Action this day
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”Action this day" is the sticker that Winston Churchill would attach to documents in order to strongly communicate that he wanted something done, now.
The A.M.P. Management Program
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The AMP management program, first implemented at Seagate in the early days.
Read MoreRe-engineering is still good
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We have recently seen the re-emergence of re-engineering as companies search for ways to optimize and rationalize their operations in order to cut cost.
Read MoreThe failure of compartmentalized thinking
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A perfect case study in engineering management failure.
Read MoreIgnore Resource Constraints
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FTTM Planning is counter intuitive: when we initially build out a schedule, we ignore resource constraints.
Read More"Achieve the best result in the shortest amount of time"
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“Be quicker than the others. And don't make mistakes. Even if things fail, have the discipline to find a new way, rather than embarking on a pointless emotional journey."
Read MoreFrom target market to product definition using VOC
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Voice-of-the-Customer (VOC) process we applied with a client developing a new Greentech product. The product had the potential to serve many market segments and perform many functions. The question for the development team was; "which segment would drive 80% of the functionality requirements and where could they get the fastest and biggest bang for their investment?" The goal was to accelerate time-to-revenue. They essentially had one bullet in their gun and needed to hit the target with the first shot.
Read MorePay me now or pay me later...
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“We want to encourage everyone to estimate based on the time they think they will really need to do the right job on a task, not based on the time that is available.”
Read MoreUsing Force Field Analysis with a Decision-Model
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This is an example of applying Force-Field Analysis (FFA) to a cycle time reduction problem. The idea is that you remove resisting force to create change (i.e. movement), rather than working on the driving forces. Remove resistance rather than push harder.
Read More80-20 Rule
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20% of the projects generate 80% of the benefit. We see the Pareto Principle at play over and over again as we model NPD project portfolios with clients. Many times, 20% of the projects (i.e. the $'s) generate 80% of the benefit towards reaching an organization's objectives. This means that 80% of the projects fall on the “diminishing returns” part of the cost-benefit curve. Why still do them?
Read MorePrioritize Public Policy
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In preparation for a meeting with the then new Mayor of Sacramento, Kevin Johnson, we developed the following decision-model example, responding to the question, "Which combination of initiatives generate the greatest value, in order to fulfill the goals of the new administration?" This is somewhat dated today, but the concepts are relevant to any policy decision making, regardless of the timing.
Read MoreFast Convergence
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Decision delay is, many times, a result of the failure of a group of people to converge in time. Those "exactly right" people require a lot of information in order to make the decision. High performers we've worked with over the years require less information and therefore less time.
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Evolution of a Tech Startup
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We've seen technology start-ups evolve from a few people, when the idea is formed, to a larger group... and the subsequent loss of focus when this happens. The “focus-loss” translates into delayed market entry, which in many cases results in the loss of funding, and eventually causes the business to fail. I’ll also talk about ways to avoid this loss of focus.
Read MoreThree Types of Decisions
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There's 3 "types" of decisions: (1) Go or No-Go...(2) choose among available alternatives....(3) create alternatives (through brainstorming or synectics)
Read MorefastStarting Startups
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In this presentation I’ll walk you through a program we’ve been deploying with emerging companies called fastStart. It is based on the idea that the primary focus of the new venture is to get the right product to market at the right time.
Read MoreManage Strategic Changes
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This is a process for working with executive teams trying to solve transformational business problems--many of these problems are the result of recent dramatic changes in the economy.
Read MoreAsk the Customer
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Based on our research work with best-practice teams we’ve developed a 5-step voice-of-the-customer, or “VOC” process for aligning customer requirements with product requirements in order to determine what customers value most. The customer’s requirements are their “wants” and the product requirements are “how” you will fulfill those wants with your product or service.
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Trade-off Triangle
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I’ll discuss the idea of a “trade-off triangle,” involving three elements of a decision; a revenue source, what it is that you are trying to get done, and some form of value delivered to the customer.
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