www.examiner.com)
Small Business Trends Radio (www.SmBTrendWire.com)
EatonWeb (portal.eatonweb.com)
Cision (baconsblog.typepad.com)
Podcast Alley (www.PodcastAlley.com) – ranked number 1, 2, or 3 of over 2500 business podcasts each month and
over 100 other websites linking to StrategyDriven

Thank You!

The StrategyDriven family would like to thank you, our readers and listeners, for helping to make our second year even more successful than the first! We truly appreciate your time and your insights and we look forward to an exciting year to come.

All the Best,

Karen Juliano
Editor-in-Chief and
Director, Communications and Marketing
StrategyDriven

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Congratulations Jamie Cardenas, Lee’s Make History Winner

Karen Juliano — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:58:54 +0000

“The look in her eyes suggests a sense of urgency and of sadness.”

Jamie Cardenas
Lead Photographer
StrategyDriven

and

Lee’s Make History Winner for
American Girl

The StrategyDriven family congratulates our lead photographer, Jamie Cardenas, for being selected for the first edition of Lee’s Make History photo book publication. Of the 16,109 photo submissions from 90 countries, Jamie’s American Girl was one of only 101 images selected to receive this honor. In addition to being featured in the first edition of Make History, American Girl was placed on display in Milan, Italy and is now on tour throughout Europe.

To learn more about Lee’s Make History photo contest, click here.

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Thank You! for Making the StrategyDriven Podcast the #2 Business Podcast in May

Karen Juliano — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:05:03 +0000

The StrategyDriven family would like to thank you, our listeners, for helping us achieve the second place ranking from among the over 2500 business podcasts listed on Podcast Alley in May!

Each week, co-hosts Lucas Ives, Nathan Ives, and Howard Dickens present a richer and deeper exploration of the principle, best practice, and warning flag posts found on the StrategyDriven website. Their discussions identify benefits, define implementation methods, and provide examples to help leaders increase alignment and heighten accountability within their organizations.

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. With your support, our community of listeners and readers has grown tremendously in the past several months. Please help us continue to grow by recommending the StrategyDriven Podcast to family, friends, and colleagues who you believe will benefit from listening.

Additionally, please consider voting for us monthly on Podcast Alley by clicking here. Casting your vote for the StrategyDriven Podcast improves our monthly ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, grows our community.

Thank you again for listening to and voting for the StrategyDriven Podcast !

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The Advisor’s Corner – If I Don’t Measure, Can I Manage?

Karen Juliano — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:57:24 +0000

Question:

There are several axioms regarding measurement such as:

What gets measured gets done.
What gets measured and rewarded gets done well.
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
What gets measured gets managed.

Is it really true that if something is not measured it is not being managed? Not everything can be measured simply because of resource constraints and I would hesitate to assert that these areas subsequently suffer from management neglect. What are your thoughts?

StrategyDriven Response:

The short answer is no. Not measuring something does not necessarily equate to its not being managed. An organization’s limited resources dictate that only a finite number of activities can be directly measured; just as a manager’s limited available time prevents all activities from being directly monitored. But while these cliches do not represent an absolute truth, managers do need to recognize current realities in terms of defined future goals in order to possess the knowledge necessary to formulate their organization’s activities. Performance measures represent one very effective means of acquiring this knowledge on a routine basis with relatively minimal cost.

Therefore, a key manager responsibility is to identify those few performance measures that will best enable him or her to guide their organization in the achievement of the company’s mission goals in the most efficient manner possible. These measures must necessarily monitor the conduct of ongoing production work and support identification and implementation of improvement opportunities. Because an organization’s circumstances and the market environment change over time, the adopted performance measures will likely be changed and/or replaced over time.

Final Thought…

Since having no performance measures is not an option, the real challenge becomes determining what to measure in order to effectively manages while at the same time remaining within the organization’s constrained resource budget. Several StrategyDriven articles, podcasts, and whitepapers are dedicated to the topic of identifying the right performance measures including:

Articles

Podcasts

Whitepapers

Lastly, it is important to recognize that the reverse is not necessarily true either; having performance measures does not necessarily result in a process or activity being managed or managed well. Performance measures are simply a management tool without which effective management is difficult.

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Thank You! for Making the StrategyDriven Podcast the #1 Ranked Business Podcast in April

Karen Juliano — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:19:27 +0000

The StrategyDriven family would like to thank you, our listeners, for helping us achieve the first place ranking from among the almost 2500 business podcasts listed on Podcast Alley in April!

Each week, co-hosts Nathan Ives, Howard Dickens, and Lucas Ives present a richer and deeper exploration of the principle, best practice, and warning flag posts found on the StrategyDriven website. Their discussions identify benefits, define implementation methods, and provide examples to help leaders increase alignment and heighten accountability within their organizations. In addition, our special edition podcasts connect you with the latest in management thinking and practice application from today’s most respected business leaders.

Thank you again for listening to and voting for the StrategyDriven Podcast !

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Recommended Resources – An Interview with Joel Roth, author of The 20% Solution

Karen Juliano — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:04:49 +0000

The 20% Solution: A Practical Guide to Dramatic Cost Reduction in MROP
by Joel Roth

The 20% Solution: A Practical Guide to Dramatic Cost Reduction in MROP by Joel Roth examines how businesses of all sizes can effectively exploit cost-cutting opportunities in times of economic recession, increased global competition, and credit and cash flow distress. Within The 20% Solution, Joel Roth provides actionable advice and real world examples of how businesses can reduce costs and increase productivity throughout their maintenance, repair, operating, and production supply chains.

Additional Insights… An Interview with Joel Roth, author of The 20% Solution

StrategyDriven contributors recently interviewed Joel Roth, author of The 20% Solution; receiving many invaluable, beyond the scope of the book insights.

SD : In The 20% Solution, you reveal that MROP supplies only account for about twenty percent of the average organization’s overall supply budget. Why then should businesses focus their cost savings efforts here?

JR: First, because in most organizations, this represents a fertile area for cost-savings that have never been identified or exploited, while most other areas have been repeatedly mined. Second, this 20% of spend represents a highly disproportionate (about 80%) share of cost, time and effort throughout the supply chain.

SD : Joel, in The 20% Solution, you discuss ‘hard’ and ’soft’ dollar savings. What is the difference between ‘hard’ and ’soft’ dollar savings and why is it important to distinguish between the two?

JR: Hard savings are those represented by invoiced charges based upon price paid and quantity bought. They are generally variable expenses. Soft dollar savings are everything else including inventory investment and carrying costs, purchasing costs, accounts payable, and other administrative or overhead costs. They are important because they are fixed but hidden from view. Most procurement people tend to discount or scoff at the value of soft dollar savings because they are more difficult to measure.

SD : In The 20% Solution, you present several prerequisites that must be in place prior to moving forward with an MROP cost reduction initiative, one of these being an MROP database. What is the purpose of an MROP database?

JR: The database is the foundation for any effective cost control or cost reduction program. You cannot control or reduce what you cannot measure. Moreover, the database enables you to identify the greatest savings opportunities and set appropriate priorities.

SD : Two other prerequisites you discuss are goal setting and process feedback and control. What are some of the common performance measures organizations pursuing MROP cost reduction use and what target goals do they first establish?

JR: All goals should have these characteristics: 1.) reflect what management seeks to achieve e.g. reduction in costs, transactions, staff, errors, time, inventory, etc. 2.) quantify desired results and relate them to cost drivers e.g. cut maintenance spending by $10,000 per kwh produced 3.) be measurable against the database so that accomplishment can be determined and 4.) be significant enough to justify the time and effort to be invested.

SD : Joel, having met the prerequisites for an MROP cost reduction initiative, what are the critical, high level steps typically taken to execute the project?

JR: Management must back the program; responsibility must be specifically assigned; adequate resources should be allocated; and results should be measured against objectives. I would strongly suggest that key suppliers be made part of the initiative.

SD : You’ve provided readers with a great list of cost savings opportunities to assess in both the ‘hard’ and ’soft’ savings areas within The 20% Solution. As a bonus for our StrategyDriven readers, are there one or two additional areas you would recommend they explore?

JR: In the present economic climate, there are a great deal of assets being made redundant due to cutbacks, closings, bankruptcies, downsizings, etc. I would suggest looking for good used or surplus materials in secondary markets rather than buying new.

SD : Joel, you suggested that an MROP cost reduction initiative could be used as a developmental opportunity for an up and coming manager. Such a project certainly requires a leader to work cross functionally with the business’s many line and support organizations. What other developmental opportunities does an MROP cost reduction initiative afford its project manager?

JR: Most top management does not come from a procurement background and does not realize the significant potential of an innovative/change-driven procurement function to dramatically affect corporate cash flow, investment and earnings, as well as risk/reward relationships. Someone who can learn to identify, dramatize and communicate the benefits of such a program to top management can move much further and faster in the organization than is typical. This is addressed in The 20% Solution.

SD : Joel, your website, www.the20percentsolution.com provides additional resources for those seeking to pursue MROP cost reductions. Would you tell us a bit about the website and its content?

JR: If you click on the Resources Section of the website, you will find substantial additional insights into corollary topics such as innovation, changing the strategic role of purchasing and other examples of cost-savings techniques, as well as my availability to assist those who wish to pursue these programs.

Final Thoughts…

The StrategyDriven team would like to thank Joel Roth not only for sharing his time but also for his beyond the scope of the book insights on streamlining the MROP supply chain process. We found The 20% Solution to be particularly valuable because it provides actionable insights and real world examples for achieving cost reductions and process streamlining, both of which make an organization more effective. Additionally, Mr. Roth’s use of self assessments, performance goals, and feedback and control systems compliment many of the best practice recommendations found on the StrategyDriven website; all of which make The 20% Solution a StrategyDriven recommended read.

Joel Roth, author of The 20% Solution: A Practical Guide to Dramatic Cost Reduction in MROP has owned and operated ten industrial supply chain companies and is the current owner of Fulton Supply Company, an Atlanta based organization providing industrial supplies and MROP cost reduction consulting services. Joel is a former member of the National Association of Purchasing Management, a member of Affiliated Distributors and Industrial Supply Association. To read Joel’s complete biography, click here.

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Learn How to Achieve Enterprise Excellence at an Executive One-Day Seminar with Forrest Breyfogle

Karen Juliano — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:55:10 +0000

Competitive pressures are forcing executives to react faster to changing business conditions and customer requirements. Line managers and decision-makers need to have an efficient and effective system for day-to-day business operation with access to performance metrics that lead to the most appropriate activities.

In July 2008, we were privileged to host Forrest Breyfogle, Founder and CEO of Smarter Solutions and author of The Integrated Enterprise Excellence System series on the StrategyDriven Podcast. During our interview, Forrest shared his insights on using the Integrated Enterprise Excellence System (IEE) to improve business performance beyond that achievable through use of Lean Six Sigma or The Balanced Scorecard alone. IEE combines the best practices of earlier tools and methods, like Lean Six Sigma, with innovative analytical techniques to drive financial and operational success at the enterprise level and achieve the three Rs of business, everyone doing the Right things the Right way at the Right time.

And now Forrest is offering a one-day executive seminar where participants will learn how to implement The Integrated Enterprise Excellence System to:

increase productivity and eliminate daily firefighting and non-value add activities from business processes
sustain a consistent, high-performance team environment and culture
improve top- and bottom-line strategies and results in a fierce competitive and global market
improve the measurement criteria and report out of high-level business metrics
achieve and execute repeatable, strategic business plans

Seminar Details

This session is open to the public and complimentary for leading influencers and decision-makers. Please call (512) 918-0280 to determine if you qualify for this complimentary session.

Executive One-Day: Achieving Enterprise Excellence

Date:
April 28, 2009

Time:
8 am to 5 pm

Location:
Smarter Solutions, Inc.
11044 Research Blvd.
Suite B-400
Austin, Texas 78759

Contact:
(512) 918-0280

Pre-Registration:
http://www.smartersolutions.com/registrationform.htm

Additional Resource

Find out more about The Integrated Enterprise Excellence System by listening to StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 3 – An Interview with Forrest Breyfogle, author of Integrated Enterprise Excellence, Volume I – The Basics.

Additional Information

Forrest details how to implement The Integrated Enterprise Excellence System in his four book series which can be purchase by clicking on the following links:

Complimenting the outstanding insights contained within The Integrated Enterprise Excellence System series and our special edition StrategyDriven Podcast are the organizational performance improvement materials and resources found on his website, Smarter Solutions (www.SmarterSolutions.com).

Forrest W. Breyfogle III, author of The Integrated Enterprise Excellence System series, is CEO of Smarter Solutions, a global management coaching and consulting firm specializing in the design and application of innovative enterprise-wide performance measures and business solutions. For over 15 years, Forrest has advised company leaders and their teams on how to improve their organization’s performance through the use of his Integrated Enterprise Excellence System. In 2004, Forrest received the prestigious Crosby Medal from the American Society for Quality for his earlier book, Implementing Six Sigma. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the University of Texas Center for Performance Excellence. To read Forrest’s full biography, click here.

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Thank You! for Making the StrategyDriven Podcast the #2 Business Podcast in March

Karen Juliano — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 05:10:10 +0000

The StrategyDriven family would like to thank you, our listeners, for helping us achieve the second place ranking from among the over 2400 business podcasts listed on Podcast Alley in March!

Thank you again for listening to and voting for the StrategyDriven Podcast !

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