Part 23 (1/2)

Theaccuracy It's a si to the priorities you've established? Or do you allow the latest need to send your priorities spinning? Do you allow the squeakiest wheel to get the attention? Do all of your plans get thrown out as soon as the first crisis occurs?

Of course, if a true e and solve the crisis But, do you find that there is always a crisis? Do you find that once you've overcoanization doesn't return to the priority list?

If your organization can't set or keep to defined priorities, then it will have a very difficult ti Prioritization not only provides direction, it also includes the identification of tasks, goals, and projects that will not be done To truly anization, like an individual,asked of it You have to make some hard decisions If you can't, you may find that you accomplished a lot-more than you expected-but little that you truly wanted to do

The last quadrant we'll visit is the one ers want to start with-Process Health, which is shown in Figure 11-4

Process Health

The last quadrant you should tackle is Process Health, Quadrant 2

Figure 11-4 Quadrant 2 of the Answer Key

Concepts

So you've stuck it out and are finally going to have an opportunity to play with efficiency measures Or perhaps you've skipped to this portion because you must have them Process health measures are the most risky because they are the easiest to abuse It is the equivalent of a coach having statistics on each player's productivity Like knowing the batting average of your players against each pitcher they will face in the upcoa it's been since they ate last Let's ful and say you also have data for howit takes, how the resources are allocated, and the quality of work, in all situations

But youto set your lineup based on data How about how each has performed based on what they ate What they drank What tiht before The day of the week And the list can go on forever And that's a problem

The point is simple While data, measures, and inforiven situations is usable, it's not truth I've already shared this, so I won't belabor it But understand that you can't avoid the job of the supervisor,at data No er can look solely at statistics to set his lineup You have to know your players You have to talk to them, ith them, and put each in a position to be successful

I use sports analogies a lot Not because I like sports (although I do), but because sports provide a great exaanization can function Table 11-3 shows a comparison of a sports team to a corporate team You can choose if you identify it better with a professional, college, or high school sports team-just as you can choose to look at the coanization

The analogy truly has no bounds You can take it as far as you like You can apply it to any aspect of your business Sports teareat examples of hoork teams function

If your work team were a sports teaer looks at statistics for individuals and the team, she uses these to improve each Her intent is to find ways to make the team as successful as possible She can use the data as a starting point for conversations about the player's perfor up to the needs of the position, she will most likely try to develop the player's talents The team has already invested et the player to perforo and have to recruit new players (I even like that fact that players are recruited and drafted-not ”hired”) A good er will do the same with performance measures He won't use thebehaviors He will use the information to ith the e her as best he can If, like the sports o and hire neorkers

Rereatest asset, then the hest potential Sports tealy

The hest potential

Process Health Measures

YouYou may want to kno much each person is paid per hour (even if salaried) so you can deter the company You may want to be able to sho much it costs the company for the annual picnic Or the costs of equipment, facilities, and furniture These measures are not the ones you need

Process health measures are about the process, not the people How iven process in the way it's done today? It's all about process improvement If you can find ways to improve a process, one of the anization, or society

So, how much does the process cost? How much does it cost for each of the steps? Feel free to include the hourly rate of the e it-to iood at s Besides cost, you'll findit takes to perfor does your custo does it take for you to perfory) is based on flow and defect removal Flow is all about how the process s, stockpiles of inventory, or lost time? Does it take you days to complete a process that in actual hands-on time takes only hours? How ma level, 34 defects per million opportunities) All methods use anization's processes

These are measures of quality Errors, rework, defects, issues, and problems are all words that fit under process quality Your job is to use the quality measures to find improvements to the process to reduce (and hopefully eli your workers It doesn't include ”pushi+ng” your workers to be ent To be fair, you may need them to pay more attention to detail, to be ent The difference will be in how you do that You shouldn't ”demand, cajole, force, or manipulate” them You should develop them

Resource allocation is another measure you can use in Process Health Besides the process steps, yousteps at the wrong ti more resources (money, manpower, or equip term You'll need to dissect the problem and find solutions that will stand the test of ti:

The number of process steps

The number of handoffs between departments Wait times The time to complete (by steps/overall) Touch time (how much time is active vs the wait tie Production Resources allocated (by steps/overall) The number of defects per opportunity The types of defects Process repeatability Is it documented?

Is it done the same way each time?

Is it tweakable?

Is the process under control?

The Process Health quadrant, like the others, can be a powerful and anizational iement will use the metrics to improve the worker (rather than develop him) or to influence behavior (rather than improve processes) If you are confident that these reat benefits Process improveanizational development efforts

Recap

Quadrants 2, 3, and 4 of the Answer Key provide ianization's overall health Each has its own viewpoint-business, worker, and leadershi+p-and each has benefits and risks There are other measures you can collect, analyze and use to build metrics The Answer Key provides a foundation and fraraanization's health, these advanceda data-driven organization The anization is not an easy one It requires patience and unwavering integ-rity on the part of leadershi+p, ement, and service providers