Ready for Q4?

Q3 is almost over.....

Did you meet your quarterly goals?

Are you still on track to meet your annual goals?

James Sagar over at Marketing M.O. provides a great list of things to do (even if you're not in marketing!)

BOTTOMLINE: If you were working from an Individual Plan (IP) as described in Discipline IV. Work the Plan, you'd know exactly where you were toward meeting your goals.

What Differentiates Growth Champions From The Rest

The Mercer Delta Consulting firm looked at the 10 practices that statistically differentiated "growth champions" from all other companies.

It found that growth champions:

(For the sake of continuity, the appropriate discipline from Six Disciplines for Excellence has been inserted)

• Were very clear about their markets or businesses and where growth will come from. (Discipline I-C Renew Strategic Position)
• Articulated clear profit models that were well understood by managers and focused the whole business on a few initiatives. (Discipline I-E Define Vital Few Objectives)
• Engaged in the disciplined execution of growth initiatives at all levels of the organization and translated customer insights into new offerings and/or business improvements.
• Maintained strong metrics/feedback to identify what was or wasn't working. (Discipline IV-E Monitor Measures)
• Made effective trade-off decisions about which opportunities to invest in (Discipline V - Innovate Purposefully)
• Ensured there was sustained alignment of their leaders and actions to support growth strategies (Discipline III-F Align People)
• Built on their leaders' capabilities to grow the company from within (Discipline VI-D Review Individuals)

BOTTOMLINE: What set growth champions apart was their ability to implement (execute) these business practices in conjunction with one another and to pursue the practices with a greater level of intensity. The growth champions implement these key practices in a systematic way.

(Thanks to our friends at Management-Issues for the tip)

What Are Six Disciplines Clients Looking To Solve - Video

Watch this short video as Six Disciplines CEO and founder Gary Harpst explains "What Are Six Disciplines Clients Looking to Solve?"

During the interview, Harpst talks about the challenges that companies have as they decide to adopt the Six Disciplines business excellence program.

Who Is Six Disciplines For - Video

Watch this short video as Six Disciplines CEO and founder Gary Harpst explains "Who are the Customers for Six Disciplines?"

During the interview, Harpst talks about the kinds of organizations that are ready and able to adopt the Six Disciplines business excellence program.

Management Training and Leadership Development

Most American businesses don't understand the difference between management training and leadership development, and wrongly believe the answer to middle manager shortages is simply to throw money at the problem.

As reported by Management-Issues, a recent Bersin study found that more than half of American businesses say they are facing leadership shortages, primarily at the mid-management and director level -- yet often do not know what to do about it.

Other findings:

• Four out of 10 firms put leadership development programs in place simply because they are desperate to plug this shortage of internal leadership candidates.
• The best leadership programs need to be guided right from the top and not solely led by the training and development side of the business.

Bersin found that most organisations still confuse management training with leadership development. More than a third of companies outsourced at least half of the content of their leadership development programs. Just over a tenth – 13 per cent – kept all their programs in-house.

BOTTOMLINE: There is a big difference between management training and leadership development. "To be successful, the best leadership programs need to be guided right from the top and not solely led by the training and development side of the business. Successful initiatives must have strong internal executive sponsorship and engagement."

Gary Harpst Speaks on High Performing Organizations

Gary Harpst, founder and CEO of Six Disciplines, LLC, recently spoke to the Toledo Area Small Business Association (TASBA), on the topic of "Five Secrets of High Performing Organizations."

Thanks go to WTVG-Channel 13 Toledo (an ABC affiliate) which covered the event.

Here's a quick look at the event from their perspective.

How is Six Disciplines Delivered - Video

Watch this short video as Six Disciplines CEO and founder Gary Harpst explains "How is the Six Disciplines program delivered?"

During the interview, Harpst talks about the delivery of the Six Disciplines program through a growing nationwide network of local business excellence centers.

CEO Confidence Hits All-Time Low

According to a Q3 2007 Vistage CEO Confidence Index by Vistage International, CEO confidence has hit an all time low since their research began in 2003.

Key findings:

• Chief executives of small- and mid-sized businesses are becoming increasingly concerned about the turmoil in financial markets and the effects it may have on their businesses.
• The concern is not only about the economy, but also about the availability and cost of credit to their companies.
• Because of this, executives plan to put some of their planned investments on hold for the remainder of the year.
• One-third of all firms noted finding and retaining qualified staff is still the most significant problem they face.

BOTTOMLINE: Overall, the survey indicates business leaders expect a slowdown, but not a turndown in the economy. Companies still expect strong growth in their revenues, and have no plans to cut payroll. Just like the prior quarter, recruiting and retaining talent is the most important challenge executives face, although uncertainty about the economy may also slow hiring.

What Makes Six Disciplines Different - Video

Watch this short video as Six Disciplines CEO and founder Gary Harpst explains "What Makes Six Disciplines Different?"

During the interview, Harpst refers to other improvement programs (Covey, Baldrige, Six Sigma) and how Six Disciplines differs from the rest.

What Is Six Disciplines - Video

Watch this short video with Six Disciplines CEO and founder Gary Harpst, as he describes "What Is Six Disciplines?"

Succession Planning And The Aging Workforce

The times they are a changin'.....and it's looking like "60 is the new 30."

• According to data released by the Census Bureau, almost 1 in 4 people between the ages of 65 and 74 nationally - 23 percent - were still in the labor force in 2006, up from close to 1 in 5 at the beginning of the decade.

The good news?

• People are healthier, they want to remain engaged in the community, and they find fulfillment through employment.

The bad news?

• There are people who don't have the financial resources to live without working, and they need the supplemental income to make ends meet.

Actually a third factor is at work: the growing talent shortage in the United States (and other countries too).

• 70 million Boomers will reach "retirement" age in the next five years - and the numbers coming up behind them are much, much smaller.

Companies are more than willing to keep older workers employed for the simple reason that there aren't enough younger people to replace them.

BOTTOMLINE: Succession planning should be part of your annual strategic plan - and not just at the CEO level -- but all levels within your organization. Blending succession planning with a touch of contingency planning will enable your company to weather the coming aging workforce challanges.

The Symphony-Business Analogy

As one of the top ensembles in classical music, the Medici String Quartet has enjoyed a long and creative collaboration. But it hasn't always been harmonious.

Harvard Business School professor Robert Austin explains what innovative businesses can learn about managing creative people.

Key concepts covered:

• Businesses emphasize technical mastery and the creation of predictable patterns. The Medici String Quartet aimed for more. The goal of each performance was never to render a piece exactly as the composer intended, but to interpret it in fresh and new ways.
• Financial pressures for the quartet could be intense. Among musicians, it's an old (but good) joke: How do you become a millionaire as a classical musician? Start as a billionaire.
• Businesses enjoy the notion that innovation happens when everyone is happy and satisfied. As the quartet proved, harmony comes in unexpected ways.

BOTTOMLINE: The challenge of executing strategy sneaks up on us. In some ways, when we first start a business, there’s a kind of simplicity. It’s sort of like an individual whistling a simple tune he’s made up in his own head. As the business grows bigger and more complex, however, this person’s simple tune gradually transforms into a “symphony,” requiring an orchestra to play it and a conductor to lead it.

Unfortunately, many of us are caught trying harder and harder to “whistle a symphony” when we should really be building an orchestra.

An orchestra is a complex system made up of many different parts, all of which have to be aligned so their tempo, mix and volume all synchronize around the composer’s music and the conductor’s leadership. A business is an even more complex system. Continuing the analogy of a symphony, in Disciplines I and II we’ve written the composition we want to play (goals statement). Discipline IV—Work the Plan (coming up in the next chapter) focuses on actually playing the music. However, the purpose of this chapter’s Discipline (Discipline III—Align Systems) is to make sure we have the right “types” and number of instruments, the right musicians, the correct floor layout, sound systems, electrical services, music stands and
copies of the music before rehearsal starts.

Interest Grows in Workforce Performance Management

Aging workforce dilemma...challenges with knowledge transfer....lack of workforce engagement and accountability.

These issues are helping to grow interest in workforce performance management software.

In a report last year, IDC forecasted that worldwide spending for workforce performance management software and services would grow at an annual rate of 16.3 percent between 2006 and 2010.


BOTTOMLINE: The Six Disciplines System provides a holistic approach to workforce performance management - specifically for small and mid-sized businesses. The system helps organizations learn how to do strategic planning, goal setting, alignment of resources, initiative and project management, daily activity alignment, execution of plans, idea and innovation management, performance reviews and succession planning. In conjunction with the Six Disciplines Methodology, and local coaching, the Six Disciplines System supports workforce performance management for the entire organization.

Aligning Recognition With Strategy Execution

According to a recent article in Human Capital Management Magazine:

"A major new trend will affect corporate recognition in 2006 and beyond: aligning recognition practices with strategy execution."

In a recent survey, CEOs across America were asked to list their top 10 challenges for 2006. In response, these CEOs answered that sustained, steady top-line growth and profit growth were the two most important challenges.

No surprise.

But it may surprise you to know that No. 3 on the list is “consistent execution of strategy by top management.”

Intensifying market pressures are requiring companies to make very deliberate strategic choices about what they will be become. However, most organizations fail to implement their
strategy successfully.

Why? Because culture eats strategy for lunch.

Unless carefully cultivated, company culture is an underestimated force that will smother change efforts. If senior leaders are to be effective in driving strategic initiatives (change initiatives), they must engage their people."

BOTTOMLINE: "The the consistent results of successful companies are achieved through
thousands of small but significant actions."

Discipline II. Set Goals That Lead

No organization has the resources to do all things at once; goal setting by itself, it not enough.

The purpose of Discipline II. Set Goals That Lead - is to help organizations to formulate goals and initiatives that lead people to take action that is aligned with what's most important (Discipline I. Decide What's Important) to the organization

Well-defined goals are among the most powerful and effective communication tools available to any business leader -- yet most leaders don't know how to set goals that lead their people in the right direction.

While working on Discipline II. Set Goals That Lead, organizations produce annual goals that are clear and measurable.

Pursuing these goals will lead the people in the organization to align their activities with the Vital Few Objectives set in Discipline I. Decide What's Important.

The goal statements produced take into account past experiences, including previous measures and goals, as well as misalignments of activities and people (organizational mismatches).

BOTTOMLINE: The result of Discipline II. Set Goals That Lead is a brief company goals statement that every team member can understand. There's no greater tool for improving the performance of an organization than setting well-thought-out goals -- it's one of the most effective communication tools of leadership. But it takes a long-term, disciplined approach for an organization to learn how to Set Goals That Lead.

On Discipline

Often we're asked: "Why did you call it Six Disciplines?"

To many, "discipline" has a negative connotation.

An article here helps to understand what discipline is all about:

"There’s something to this, I think. Although it was necessary for us as children to be disciplined by our parents, it was often negative. Most of the time for good reason and with love -- for our safety and general well-being."

"Gradually, our parents disciplined us less and less and we assumed more and more responsibility for ourselves. However, others took over our parents’ roles -- teachers, coaches, employers, et al. As a result, discipline as a matter of practice remains essentially an external control for many of us. Sometimes I think even our use of Day Timers and other such systems are as much an effort to provide discipline from outside ourselves as they are to remind us of meetings and tasks to be done."

"Time management is all about self-discipline. And self-discipline depends on saying "yes" to ourselves to accomplish what is important to us. So, spend some time determining how your work reinforces your personal values, create your goals on that foundation, and keep those goals fixed firmly before you."

BOTTOMLINE: And so it is in business. Six Disciplines is about learning how to continually improve processes that reinforce the organization's mission, vision and values. It's about deciding what's important, setting goals that lead, aligning people, processes and technologies to attain those goals, working the plan, innovating purposefully - then stepping back and repeating the process annually, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily.

Six Disciplines is a holistic business-building methodology than enables organizations to continually improve, to learn how to work ON their business rather than just IN it. Want to know more? Read Six Disciplines for Excellence.

Management Tools for 2007

For the past fourteen years, strategy consulting firm Bain & Co. has been tracking the most popular management tools worldwide, including just about everything from strategic alliances to corporate blogs, and from benchmarking to offshoring.

This year's report outlines the major trends and examines some exotic newcomers.

In terms of the management tools used, here's what the top 15 look like for 2007:

1. Strategic planning
2. Customer relationship management
3. Customer segmentation
4. Benchmarking
5. Mission and vision statements
6. Core competencies
7. Outsourcing
8. Business process reengineering
9. Scenario and contingency planning
10. Knowledge management
11. Strategic alliances
12. Balanced scorecard
13. Supply chain management
14. Growth strategy tools
15. Total quality management

New MP3 - What Are The Six Disciplines?

Listen to this MP3 as Six Disciplines founder and CEO Gary Harpst describes the idea behind Six Disciplines, and as he describes each of the Six Disciplines:

Discipline I. Decide What's Important
Discipline II. Set Goals That Lead
Discipline III. Align Systems
Discipline IV. Work The Plan
Discipline V. Innovate Purposefully
Discipline VI. Step Back

Satisfaction and Employee Engagement

What's the difference between a satisfied and an engaged employee? Only everything, argues Globoforce, a Westborough, Mass., work force solutions company in this eWeek article.

Satisfaction is a measurement of the past; engagement is more future-looking.

Research to support this claim?

• A recent study by the Corporate Leadership Council, a human resources research company, found that increased engagement could be the "tipping point" in retaining employees; in fact, increased engagement was found to lead to a 57 percent improvement in discretionary effort.
• Furthermore, increased discretionary effort improved performance by 20 percent and reduced attrition by 87 percent.
• Highly engaged organizations grew profits three times faster than their competitors.

BOTTOMLINE: "Beyond a lack of recognition, unclear demands had a significant impact on the engagement of employees. It's up to the manager to recover this discretionary work enthusiasm."

Aligning Technology To Business Strategy

Bain & Company recently released some very interesting research on IT spending.

Some highlights from Bain's research on over 450 publicly traded companies:

• 85% of respondents characterized their IT operations as ineffective
• Bain finds that nearly one-in-two IT projects are considered partial failures upon completion, having gone over budget, past deadline and/or with under-delivered features and functionality
• Bain found companies whose IT operations were ‘effective’ though not aligned with business priorities grew ~10% more than average and spent over 15% less on IT
• Companies that focused on strategic alignment at the expense of effective IT operations grew almost 10% less than average and spent over 8% more on IT

BOTTOMLINE: Bain's research shows that CIOs who focus on alignment before effectiveness spend more, and their companies grow less, than those who do not focus on alignment. The conventional wisdom about aligning IT to business doesn't mean much without operational excellence.