New Book Excerpt: Executive Commitment and Vision

“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower
others.”   ~ Bill Gates
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Transformation is modeled with foundations for better leadership, based on these two lessons: The leanest will be more competitive [Lean Six Sigma – LSS]. The leanest will be better stewards and create a better chance of making the future a success [Sustainability]. All resources are finite, but the journey to pursue excellence is based on optimizing profitability. So, recognizing the definition of Sustainable Develop slightly refocuses our formula for increased Profitability:

Optimizing Profitability = Sustainable Development
 + Quality + Continuous Improvement + Secured Gains

Will transformation create opportunities for increased performance, reduced costs, provide for growth of brand and attract quality employees? Research and results indicate it will provide your organization with those opportunities and establish a Continuous Improvement process to refine and meet your future competitive landscape. Your true litmus test is two-fold. First, the results of aligning your Vision, holistically, to integrate Ethics into your organization and philosophy to create a unique Culture that attracts the quality people you want and need. Second, is the true increase in profitability and competitiveness that is an ongoing refinement by fusing Sustainability with an effective Quality effort.

This is an excerpt of my new book “Building a Bridge to Benefits”. Publication date is scheduled for November 2013 and is planned to be available on Amazon. More to come …
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Jarvis Business Solutions, LLC
Contact Information
Email: Ralph.Jarvis@JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
Blog: http://horizons.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
Web site: http://www.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/corporatesocialresponsibility/

Lead Smart, Endless Opportunities when Sustainability is driven by Lean Six Sigma
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Making the Argument for Sustainability

No other time in history has mankind seen the probable future of the planet and will be judged by his actions to preserve it.
~ Ralph Jarvis
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I wanted to express my deep appreciation for those interested in the completion of my new book. Thank you so much for your interest for it, which often encouraged me to bring this second book to fruition. Here is an update to my publish timeline: I plan on publishing the book in the October – November 2103 timeframe.

It will be available on Amazon and compliments the first book, “Any Questions?!” That book was the first primer to address the union of Sustainability and Lean Six Sigma practices woven onto business strategies to eliminate waste.

I completed this first book, “Any Questions?!”, which is the first leadership primer that fuses Sustainability with the Lean Six Sigma. The book, available through Amazon and Kindle, is design to be used in lecture, web, or workshop environments. This is what others, who have reviewed the book, recommend:

“This is not a book on theory.  Rather,  “Any Questions?” is a leader’s reference for Lean Six Sigma application and the creation of a true 21st century, sustainable, and competitive organization.  ~ Walter W. Casey, PhD

“This is not a ‘how to of Lean Six Sigma’ it is a ‘why to of Lean Six Sigma’.  We are in a time when calculated change is necessary and inevitable. Taking a data driven concept and intertwining that with people and operations is Mr. Jarvis’ outline for success.  You might expect a typical ‘dry Lean Six Sigma read’, but instead you will find a book on effective leadership.”  ~ Traci Bernard, President

“For anyone tasked with the implementation of strategic plans, either for a whole organization or an individual business unit this book is a valuable resource.”  ~ David Sutherland, CTO

As mentioned previously, “Any Questions?!” was a ‘why to of Lean Six Sigma’. The new book is designed to provide an understanding to “why Sustainability transformation” of a company. Why change to Sustainability? What is the value for business to change its enterprise? Why change to Lean Six Sigma? Why would you want to combine both concepts? Why is Sustainability a long-term Commitment and why it promotes a better future?

Senior leadership needs to focus on a Vision that can be controlled and that can be affected. Elimination of waste is key for both Sustainability and Quality, regardless of your maturity level. Remember, Sustainability and Quality are long-term commitments, but benefit your enterprise for different reasons.

Deming’s original groundbreaking intellectual capital was a keystone to future growth and application of Qaulity. However, from Deming’s point of view, Quality initiatives are not simply dismissed after a crisis. Deming become frustrated with American executives when most programs for statistical quality control were terminated once World War II and government contracts came to an end.

However, the new book establishes the value proposition that the “spine” of Sustainability is fused with Lean Six Sigma to target and eliminate waste, internally and externally. The book walks you through CXOs perspectives to those targeted areas that need remediation. The final result is tangible bottom line benefits while improving brand image and recognizing corporate responsibilities in term of economic, environmental and social spheres.

More to come …
_____________________________________________________________________
Jarvis Business Solutions, LLC
Contact Information
Email: Ralph.Jarvis@JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
Blog: http://horizons.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
Web site: http://www.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/corporatesocialresponsibility/
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Tim Jackson’s economic reality check – TED Video

As the world faces recession, climate change, inequity and more, Tim Jackson delivers a piercing challenge to established economic principles, explaining how we might stop feeding the crises and start investing in our future.

Today, we have many sources of information and knowledge. That is true for topics surrounding Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Business Transformation, etc. I have discovered some very good videos that are supported by the Creative Commons (CC) license and comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). For more information, please go to originating sites for more information (TED, YouTube, and other  web sites). We hope you enjoy these videos and share with your friends and colleagues.

 

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Why Change to an Efficient Organization? Sustainability?

Organizations evolve and change with their business environment, much like living organisms do with nature. The business owner should always be aware of that change, understand its impact, and be proactive in managing change to improve performance and extract tangible benefits for his company. Most companies are not fully optimized and retain inefficiencies in day-to-day operations of doing business. Combining Sustainability and Lean Six Sigma in a synergistic approach to promote sustainable practices, reduce your corporate imprint on the environment, improve efficiency and performance, and promote brand differentiation in your marketplace. From one focused initiative, crossover benefits would almost assuredly provide significant Tangible Benefits by understanding how to retain your improvements that are measured by your bottom line. This is easier to achieve if change is planned, well managed, and aligned to the goals of the organization. Organizations often go through growth stages. Here are a couple of scenarios for change: Unknown Future for the Enterprise, Actions and Decisions without recognizing Outsourcing consequences, and Future Sustainability & Quality Enterprise Growth

No Vision | No Change Control | Unknown Future for the Enterprise

Many corporations are faced with a dilemma. In many cases, the founder of a company may not recognize the need for an organizational vision as business changes. Leadership often tolerates inefficiencies, especially when “fire drills” are often case. Often, leadership they understand the history, inception and evolution of the organization since its founding, to may not have a clear understanding regarding its next steps.

The typical “fork in the road” provides management with three alternatives: do nothing, elect to transform through outsourcing, or most effectively, efficient transformation that includes sustainability and quality. In this scenario, although management is aware – it does nothing. By ignoring unseen costs and tolerates inefficiencies, this leadership fosters bureaucracy that leads to eventual organizational stagnation. Here is why:

1.  Inception & Evolution: This is the period when an idea is transformed into business. It may be a very small organization of one person or expanded to include larger groups to meet the business needs. An organization could vary from “vague” to a clear hierarchy with a “command and control” structure. Oftentimes, organizational evolution develops in the decentralized model.
2.  Congeal Phase: This phase is the “critical mass” of the organizational when issues become recognized. There may be a serious decline in sales. Competition, new technologies, a failure to meet the customer needs and expectations, a history of poor product development and introduction or poor marketing may all be contributory factors in reduced sales and be the catalyst for the business owner to change the approach to the business organization.
3.  Bureaucratization: The autocratic control of an owner may at times only be changed through the realization that bureaucracy is undesirable and can be a barrier. The policies, procedures and practices of the business may be restrictive and hinder growth, communication or efficiency. The term “bureaucratization” evolves from growing hierarchy and functional differentiation.
4.  Differentiation Phase: Promoting products and services that are unique and possess intrinsic values for your Customers are significant in attracting “niche” markets.
5.  Stagnation: A business owner may not realize that in order to optimize business value, changes in the way the business is run will be necessary. The delegation of responsibilities, training of staff and implementation of strategic plans may be areas that are not internalized, nor control change. This organizational model, similar to Taylor’s philosophy and methodology, renders work force pathways as limited and erects obstacles for improvement.
6. Litmus Test: Will this organizational evolution address your business needs to meet your competitive environment? Does it provide a process to eliminate waste and variation? Does it provide an alternative for improvement and performance?

No Vision | No Change Control | Actions and Decisions without recognizing Outsourcing consequences

Still, other management styles focus on expenses, only. This is a very shortsighted approach that can have substantial consequences and even jeopardize the survivability of the company. Beginning in the early 1990s, many corporations selected that option solely based on cost savings.  Often times those “savings” evaporated, in context of poor service,  poorly educated support staff, service provider’s  unrealistic service expectations, cultural and language differences that also hindered business and organizational needs. For the past 5-10 years, those poorly thought out decisions have have been reversed and aligned to marketplace needs.

Sustainability & Quality Vision | Continuous Improvement | Future Sustainability & Quality Enterprise

If your Leadership style is based on facts and broadly views all costs in your organization landscape, then focusing on how to deliver products and services in an efficient manner will reap short-term gains and lay the foundation for long-term efficiencies. Here are some potential changes in behavior:

1.  Inception & Evolution: This is the period when an idea is transformed into business.
2.  Congeal Phase: This phase is the “critical mass” of the organizational when issues become recognized. .
3.  External & Internal Transformation: External leadership who bring new methodologies and enterprise planning to the business can visualize end-to-end organizational improvements, from Suppliers to Customers,  provide strategies that sensitive to the environment, enrich brand image, engage with the business community and reap tangible benefits.
4.  Differentiation Phase: Promoting products and services that are unique and possess intrinsic values for your Customers are significant in attracting “niche” markets.
5.  Innovation: Innovation is assembled from creativity, ideas, strategies, processes, and most important the right human elements and a spirit of entrepreneurship. Innovation can be applied to your existing business environment to increase customer satisfaction, increase profitability, decrease waste and become more in tune with the marketplace.
6. Integration: After Transformation initiatives are executed and implemented, a leader recognizes that seamlessness may not be apparent in the controlled change. So, integration links groups in organizations, based on your new business paradigm and avoiding relapses to “old ways”, to apply their new knowledge in the “new” system with support to its stakeholders and the vision.
7.  Sustainability & Quality: Transformation is modeled with foundations for better leadership, based on these two lessons: The leanest will be more competitive [Lean Six Sigma]. The leanest will be better stewards and create a better chance of making the future a success [Sustainability]. All resources are finite, but the journey to pursue excellence is based on optimizing profitability: Sustainability + Quality + Continuous Improvement = Optimizing Profitability
8.  Litmus Test: Will transformation create opportunities for increased performance, reduced costs, provide for growth of brand and attract quality employees? The results indicate it will provide your organization with those opportunities and establish a Continuous Improvement process to refine and meet your future competitive landscape.

Opt For Managed Change
Competitive advantages come from Continuous Improvement. It begins with a study of the market landscape, urgent application of lessons learned, improved quality and innovation of Products and Services to gain market leadership and customer allegiance. We facilitate that shedding process to help your organization transform by investigating quality, scrutinizing costs and providing expertise in performance areas. Lean Six Sigma provides tools to integrate and improve a vast array of elements and corporate resources to align with your company’s efforts and direction. Here are a few areas:

1.  Sustainability strategies
2.  Corporate Social Responsibilities
3.  Customer engagement
4.  Employee engagement
5.  Change management
6.  Strategic planning
7.  Operational efficiency
8.  Operational redesign
9.  Outsourcing
10.  Strengths development
11.  Innovation
12.  Management evaluation tools
13.  Leadership development
14.  Supplier relationships and alignment

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Leaders, Be Viligent, Be Smart

As Stewards, we must anticipate change for our Future, rather than have the Future change us. Our Transformation Paradigm supports that Vision, involves your organization and provides flexibility for infusing a variety of Best Practices, while integrating Sustainability with Qaulity. That mindset is focused on smart Leadership choices to improve your organization through Sustainability fused with Lean Six Sigma.

Transformation is a journey. That journey is based on a forward thinking approach to discover new and better ways to improve efficiency, productivity, performance and profitability. In the current environment, the work we perform, how we do it, where we do it and the process of actually completing the task is undergoing a significant paradigm shift. That insipid “globalization” is a reality and a derivative of the global economy that has emerged. By combining Sustainability and Quality management disciplines and principles, then your organization has an approach that gains, while leveraging a repeatably Continuous Improvement framework.

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Quality for Over 90 Years

For over 90 years, Quality has been the mantra for top executives and owners who recognize the need for excellence. Consumers often associate quality with innovation and progress, too. Lean Six Sigma is the preferred methodology and is based on almost 90 years of continual improvement in the reduction of process variations, removal of defects and waste. The impact can be significant. Growth can be achieved by the improvement of the quality of your products and services. Performance can be increased by “fine tuning” the internal and external processes that support your portfolio. Last, but not least is the potential savings you could garner with a quality program such as Lean Six Sigma.

Lean Six Sigma is currently the quality methodology of choice and considered best in class. It is based on a progression of enrichment, innovation, open-minded conceptualization and a lineage of successful quality methodologies. The following quality methodologies began his in the early 1900s, with the advent of quality management theories and concepts. The following quality areas or building blocks to today’s Lean Six Sigma:

•    Quality Management
•    Just In Time
•    Lean Manufacturing
•    Total Quality Management
•    Six Sigma

From today’s perspective, quality is not an add-on option to business processes. Rather, it is the very fabric of the modern corporate culture. Quality Management is a long-term objective, not a valued added tool, for serious business. Quality focused organizations choose the best-in-class methodology, Lean Six Sigma. It is a business expectation, today. More importantly, it produces results recognized by the Customer. It helps satisfy the Customer’s Satisfaction and expectations. Isn’t that the goal of every business?

Source: Jarvis Business Solutions, LLC, © 2011, For services: www.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com

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Letter to the Leaders

Why is Sustainability so important? Today’s Executives recognize that what has been a common practice is not a sustainable practice now. Since the Industrial Revolution, beginning in the 18th century, countries began their industrial growth rapidly, based on their resources, and at the expense their environment. Conservation practices were never considered, nor seldom applied. Today, many Third World countries do not have a sustainable existence for their current population let alone the next generation (i.e., Haiti). Lacking recognition of our ecosystem’s degradation, endangered species, contemporary potable water issues, air pollution, Sustainability holistically recognizes commercial transformation within the constraints of limited and finite resources. As Johnson & Johnson quote in their Sustainability initiative, it is about People, Planet and Profit. So here are some examples of Sustainability issues:

Globalization has increased competition with limited resources
Increase carbon dioxide output for energy from coal and petroleum resources
Corporate struggle over water rights with communities
Increased population growth – now about 7 billion people

How can a Sustainability Initiative help your core business? It provides your company a Transformation model with bedrock foundations for Economic, Environmental, Social and Technological quadrants. Resources are finite. Your success will be measured by satisfying your Customer’s needs, having a high performance organization to address those needs, recognizing how Sustainability will impact your products and services, and leveraging the strength of your Supplier’s expertise. We are in a global marketplace where waste is no longer acceptable and its costs affect your operation’s survivability.

Today, most companies are not fully optimized and retain inefficiencies in day-to-day operations of doing business. A Quality initiative provides leadership to learn from past  experience and avoid repeating poor practices or failures. By institutionalizing Continuous Improvement processes, your organization will have a higher chance of long-term success. Lean Six Sigma reigns in that change cycle and installs a framework that can manage Change into a Value proposition and Brand enhancement for your concern.

Combining Sustainability and Lean Six Sigma is a synergistic approach that will promote your initiative’s success. From one focused initiative, crossover benefits would almost assuredly provide significant Tangible Benefits by understanding how to retain your progress. Recognize that your organization has different needs, approaches must be tailored to fit the stage of growth for the company, and solutions should be fitted to your company’s maturity level, as well as, those bothersome elements you want help to reduce or eliminate.

This journey will build a better relationship with your Customers, Employees and Suppliers. Business and IT strategies will be linked to key processes in your organization that will have the most impact on your bottom line. Suppliers will be closer aligned to your business models and Quality standards. Specifically, Lean Six Sigma is chosen most often to provide paths to build closer Customer relations, to fulfill Customer needs, to improve internal Efficiencies, to define Supplier roles and provide flexibility for future Sustainability. That journey is based on a long-term vision and durable thinking to fuse Sustainability with Lean Six Sigma.

Source: Jarvis Business Solutions, LLC, © 2009, For services: www.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com

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