Improve to Survive and Thrive

8/14/2019 Improve to Survive and Thrive

1/27

Improve to Survive and Thrive

Private Companies Can Be Better Served Increase Your Corporations Value

My Turning Point in Business Leadership A Checklist to Really Increase Value Clarify Root Causes of Poor Communication Four Questions Spotlight Your Company's Needs Improve Business Education on the Job Edwards Deming and Simple Points Who helps your company? The Clearer, The Better Ideas Come to Life with Action Business Model Innovation The All Important Business Model

Empowering Vision Organization Must Align With Strategy Leadership Drives Organization Use a checklist to audit for improvement opportuni... A Companys Working Core CEOs Must Improve the Business More than Products, Services or Technologies Ask Clients Questions and Manage Expectations Collaborate to better serve corporate clients Academic Exercise or Real Results? Critique, Commend, Complain, Correct - Improve

Look and Listen Well Don't Get Railroaded by Thoughts Not Business As Usual, But.... Gaining Confidence Shine a Light on It Capital Structure and Brain Work Faith Overcomes Fear and Doubt Breadth and Depth of Experience What IS Improvement? The Physics of Improvement Choose to Improve & Chinese proverb

Private Companies Can Be Better Served

Many private companies, including closely held, owner operated, family-owned, currentor potential ESOPs, often plateau in the mid-tier range of $5-500M, 50-5000 employees.They have a bank, an accounting firm, an attorney, etc., but are typically not served aswell by a business improvement adviser.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/private-companies-can-be-better-served.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/increase-your-corporations-value.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-turning-point-in-business-leadership.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/checklist-to-really-increase-value.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clarify-cure-root-causes-of-obfuscation.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/four-questions-spotlight-your-companys.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/improve-business-education-on-job.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/edwards-deming-and-simple-points.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/who-helps-your-company.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clearer-better.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ideas-come-to-life-with-action.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/business-model-innovation.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/all-important-business-model.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/empowering-vision.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/organization-must-align-with-strategy.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/leadership-drives-organization.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/use-checklist-to-audit-for-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/use-checklist-to-audit-for-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/companys-working-core.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ceos-must-improve-business.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-than-products-services-or.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ask-customers-questions-and-manage.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/feasibility-action-progress.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/academic-exercise-or-real-results.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/critique-commend-complain-correct.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/look-and-listen-well.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/dont-get-railroaded-by-thoughts.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-business-as-usual-but.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-business-as-usual-but.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/gaining-confidence.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/shine-light-on-it.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/capital-structure-and-brain-work.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/faith-overcomes-fear-and-doubt.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/breadth-and-depth-of-experience.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/physics-of-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/choose-to-improve-chinese-proverb.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/private-companies-can-be-better-served.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/private-companies-can-be-better-served.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/increase-your-corporations-value.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-turning-point-in-business-leadership.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/checklist-to-really-increase-value.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clarify-cure-root-causes-of-obfuscation.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/four-questions-spotlight-your-companys.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/improve-business-education-on-job.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/edwards-deming-and-simple-points.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/who-helps-your-company.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clearer-better.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ideas-come-to-life-with-action.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/business-model-innovation.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/all-important-business-model.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/empowering-vision.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/organization-must-align-with-strategy.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/leadership-drives-organization.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/use-checklist-to-audit-for-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/companys-working-core.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ceos-must-improve-business.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-than-products-services-or.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ask-customers-questions-and-manage.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/feasibility-action-progress.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/academic-exercise-or-real-results.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/critique-commend-complain-correct.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/look-and-listen-well.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/dont-get-railroaded-by-thoughts.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-business-as-usual-but.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/gaining-confidence.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/shine-light-on-it.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/capital-structure-and-brain-work.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/faith-overcomes-fear-and-doubt.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/breadth-and-depth-of-experience.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/physics-of-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/choose-to-improve-chinese-proverb.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/private-companies-can-be-better-served.html


2/27

Edwin G. Booz determined that companies could benefit from the expert, impartialadvice of someone outside their own organizations. This led to management consulting.Arthur D Little, Accenture, Booz Allen, McKinsey & Company, The Boston ConsultingGroup, and Bain & Company advise leading corporations (Fortune 1000 companies forthe most part), but these consulting firms tend not to match the needs of the numerically

larger tier of higher-growth potential smaller companies with employees of 50 to 5000 orannual sales of $5-500M, whose owners tend to be more independent and distrustful ofoutside professionals who charge highly for their time, not necessarily for their value.

Michael Gerber/e-myth targets this tier with educational information. George S. Mayoffers a service that has been characterized as one-size fits all approach. Other serviceofferings come from Vistage, IIB, and a variety of boutique consulting and coachingfirms and individual specialists.

There is an opportunity to improve how to provide (for a more modest retainer plusvalue-based incentive compensation) highly customized value improvement services

especially for private companies in the high-growth-potential mid-tier.

Advances in best practices in some industries, e.g., Agile project management and Scrumin software development, can be adapted for much wider application in other industries.

In a time of increased government regulation, those dedicated to private enterprise havean opportunity and obligation to help our national and global economy by doing more toimprove the value of private enterprise.

New roles that help management teams and their private companies improve mightevolve out of improvements made in the traditional roles of members of boards ofdirectors, advisers, consultants, educators, etc., leading to a more hands-on applied rolewith their corporate clients.

Increase Your Corporations Value

I can help a private company CEO improve cash flow and corporate value. With anaptitude blending business, science, math, economics, psychology, coaching, etc.,experience with business turnarounds, growth, and improvement, and alertness toadvances in the world of business, I will share insights learned from years of playing thisgreatest game, to help a CEO do his best to reap the consequences of circumstancesand timing.

In the fog of war, it helps to have a variety of past experiences to draw upon. All cansee more clearly in hind sight than in the maelstrom of the moment. As a former CEO, Ican provide insight to help the CEO do better under fire. Accumulated wisdom can helpidentify the few most important decisions to be made out of the many - improvingleadership and organizational culture; trusting, but verifying; questioning collaboratively,challenging supportively; experimenting and failing fast; focusing laser-like on whatmatters most.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/increase-your-corporations-value.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/increase-your-corporations-value.html


3/27

I have worked closely with technologist geniuses, scientists, mathematicians, electricaland mechanical engineers, and a host of other professionals and all kinds of workers. Iam mindful of widespread opportunities for software and Internet enabling, but am notwedded to any industry. I offer fresh and creative thinking to almost any business.

My role is to focus ON the business, to improve how the business works, to improve itsvalue. People working at or in the business usually know where it hurts, but can use helpwith clarification, diagnosis, treatment options, and follow through to make things better.I will help the team get everyone more focused and motivated (incentives) to generatemore cash and increase overall value selling better, fulfilling better, improving quality,reducing costs doing more to bring out the best in each person, improving capabilitiesand contribution. I will foster thoughtful problem-solving for improvements in thebusiness model, strategy, marketing, sales, fulfillment, operations, products, services,quality, finance, and every other vital part of the business. I will help clarify and instill anupdateable improvement vision in the minds and hearts of everyone needed to bring it

about, for the benefit of all participants. Like in sports and medicine, vital core metricswill be selected to set goals, measure progress, and fulfill the vision.

The improvement vision may include one or more bold strokes, a series of vital drives,and/or many small advances. Effectively instilling the vision stimulates actions to fulfillit. Focused persistence on what matters most brings it about. Leadership can always beimproved, operations strengthened, organization developed and staff better trained,products improved and better ones developed, sales and profit increased, all to increasecash flow and corporate value. Putting combined insight and energy to productive andefficient use produces desired results.

As a facilitating, expediting leader adviser, I can help and get help to follow through toimprove things, to achieve goals, and bring about the desired vision.

In the process, the team will:

1. Review the business model, cash flow, P&L, balance sheet, etc. to pinpoint focuspoints, explore options, and follow through with positive action.

2. Clarify what is needed to improve confidence, credibility, communication, andinnovation for mutually improved relationships with customers, employees, and suppliersto increase the financial value of the company.

3. Connect the dots on how each person affects results, using practical metrics to achievegoals; improve business through better information sharing, problem evaluation, research,planning, target setting, incentives, etc. to fire better on all cylinders.

4. Clarify priorities and how better to organize and follow through to achieve them.

We will look for areas of frustration or vagueness, and other red flags, to clarify and


4/27

prioritize improvement opportunities.

We will spark initiative by asking: What would you change or improve? What help doyou need? Whats the next step?

Like a team of business doctors bent of getting the best results, we will start with carefulobservation, listening, questioning, and root-cause diagnostics, with an eye to preventionas well as cure, to achieve specific goals for greatest gain.

Each situation is unique and the approach must be customized according to discernmentof need and opportunity, based on combined experience and judgment, adapted tochanging circumstances and priorities.

My Turning Point in Business Leadership

After getting a Master of International Management degree and then MBA, I joined a

fast-growing computer company in Texas and was initially given assignments thatgroomed me for general management. One particular learning experience changed myentire outlook. Two higher level bosses took me along with them to meet with a Japanesecompany to explore a proposed joint venture between our Texas-based company and theirJapanese company. I was there mostly because my office was in the Bay Area where thefirst meeting was held, and my bosses had flown in from Texas, one originally fromBoston, the other from Texas - both had strong accents.

From the start the four Japanese men on the other side of the table looked at and talkedwith me more than my bosses. This frustrated one of my bosses enough that he askedwhy they talked only to me and not to the others, indicating I was junior to either of them.

The Japanese men expressed apologies for any offense, saying that they were morefamiliar with California English than Texas English or Boston English.

I was given responsibility for the liaison after that meeting. I tell this story for whatsubsequently happened.

We all went back to our respective companies for more detailed planning. My bosss bossassigned responsibility for this project to the general manager of our Fort Worthoperation, who in just over a week produced a "well written" plan for our American endof things and sent it to me to follow up with the Japanese.

As weeks went by waiting for the Japanese to get their act together my bosses grewincreasingly frustrated. After two months, I was told to tell them if you cant makedecisions, well find someone who can, etc. I was told to call it off with them just asthey finally submitted their plans. I was initially put off by how much paperwork theyprovided, feeling like they had made it all way too complicated. We considered our plansuccinct and to the point.

But the tables turned as planning was followed by implementation. Virtually everything
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-turning-point-in-business-leadership.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-turning-point-in-business-leadership.html


5/27

the Japanese had said they would do they did as promised or better, while our Americanend fell into disarray. The Fort Worth general manager had prepared his plan on his own.All that mattered was that his bosses had approved it. He had not involved the manyothers in his organization in the planning process. People were fired, and confusionreigned, and finally after six months, the Japanese told us they would go on without us

and ended our relationship. In a position to see this episode up close, I was embarrassedfor us and marveled at the Japanese.

In answer to my personal queries about why and how they did things, I was introduced tothe work of Edwards Deming. This was 1979 and I had never heard of him. But I wascaptivated not by his SPC so much, but his 14 points. I began to apply them in mybusiness leadership roles. Demings points turned me into a "turnaround specialistfocused on improving corporate value, not just making quick fix "slash & burn" cosmeticchanges.

A Checklist to Really Increase Value

Don't overlook the obvious. Eliminating whatever contributes to employee apathy, fear orcynicism will increase corporate value. Apathy, fear and cynicism can be caused by manythings, including inconsistency. Deming's 14 points:

1. Create constancy of purpose for continual improvement of products and service tosociety, allocating resources to provide for long range needs rather than only short termprofitability, with a plan to become competitive, to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

2. Adopt the new philosophy.We can no longer live with commonly accepted levels ofdelays, mistakes, defective materials, and defective workmanship. Transformation of

Western management style is necessary to halt the continued decline of business andindustry.

3. Eliminate the need for mass inspection as the way of life to achieve quality by buildingquality into the product in the first place. Require statistical evidence of built in quality inboth manufacturing and purchasing functions.

4. End the practice of awarding business solely on the basis of price tag. Instead requiremeaningful measures of quality along with price. Reduce the number of suppliers for thesame item by eliminating those that do not qualify with statistical and other evidence ofquality. The aim is to minimize total cost, not merely initial cost, by minimizing

variation. This may be achieved by moving toward a single supplier for any one item, ona long term relationship of loyalty and trust.

5. Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production, and service.Search continually for problems in order to improve every activity in the company, toimprove quality and productivity, and thus to constantly decrease costs. Instituteinnovation and constant improvement of product, service, and process. It ismanagement's job to work continually on the system (design, incoming materials,
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/checklist-to-really-increase-value.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/checklist-to-really-increase-value.html


6/27

maintenance, improvement of machines, supervision, training, retraining).

6. Institute modern methods of training on the job for all, including management, to makebetter use of every employee. New skills are required to keep up with changes inmaterials, methods, product and service design, machinery, techniques, and service.

7. Adopt and institute leadership aimed at helping people do a better job. Theresponsibility of managers and supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers toquality. Improvement of quality will automatically improve productivity. Managementmust ensure that immediate action is taken on reports of inherited defects, maintenancerequirements, poor tools, fuzzy operational definitions, and all conditions detrimental toquality.

8. Encourage effective two way communication and other means to drive out fearthroughout the organization so that everybody may work effectively and moreproductively for the company.

9. Break down barriers between departments and staff areas. People in different areas,such as Leasing, Maintenance, Administration, must work in teams to tackle problemsthat may be encountered with products or service.

10. Eliminate the use of slogans, posters and exhortations for the work force, demandingZero Defects and new levels of productivity, without providing methods. Suchexhortations only create adversarial relationships; the bulk of the causes of low qualityand low productivity belong to the system, and thus lie beyond the power of the workforce.

11. Eliminate work standards that prescribe quotas for the work force and numericalgoals for people in management. Substitute aids and helpful leadership in order toachieve continual improvement of quality and productivity.

12. Remove the barriers that rob hourly workers, and people in management, of theirright to pride of workmanship. This implies, among other things, abolition of the annualmerit rating (appraisal of performance) and of Management by Objective. Again, theresponsibility of managers, supervisors, foremen must be changed from sheer numbers toquality.

13. Institute a vigorous program of education, and encourage self improvement foreveryone. What an organization needs is not just good people; it needs people that areimproving with education. Advances in competitive position will have their roots inknowledge.

14. Clearly define top management's permanent commitment to ever improving qualityand productivity, and their obligation to implement all of these principles. Indeed, it is notenough that top management commit themselves for life to quality and productivity. Theymust know what it is that they are committed tothat is, what they must do.Support is


7/27

not enough: action is required!

Clarify Root Causes of Poor Communication

What we have here is a failure to communicate. (repeated by the oppressive prison

warden in "Cool Hand Luke")

Clarifying and overcoming root causes of poor communication will increase cash flowand corporate value.

Poor communication is wasteful and counterproductive. To not be dealing with reality isa killer of time and resources. Total truth is more than just random facts of differingvalue; it requires the added clarity of insightful priorities.

"Talk" about how to improve company efficiency, productivity, or effectiveness, muchless profitability, cash flow, and corporate value, must take into account the reality of

human communication within the company. Not just from management to employees, butfrom employees to management and the multitude of timely and truthful messagesneeded from any one person to another that can improve business value.

The human communication factor in the world of improvement can be either negative(obfuscation - fuzziness, muddiness, avoidance) or positive (clarification - truthfulness,completeness, priority valued). Obfuscation is more than conventional lies, denials, &deception. To obfuscate is to disguise, conceal, confuse or complicate, even by avoidance(passive resistance). The antonym is to clarify.

What exactly is confused, disguised, concealed, or complicated by obfuscation? We can

call it the truth or reality. Synonyms for truth include fact, reality, certainty, accuracy,genuineness, exactness, legitimacy, veracity, honesty, candor, integrity, etc. Antonymsinclude fiction, falsehood, error, dishonesty.

Obfuscation may be due to any mix of: (1) seeking potential gain from promoting error,(2) fear of the consequences of communicating the truth, and (3) apathy, ineptness,mental impairment, and accident.

The more sensational category of seeking gain through fraud, demagoguery, and otherforms of abuse gets the most press, and is the cause of highly costly attempts atregulation. The other categories are more hidden, but probably even more common and

costly. Overall, the concealment of truth, deliberate or unintentional is a major barrier toimprovement which can be reduced by improved leadership, management style, andresultant company culture and organizational design and development.

Truth is knowledge of things as they really are, as they really were, and as they really areto come. Knowledge that is filtered by fear, covered up, denied, or misrepresented for anyreason is less visible. Visibility is the first and most important level of clarity.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clarify-cure-root-causes-of-obfuscation.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clarify-cure-root-causes-of-obfuscation.html


8/27

Improvement requires clarity about base line conditions. The truth must be clearlydescribed and accurately revealed by those who know so that all affected can makeneeded improvements. Truth is more than appearances. Symptoms are appearances. Truththat matters most to improvement has to do with root causes, which are identified throughincreasingly deeper levels of clarity.

Common thread root cause clarification has immense potential to increase cash flow,corporate value, and everything else good in and about the company.

Because the barriers of fear, apathy, cynicism, ineptness, mental impairment, and accidentare massively costly, clarifying and overcoming their root causes is enormouslyprofitable.

Four Questions Spotlight Your Company's Needs

Jack Stack and the Great Game of Business spotlight four questions:

1. How well do your employees understand cash flow, profit, how your business makesmoney, and how they can help it make more?

2. How strongly do they personally work to achieve business objectives and the criticalnumbers?

3. How well do they know the rules of the game of business?

4. How well do they follow the action, keep score, and work together to win against thecompetition?

These questions get the ball rolling in a way everyone can appreciate.

Every company is unique and can best be described by the players themselves.

Don't over complicate it. Get started and learn. Identify needs, prioritize them, and keepimproving things. As momentum increases, you'll figure out even better ways to improveyour most important knowledge/skill base.

Improve Business Education on the Job

Improve business education to further improve business.

How can people who make a living educating people on business improve theirprofession? What business model improvements are possible?

Look for ways to move from classroom theory to work place reality, get closer to theaction, the real world providing the ultimate case studies, on the fly, to be realistic,practical.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/four-questions-spotlight-your-companys.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/improve-business-education-on-job.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/four-questions-spotlight-your-companys.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/improve-business-education-on-job.html


9/27

Hands-on workplace "teachers," whether called consultants or advisers or coaches orsomething else, are often outside professionals.

But there are others like senior managers, who have the added benefit of already being

much more familiar with the company, who, with appropriate tutoring where needed,could be even better, and certainly more permanent teachers than outside professionals.

There is always value in having an outsider's out-of-the-box point of view, but allteachers certainly don't have to be outside professionals.

Any organization's master leader is ideally positioned to be master teacher. Even better asservant leader.

Since "teachers learn more than the students," give everyone an opportunity to teach withthe protection of teamwork, support, and appropriate collaboration.

Teaching is a learn-able, cross-trainable skill, and worthy of being an ongoing part ofoverall company leadership, which is also learn-able.

Look for teaching and self-learning moments and seize them as improvementopportunities.

Edwards Deming and Simple Points

I didn't see Deming's 14 points until 1979, yet they were familiar to me, reflecting whatI'd grown up with, consistently embracing a philosophy of improvement, leadership,

training, education, teamwork, eliminating fear, removing barriers, avoiding showiness,teaching correct principles to encourage more self-management.

Practical principles captured in simple comments like "Be wise" and "Be nice" and "Dogood" and "Do better" and "Don't quit" make points without being complex, but watchout for window dressing.

Be wise - really think, observe, clarify, evaluate, act, learn, repeat, don't quit.

Be nice - it works better. Not being nice adds negative emotions with attendantcomplexity and vagueness. Negative emotions are an underground drag on progress.

Positive emotions are powerful for adding value.

Act - be wise, think, be nice, do good, do better, plan, prototype, test, implement, assess,keep learning, keep improving, don't quit.

Patient persistence in pursuit of perfection will lead to better practices and more profits,allowing greater rewards for all concerned.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/edwards-deming-and-simple-points.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/edwards-deming-and-simple-points.html


10/27

Who helps your company?

Every company has owners, stockholders, public or private, many or few. Every companyis comprised of all who work within the company as management and/or employees.Owners may or may not work within the company, and management and employees may

or may not be owners.

The greatest, most improve-able help available to a company are the relatively permanentpeople who "work for the company" as employees and management. They becomeimmensely valuable especially when cross trained in various areas of responsibility. Theirvalue and ability to contribute to improvement increases as they "understand thecompany" and "compete for the company" and "think for the company" and "collaboratewithin the company" and "act for the company." When their hearts and minds, as well astheir bodies, are working for the company, the rewards will be greater for all. No otherasset of the company has as great a potential for return on investment than the peopleinside the company.

Externally, companies get their most vital help from their customers and potentialcustomers, which in the aggregate is the source of all demand for the products andservices of the company and therefore the source of all operating cash needed to acquireall assets and pay all expenses and costs associated with survival and growth of thecompany.

Companies are customers themselves as they in turn depend on their suppliers (1stsource, 2nd source, etc.) to provide whatever the company adds value to and sells tocustomers. Suppliers can provide all kinds of help to companies beyond the obvious. Andthe company can benefit from cross training insights from being both a supplier and a

customer.

Companies also make use of other professional service providers, sometimes including acorporate attorney, an accounting firm, an auditor, insurance, public relations andadvertising, recruiting and HR services, equipment maintenance, facility maintenance andcustodial service, etc.

Most of these service providers are engaged to either help keep the company out oftrouble or help attract more customers. As part of the working network familiar with thecompany, they can often provide helpful insights for improvement.

Another type of service provider that can help improve the value of the company includesmanagement consultants, coaches, and advisers, including members of boards ofdirectors and boards of advisers.

Companies are wise to recognize that all their networked helpers can be of value inimproving the company and not neglect potentially valuable insights.

The Clearer, The Better
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/who-helps-your-company.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clearer-better.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/who-helps-your-company.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/clearer-better.html


11/27

We all want improvement, greater cash flow, more value, better quality. We all haveproblems to solve. Vagueness, while a subtle enemy, is a greater enemy than complexity.Simple is good. Clarity is better. As helpful as simplifying complexity seems to be, claritythat a child can understand is better. It might just be a subtle aspect of vagueness orcomplexity that is the root cause opportunity for improvement. While simplifying might

overlook something subtle, clarity spells it out. Important difference.

When things aren't going well, life gets more complicated, especially whenever andwherever we are not clear about why, what, and how things aren't going well. Whenthings are going well and things are all clear we can sleep well at night even duringstorms, and life is better.

The "simpler" that is desirable has the uncommon clarity of common sense withoutmissing anything meaningful. Getting things clearer might take more thought initially butmore complete and accurate clarity is apt to yield better, faster, lower cost results overall.

Many forms of obfuscation (concealment of meaning) foster vagueness and can happenfor sometimes subtle, but almost always knowable reasons. Root cause clarification forobfuscation will reveal meaningful improvement opportunities.

Key performance measurement, monitoring, and management systems, personality andbehavioral profiling, practices of advanced science and improvement programs applied tobusiness are potential power tools in the hands of those who are suitably enlightened inthe vital basics of business and appreciate the perpetual advantage of clarity.

Ideas Come to Life with Action

One of my heroes, Spencer W. Kimball, was fond of saying "Do it."

I liked framing those words within "Don't Quit."

Improvement ideas create value only when action bears some fruit of value. To ever getanywhere on anything, one must act.

That's the simple cycle of the improvement process:

think--act-->result--think again--act-->result--think again--act-->result

My father's version was "plan your work and work your plan" and keep it up with an eyefor overall improvement.

Action makes something of ideas. Results may be desirable or undesirable, sufficient orinsufficient. Keep up the "think, then act" cycle to continue learning and improving. Youwill get one item polished well enough, but what more in the bigger picture can beimproved? Move on to more.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ideas-come-to-life-with-action.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ideas-come-to-life-with-action.html


12/27

Look for situations where "obviously" needed action has not been taken to produceimprovement, think it through, especially why action has not been taken, then determinewhat action can and should be taken, and do it, and don't quit until its done. Learn fast,fail fast, change course in your direction as needed for overall betterment.

Most of the time, only real action has any possibility of producing positive results. Butthere are certainly times when "no action" is either called for or is at least the best choicefor now. Making that wise discernment carefully, but also plain old luck, can often makeall the difference. Since you most often never know unless you try, there is a reasonablebias for action, all things considered.

Where many ways can be tried (many ways to skin a cat), but none are assured ofsuccess, get on with it. You may have to try all the ways to get something to workanyway. Overcome resistance with pleasant persistence.

One chronically unprofitable manufacturer supplied 60% of its product to one large OEM

through a multi-year contract for pricing that was simply not profitable. It took the actionof 11 separate, creatively unique, and pleasantly orchestrated attempts over severalmonths, asking for a higher price in spite of a "fixed contract" before the OEM finallyagreed to a 20% price increase which immediately made the manufacturer acceptablyprofitable. Simple minded determined, but pleasant persistence made all the difference.

Another severely unprofitable manufacturer had spread its existing resources over 14product lines as a result of prior mergers in an attempt to provide a complete family ofproducts and diversify risk. Acting upon the idea to focus on 3 of those productsproduced a 20% pre-tax profit.

We all know stories like these. It takes courage to act. Risk of loss assessments are not tobe overlooked, but fear of failure is a familiar beast to be beaten.

Business Model Innovation

Even things as important as cash flow, profit, growth, continuous improvement, andinnovation can become tiresome if just harped on. Even the concept of maintainingbalance can be made monotonous.

Whether or not we have a psychological need for cycles, they are everywhere. Fashionscome and go because sameness is stifling, variety being the spice of life. Vicissitudes

keep us on our toes. Nature, replete with cycles, always exhibits natural tensions, prosand cons, ever present opposition in all things, ebbs and flows in various forms, all givingrise to opportunities. So it is with markets.

Maintaining, if not improving, market and business health and well being is a practicalnecessity of business life, to survive, much less grow through the many life cycles ofbusiness. Choices to follow a product or business life cycle without innovation lead tobusiness failure, death or recycling. Innovation is creation of a new cycle, a new wave,
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/business-model-innovation.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/business-model-innovation.html


13/27

new growth potential. Many innovations fail, but no innovation, like no seeds and nocultivation, yields no harvest.

Product and service life cycles are well known and better studied in the world ofmarketing. The cycles of all the other elements of a company's business model are less

familiar, but no less real. Contracts make an attempt to counter some cycles, butultimately cyclic pressures, like all market forces, will be manifest in some way, like alllaws of nature.

Business survival, much less thriving in hard times, requires business model innovationsthat produce more cash flow and profit improvement, the life force, life blood, ofbusiness. Pricing is often paramount, but any of the factors in the equation, any of theingredients in the recipe, any of the elements of the business model can be problematic,and therefore opportunity-laden.

And business model innovation doesn't have to be as radical as Google, WalMart,

wireless communications or online stores. Sometimes seemingly minor tweaks can opendoors to exciting new horizons. The key is to open minds to see a bigger picture ofpossibilities and fail fast in figuring out what's going to fly.

Times of economic upheaval can give rise to business model innovation as leaders withininterdependent engines of private enterprise interact and adapt to meet their needs.Uncertainty is inhibiting, but optimistic team-leading visionaries who initiateexperimentation can discover new solutions that add value and accrue benefits to allparticipants and the greater whole.

The All Important Business Model

An old friend who has banked tens of millions of dollars over the years from a prettysimple business likes to say he's never had a so-called business model, adding that all hedid was take care of customers. While talk about business model can be misguided, allbusinesses have a model, elements of which make them by definition a specific business.My friend studiously served his customers, but always profitably for consistent and verymeaningful cash flow. His industry is very depressed right now, but he still producespositive cash flow. He has a good business model which he understands very well andexecutes wisely.

Business model elements usually start with potential customer need which helps define

product or service, then goes to demand which helps define volume and price, whichmultiply into sales or revenue. But the business model importantly includes cost whichyields gross margin, then all other expenses required to incur the costs and produce thesales, which combine to produce the income or profit and that all important cash flow. I'llnever forget hearing Al Shugart talk about cash being more important than your mother.

Add capital requirements and necessary measures of ROI and you have the essentialelements of the business model or business formula or recipe for success. Any one
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/all-important-business-model.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/all-important-business-model.html


14/27

element or factor can make all the difference for good or ill, but it is ultimately thecombination that counts most. The cost factor includes the pivot point of supply.Volatility of supply volume or cost, like volatility of demand volume or price, can createmajor challenges to overcome. Quality of product and service relates to both costefficiencies and price/demand effectiveness.

The ultimate expression of the elements of the business model is the vision of thecompany strategically instilled into the minds and hearts of an enlightened leader-inspiredself-directed organization.

Empowering Vision

Knowing clearly what you want to say greatly affects your utterance. Knowing clearlywhere you want to go and what you want to be drives your strategy - how you plan to getthere.

Clearer vision not only helps produce clearer strategy, but unifies and intensifiesconfidence in both strategy and execution. Clear and vivid vision leads to moreinternalized imagery which taps inner emotional motivation. When you can really tastewhat you're after, you're even more likely to work to keep all systems aligned, to makeprogress more efficient and success more likely. The more everyone is on the same page,seeing and tasting the same vision, and tuned in for more effective teamwork, the morelikely the success, by some combination of better execution and crucial changes instrategy.

Vision development, clarification and internalization take time, but that time is well spentwhen it improves buy-in, motivation, productive creativity, and overall enthusiasm and

resourcefulness for vision accomplishment. The more vividly the vision is instilled intoevery member of the organization, the more vibrant and productive the performance.

Many common, but unnecessary, time wasting, resource-consuming problems neverappear as greater overall alignment is achieved to take the shortest distance between twopoints to hit bulls eyes step by step until the vision instilled within is brought to reality.

Organization Must Align With Strategy

Organizations develop, carry out, report on, and evaluate the strategy needed to achievethe vision of the business model. Strategy includes the high level overall and necessarily

evolving plan that drives all subservient plans intended to accomplish the businessobjectives fulfilling the vision of fully executing the business model.

Strategy can be sufficiently defined only if the vision of desired outcomes is sufficientlydefined, and ultimately must take into account currently de facto realities of organizationand even leadership.

Aligning organization with strategy in an always imperfect and ever changing real world
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/empowering-vision.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/organization-must-align-with-strategy.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/empowering-vision.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/organization-must-align-with-strategy.html


15/27

is a practical ongoing iterative process, as strategy logically dictates organization, butinevitably evolves out of existent organization and perspective.

Superior strategies executed to perfection is the endless quest, but as in so many things,there is a certain amount of choice and accountability associated with strategy and its

execution via organization. Winners of many competitions have resulted from bothsuperior strategies more weakly executed as well as weaker strategies more perfectlyexecuted.

While even the best laid strategies and plans are subject to change, the competitivedifference can be decisive, wise discernment whether to persevere to execute better or tochange strategy. An enlightened leader-inspired self-directed organization willcontinuously strive to be learning and gaining quickly from experience how to modify toimprove both strategy and execution.

Leadership Drives Organization

Leaders organize. Why?

To bring about desired results. How?

By gathering insights, clarifying desired outcomes, mapping out plans for action to betaken, breaking down responsibilities, recruiting and qualifying whatever help is needed,making assignments by delegating authority and discretion with responsibility andaccountability, and incentivizing, training, and supporting in every needed and possibleway to accomplish desired outcomes. Ongoing leadership maintains or increases themomentum of improvement.

The style and quality of leadership determines whether the state of the organizationimproves or declines and to what degree. The quality of the organization in turninfluences the level of attainment of desired outcomes.

Organization must be "improved as required by ever-changing circumstances" to keep up,much less increase, the momentum of improvement of outcomes, especially to thrive inhard times.

Organizations improve as new insights are more effectively gathered and evaluated, assuccessive desired outcomes are more clearly defined, and as plans are better updated and

refined, as well as responsibilities, recruiting, qualifying, assignments, delegation,incentives, training, and support needed and possible to accomplish successive desiredoutcomes. This is a process of ongoing organizational development.

Leader inspired self-directed organizations working in harmony and unity can achievepowerful improvement if enlightened by business knowledge and wisdom.

All functions of a business organization require adequacy if not suitability in the vitals of
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/leadership-drives-organization.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/leadership-drives-organization.html


16/27

human and financial capital. The permanently imperative demand-side functions ofmarketing and sales drive the essential supply-side functions of design, engineering,production, and service to meet demand. Finance and banking functions provide essentialfuel for the economic engine. Like all functions of business, including the other supportfunctions of HR, IT, legal, etc., the scorekeeping accounting and auditing function is a

primary source of insights into opportunities for business improvement.

Failure to inspire and nourish enlightened self-directed organizations will lead to weakand diseased organizations. Adversarial bureaucratic growths of any kind, including laborunions, will debilitate a business organization like cancer. Improving the health and wellbeing of any organization is required to thrive in hard times.

Use a checklist to audit for improvement opportunities

1. What "legacy obligations" might now be unnecessary?

2. How might management be more streamlined? Are there still too many layers ofmanagement, rigid job classifications, inefficiencies?

3. Are we making products customers want? How can we improve them? Anything newwe should do?

4. Are there unintended consequences we dont like or is there anything that stiflesimportant activity?

5. How can we enhance competitiveness? Do we have anything like a regulatory edificecreated over the years that has removed freedom needed to take responsibility?

6. How can we increase accountability?

7. Do we need any "change in culture, to a culture that answers challenges withinnovation"

8. How can we better access their can-do spirit?

9. Do we need help to surmount inertia (to) energize, (do) spring cleaning, realign,advance removing shackles (to) unleash untold resources and human energy?

(Quotes from Let's 'Restructure' Washington While We're at It - Congress is at least asunresponsive to consumer demand as Detroit. By PHILIP K. HOWARD, a lawyer, chairof Common Good (www.commongood.org), and author of the new book "Life WithoutLawyers," published Jan 2009 by W.W. Norton & Co.)

A Companys Working Core
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/use-checklist-to-audit-for-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/companys-working-core.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/use-checklist-to-audit-for-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/companys-working-core.html


17/27

1. Business model products, services, pricing, costs, margins, volume, cash flow, profit,ROI

2. Vision instilled, vivid, unifying, line-of-sight depiction of desired outcomes/goals

3. Strategy how to fulfill the vision of the business model, credible planning

4. Organization people, delegation, training, teamwork, I-O process & fulfillment

5. Leadership style, attitude, ideas, energetic problem solving, desired results

Get help from advisers who instill principles and practices that are enduring, andtherefore work themselves out of a job, allowing them to move on to the nextimprovement opportunity.

The best advisers price is a combination of hourly, project, and performance incentive.

CEOs Must Improve the Business

CEOs have two jobs:

1. Manage the business2. Improve the business

A corporate business adviser can help CEOs improve business, focusing where neededmost, first to improve the internal well-being of the firm itself, then the health of thefirms non-competing corporate customers and suppliers.

Keep it simple, yet complete, working with appropriate company staff (permanent, full-time) to set up an internal process (repeatable) to audit, evaluate, and clarify specifics toperpetually improve a companys working core.

More than Products, Services or Technologies

Opportunities for business survival and growth in ever changing times are seized by thosewho improve in core aspects of business:

business model

visionstrategyorganizationleadership

not just the products, services, or technologies temporarily defining the business.

Ask Clients Questions and Manage Expectations
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ceos-must-improve-business.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-than-products-services-or.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ask-customers-questions-and-manage.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ceos-must-improve-business.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-than-products-services-or.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/ask-customers-questions-and-manage.html


18/27

List top customers (the 20% who provide 80%).

Ask them what they don't like about us, what they wish we'd change or improve.

Questions:

-What are your expectations of us and how well are we meeting them?-What have we done for you that has gone well and why?-What has not gone well - what could we have done better?-What else could we be doing better to help you and your business?-What do you wish we'd do differently/better?-What else can we do to improve things?-Are you aware that we can also....?

Give them some kind of simple score card.

Visit them to review the scorecard in person.

Get their honest thoughts on where we fall short, where we can improve.

Determine what we will do and how we will measure progress in improving.

Determine how we will continue to communicate.

Really listen, do not over promise, really follow through to over deliver.

Connecting candidly and thoroughly with customers will provide the best insights intohow to make things better for them and us, to strengthen relationships, get more business,and increase overall value from our relationship.

After top customers, extend to all others.

Do the same in reverse with top suppliers.After top suppliers, extend to others.

Always thank them for their business and their feedback.

Collaborate to better serve corporate clients

All but sad cynics know the potential of "casting your bread upon the water." And anyonenot familiar with the parable of the "Good Samaritan" has missed a lot of additionalinsights that make all the difference in life.

Collaboration is pitching in to interact, listen, compare notes, initiate and cooperate tohelp wherever and however it can make the difference to all concerned.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/feasibility-action-progress.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/feasibility-action-progress.html


19/27

Everyone in the business of serving the needs of corporate customers has a base ofcorporate clients upon which their business depends. It is in their/your/our self interest todo whatever possible to further the health and well being and level of success of clients.Whenever "our clients" can be improved by becoming a well served client of anothernon-competing company, we are better off and so are they. Call that win-win-win. "You,"

"us," and "they" all benefit from smart collaboration.

Improvement, progress, the process of making things better, flows according to effort,energy, enthusiasm, effectiveness of results, etc.

While it can be delayed by mistakes that end up being time consuming to recover from, itis far more often delayed by procrastination stemming from fears associated with eitherpessimism or the impatient demand for perfection.

Is there anything that cannot be improved? Collaborate and find out.There might even be a new business model emerge from such an undertaking.

Don't be shy, just start with some kind of feasibility testing:

1. Confirm interest of critical mass of initial participants and areas of interest/assignment.

It's wise to begin with the demand side:

2. Collectively compile list of first contacts to all known potentially accessible sources ofclient bases (lists of customers) someone known well personally who can move thingsforward.

3. Confirm best contact person (not necessarily first contact) for each client base forinitial client-by-client assessment of potential needs (top 3-10).

4. Identify client access hurdles to overcome.5. How best to overcome them, case by case.6. Who will do what to clarify and verify clients needs.7. Make initial estimate of aggregate client demand for specific advisory and transactionservices.

With some handle on demand, turn to the supply side:

8. Collectively compile list of first contacts to all known potentially usable serviceproviders.9. Clarify and verify distinctive competence of each service provider, including how toimprove their competence.10. Confirm initial capacity to meet demand.

Nothing is real until action produces results through operations:


20/27

11. Clarify database utilities needed, availability, administration.

Initial and ongoing business planning can make all the difference:

12. Confirm principal participation in profit center.

13. Name profit center and more succinctly describe it for maximum marketing value.14. Clarify new profit center pricing, retainers, performance fees, etc.15. Estimate volume, revenue, costs, expenses, cash flow and potential value of profitcenter.16. Update implementation plan/timeline.

"Closing sales" makes all the rest possible:

17. Overcome hurdles and engage clients to clarify and verify needs

Superior "fulfillment" is the key to closing more sales:

18. Clarify and execute operations for growth and improvement.

Academic Exercise or Real Results?

Inspiration flows as a few enthusiastic participants from diverse backgrounds get theirheads and hearts into exploring what may be a subtle, but meaningful business modelinnovation. Teams have reason to be confident they can gradually determine the mostpromising overall arrangement, seeking the greatest benefit to all concerned.

The extent of services needed by clients goes well beyond the few categories the team

may themselves represent. Most participants may choose to remain focused serviceproviders but affiliate with the new profit center operation while a few others willbecome a team integral to operating the new profit center.

The entrepreneurial profit center (an appropriately named business entity) will beaccountable for its distinctive facilitating function of identifying specific needs andreferring specific services to fill those needs to achieve authentic improvement in clientcash flow and corporate valuation.

Fulfilling this ultimate purpose real improvement in cash flow and corporate valuation will require innovation in priority diagnostics, results accountability, and forms of

compensation.

Experience dictates the need to produce meaningful return on time, not just on capital.

It is one thing to go through the motions and think someone has been taught how to fish.What counts most is that they actually catch fish and get others catching fish also.

Valuable insights come from continuing interaction, hands on teamwork and real
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/academic-exercise-or-real-results.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/academic-exercise-or-real-results.html


21/27

experience over time. It is always better to think before we stretch, stretch before wewalk, and walk before we run.

Critique, Commend, Complain, Correct - Improve

Observing and evaluating the state of things consists of critique and analysis, required tosome degree to ever deliberately bring about any improvement.

Assessments may be either positive or negative.

If positive, we commend, complement, praise, support, or merely comply, and then moveon to other observations.

Negative assessments have more complex outcomes.

If we can see that there is something we can do about it, we have the choice to improve

things.

If we are impacted, but see little we can do about it, we either simply observe and ignore,or we complain in some way.

When we are more severely impacted and at least seemingly constrained bycircumstances beyond our control, we can experience varied degrees of frustration.

Frustration can be an indicator of opportunity for creative problem solving or innovation.

We can on our own or in concert with others figure out something we actually can do

constructively about the situation. In so doing, we find a need and fill it. This isentrepreneurial endeavor at its most basic.

When we find no solution, we have the choice of either persisting or setting the matteraside to give our attention to something else that we can do something about.

Look and Listen Well

And ask the right questions.

Just in the asking, answers will come.

Further probing inquiry will help reveal more insights.

Explore. Analyze. Evaluate. Diagnose cause of effect.

This mental work done correctly, logical, common sense follow through action is almostinevitable.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/critique-commend-complain-correct.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/critique-commend-complain-correct.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/look-and-listen-well.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/critique-commend-complain-correct.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/look-and-listen-well.html


22/27

Don't Get Railroaded by Thoughts

Letting thoughts run wild can be effective in brainstorming to come up with creativeideas, but then post-brainstorm choices must always be made to go down a particularpath, always subject to further brainstorms as new information is received along the path.

All feedback and symptoms of distress are clues to evaluate progress along the path.

We can get railroaded by the excessively obsessive thoughts of others or ourselves if ourpursuit along the path is so single minded that we ignore feedback and symptoms and gettrapped by blind ambition.

On the extreme, we can get railroaded by diversionary or distracting thoughts if we areparalyzed by fears and doubts associated with risks of what might happen or for any otherreason procrastinate progress.

The best course is a blend of focus, determination, awareness, and assessment.

Not Business As Usual, But....

When cycles are down, when times are tough, business as usual or status quo is stillalways subject to change, adaptation, improvement.

When sales activity diminishes as customers cut back, and cash flow declines, tradingeither stops or terms of exchange adjust to make a transaction.

When companies as customers still need services, and companies as suppliers still need

business, but neither can afford what the other normally wants, customary trading stops,unless price and terms and nature of the product and/or service is creatively modified topermit more, new transactions of mutual benefit.

Bonuses paid even though bonus goals are not met is destructive if it is really true. Themockery of being rewarded for poorer performance is devastating to the integrity of theorganization. A worthy leader will not be so self serving. Things can easily go wrong inspite of best efforts, but totally objective performance bonuses justly paid have theexemplary power of integrity that subjective political payoffs do not.

People don't have to be rich to be greedy, but higher profile leaders by prominence set

examples for good or ill. Those who follow the rule that "he who has the gold, rules"wreak havoc on an organization. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"yields the power of integrity for the benefit of all concerned. Those more concerned aboutthemselves than "all concerned" feed the worst natural inclinations in others, adding fuelto foster the corrosive effects of class warfare.

Gaining Confidence
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/dont-get-railroaded-by-thoughts.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-business-as-usual-but.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/gaining-confidence.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/dont-get-railroaded-by-thoughts.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-business-as-usual-but.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/gaining-confidence.html


23/27

We check, we research, survey, sample, we test, we go for it, we learn, we adjust, tweak-- all in the process of gaining confidence. We do this individually as we learn anythingnew. We study, we practice, we perform, and keep working to perfect. This process ofgaining confidence requires patience and perseverance.

The same thing applies to entering into new relationships. We get to know prospectivenew hires or partners through a process of gaining confidence. Same for all new ideas tomake things better. Gotta work at getting confidence. Also gotta work at maintainingconfidence. Keep checking. Keep practicing. Keep perfecting. Patiently persisting.

Shine a Light on It

Darkness, lack of visibility, confusion, go hand in hand. Sometimes all it takes to solve aproblem is to shine a light on it. In the full light of day, some problems even go away.Stumbling around in the dark can be hazardous.

People who want to hide things tend to work in the cover of darkness of some form.Shining the light tends to curb or combat nefarious temptations. That's the beauty of openbook management. It can be very frightening for those with something to hide, but itreally will produce better results overall.

Capital Structure and Brain Work

To improve efficiency, growth and overall performance, leaders benefit from improvedcapital structure. This involves financial intermediaries and financially orientedturnaround specialists. Finance is fuel and the system for accessing and processingoptimum types, blends and amounts of fuel.

In addition to improved capital structure, turnarounds and ongoing improvement requiresimproved overall brain structure, brain work, team work, to make the most of the fuel,improving the improvement cycle of planning, design, development, operation, analysis,correction, etc. Fuel makes things possible, but doesn't think through, much less act outoperation, direction, correction, etc. Fuel and fool are not a good mix; improperlyattended fuel can produce dangerous outcomes.

Brain structure considerations have breadth and depth dimensions. Breadth starts withexperience, knowledge, skills and insights across organizational functions and industries.Depth starts with the working core of business by industry and company of pertinent

details of business model, vision, strategy, organization, and leadership, the very processof improving brain structure and brain work.

Faith Overcomes Fear and Doubt

Simple faith is a prerequisite to action.

Without continuing faith, action lacks power to persevere.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/shine-light-on-it.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/capital-structure-and-brain-work.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/faith-overcomes-fear-and-doubt.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/shine-light-on-it.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/capital-structure-and-brain-work.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/faith-overcomes-fear-and-doubt.html


24/27

Fear and doubt inhibit faith and therefore action, especially enduring action.

Alternately, a sufficient increment (mustard seed) of faith overcomes fear and doubt.

As faith ignites courage, boldness follows, the boldness needed to overcome barriers andhurdles to progress or improvement.

Whether originating with Goethe, John Anster, W. H. Murray, or someone else, thefamous statement about boldness epitomizes faith:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all actsof initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which killscountless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, thenProvidence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwisehave occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor

all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no mancould have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you cando, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."

Breadth and Depth of Experience

There is value in having greater than typical breadth of industry experience. Experiencebeyond one principle industry (e.g., electronics) or even sector (e.g., manufacturing)provides richer insights into how to make improvements in the world of business.Whatever the primary industry, valuable perspective can be gained from industry breadthwhether it be the packaging industry, the hospitality industry, the food industry, the world

of entertainment, and so on.

In addition to a cross section of industry experience, a breadth of relationships withcorporate clients, from artists to high tech companies, enriches perception for greatercreativity, cross-application, and assessments of practicality.

Depth of insight from the business life of a serial turnaround CEO can provide practicalbusiness knowledge related to analysis, design, and innovation to improve all areas offocus in the working core of any business -- the business model, vision, strategy,organization, and leadership.

What IS Improvement?

While specific improvement, making something better, can occur in virtually unlimitedways, in every area of the company, at all levels, micro to macro, the ultimate commonexpression and verification of true overall improvement for the corporation is increase inthe financial valuation of the company, typically a function of some multiple of a mix ofincreased cash flow, earnings, and net worth in the aggregate.
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/breadth-and-depth-of-experience.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/breadth-and-depth-of-experience.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-improvement.html


25/27

In this way, "improvement" can be quantitatively measured.

The leadership challenge is to accomplish the set of specific improvements that will bringabout this increased financial valuation. Choices made for short-term increases in valuecan affect long-term value.

In one respect, appropriate small steps can add up to meaningful longer-termaccomplishments. Improvement is incremental. The cumulative effects of many smallimprovements can be immense. Similarly wisely targeted improvements that portendgreater resultant progress can be even more rewarding.

On the other hand, it is possible to do things that just look good temporarily. Superficialimprovement can be more cosmetic than enduring. So-called "slash and burn" tacticsepitomized by "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap with Scott Paper and Sunbean can result fromoveremphasis on the numbers of business. Actual or virtual not-for-profit status can resultfrom overemphasis on the people end or fantasy aspect of business.

Effectively involving and educating the people of the business in the numbers of thebusiness, addressing the working core of business model, vision, strategy, organization,and leadership, is conducive to improvements that result in enduring increases in value.

The Physics of Improvement

Use the physics of progress.

There is power in focus.

There is strength in diversity.

Harnessed, channeled energy yields power.

Unchanneled energy tends toward entropy, dissipation, disruptions.

Density, pressure, and temperature interact to effect flow.

Combined flows of interactive elements effect outcomes.

A physicist can do much more with this topic.

Don't fight the laws of physics - use them for productive purposes.

Choose to Improve & Chinese proverb

Improvement can happen serendipitously, but more often it requires a conscious choicebecause consistent, meaningful improvement requires consistent, meaningful effort. Itrarely just happens. Entropy just happens. Things go bad, get worse, fall apart, deteriorate
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/physics-of-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/choose-to-improve-chinese-proverb.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/physics-of-improvement.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/choose-to-improve-chinese-proverb.html


26/27

pretty well on their own, through abuse, abandonment of stewardship, neglect, orinattention of some kind.

The opposite of abuse and neglect is leadership, initiative to improve things. Desire ormental inclination is necessary, but just a start. It must be followed by words and deeds,

communication and action to marshal whatever resources are needed to bring about thefulfillment of desire. Goals are all about improvement, making things better, butremember the Chinese proverb:

GO to the peopleLIVE among the peopleLEARN from themLOVE them.START with what they know,BUILD on what they have.But of the BEST leaders,

When their TASK is accomplished,Their WORK is done,The PEOPLE will remark,"We have done it ourselves."

Scott's Professional Background

20 years as an entrepreneur, angel investor, adviser

Advise private companies as needed, as requested

Scrutinize business model, leadership, vision, strategy, training, quality, etc. to identifyopportunities to improve business value

Help companies with research, strategic, organizational, and business development

Provide strategic guidance and financial resources to start-ups and established firms

10 years as turnaround specialist: 4 companies - technology, consumer products,industrial services

Amcomp from $4M loss to $8M pre-tax profit

Disctron from $6M loss to $7M pre-tax profit

Elan Products from annualized sales of $1M to $5M

Golden Bear Packaging from co-founders infighting to self-managing ESOP

Leadership and Advisory Contribution
http://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/scotts-professional-background.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/leadership-and-advisory-contribution.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/scotts-professional-background.htmlhttp://improvetosurviveandthrive.blogspot.com/2009/03/leadership-and-advisory-contribution.html


27/27

"Business value growth" mind set and "servant leader" management style

Complement a team immersed in industry and technology

Nurture focused get real initiatives to increase cash flow and grow value

Industry outsider to work on the business to increase cash and corporate value

Question collaboratively, challenge supportively, trusting but verifying

Identify the few most important decisions to be made out of the many

Focus intently and enthusiastically on what matters most

Scrutinize business model, cash flow, P&L, balance sheet, key performance measures

Pinpoint opportunities, explore options, and follow through with needed changes

Improve confidence, credibility, communication, and constructive innovationBetter relationships with customers, employees, and suppliers

Connect the dots on how each person affects resultsKey individual metrics to achieve goals

Spot frustration/vagueness clarify to better instill practical improvement vision

Spark initiative, asking What would you change or improve? Whats the next step?

Upgrade traditional practices with value increasing improvements

Improve to Survive and Thrive

Documents

Transcript of Improve to Survive and Thrive