How to Release the Genius of the Organization?

 

Global engagement scores suck – everybody knows it. Despite the best efforts of Boards, HR professionals, consultants and the threat of AI, people don’t put their hearts into their work. For some reason, we just don’t care enough about the mission & purpose of our organization. And yet, people have never been more capable. What’s going on & how do we fix it?

What’s going on?

Why this mass disengagement?  Dr. Gary Hamel provides a compelling answer in his HBR articles. “Insipid, incremental, inertial” – that’s the modern corporation, he tells us. Despite some shining examples to the contrary, most people would agree with him. The root causes are many and include strategic issues such as an inability to articulate Mission & Values in compelling ways, incentive structures, bureaucracy, structural complexity, a feudal mindset, and tactical issues like the absence of Visual management & related methods that make both Purpose & Current Condition visible, thereby creating a recurrent ‘pull’. 

In a struggling company, there is an absence of ‘nudges’, those small encouragements from the culture & its core processes.  In a great company, by contrast, team members sense that “I’m expected to try stuff, to solve problems, and to propose ideas.” 

How Do We Fix It? 

To what purpose do we engage people?

1.     To protect our core business by solving thorny problems & thereby reducing cost & hassle, and

2.     To ignite new Growth using our marvelous modern technologies including AI, drones, Data Analytics, Robotics, Blockchain, VR, AR, and their permutations

And how do we provide the ‘nudges’ that encourage ‘Total Involvement’?

The Shark Tank & Centre of Excellence

As a mentor, my approach is to help provide:

·       The core skills in the form of ‘Learn by Doing’ curriculum developed & managed by the Centre of Excellence, and the

·       Forum & Showcase in which your best & brightest can shine, which we sometimes call the ‘Shark Tank,’ after the popular TV show which features young entrepreneurs pitching to grizzled business touts.

To start we focus on ‘Protecting the Core’ through root cause problem solving.  Over time we build toward ‘Igniting New Growth’ through the disciplines of Growth Hacking. Our Shark Tank is, in effect, a Talent Show, wherein our best & brightest can shine. We engage HR & the Board to ensure that proper recognition & rewards accrue to our stars. Our ‘Sharks’ comprise respected senior leaders, and it’s a ‘show’ in the best sense of the word.

In my experience, the Shark Tank is an excellent way of kickstarting a culture.  Sustaining a 'Total Involvement' culture is the next challenge, and the topic of future articles, blogs, and books.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

Levelling Up the Centre of Excellence

 

Is the Centre of Excellence (CoE) still relevant? If so, how is its role changing, and how do we level up its capability? What are the biggest blockers & most common failure modes? What are the countermeasures? Such are my topics today & over the next few weeks.

What’s the Role of the CoE?

I’ve worked with CoEs for a couple of decades now & have seen them evolve in different directions. The CoE (aka Centre of Expertise/Capability/Competence, Maker’s Space, Digital/Innovation Hub) should act as a networking mechanism that helps us move from disorganized, siloed work to focused, aligned, informed and value-added work. The CoE’s core functions comprise five key pillars:

1. Standardize & Share Best Processes & Methods

·       Function as the ‘hub’ for a specific area (like Lean/OpEx, Innovation, Cloud, AI).

·       Define & share our current ‘best ways.’

·       Ensure we’re aligned across the organization.

·       Ensure quality of learning & application.

2. Build Knowledge & Capability

·       Identify key knowledge gaps: what ‘should’ we know vs what we ‘actually know.’

·       Sustain ‘Book of Knowledge’ summarizing applications to date & what we learned.

·       Upskilling & Coaching: Providing ‘learn by doing’ training, mentoring & "train-the-trainer" programs.

·       Share Learning by developing communities of practice (CoPs) sharing cross-team wins & losses.

3. Lead, Align & Connect

·       Define Vision & winning logic for a specific technology or capability aligned with company goals.

·       Thought Leadership: Wise direction; evangelize new ways of working.

·       Change Management: Support new ways of working by managing stakeholder expectations.

4. On-Demand Support

·       Advice for complex or high-risk projects.

·       Provide access to scarce or high-demand resources (e.g., Cloud, data scientists) that individual teams can’t otherwise access.

·       Methods & Tools: Oversee selection, implementation, and optimization of shared platforms.

5. Create Value through Innovation & Continuous Improvement

·       Piloting New Tech & New Ways of Working: Pilot innovative methods or technologies before full-scale deployment.

·       Continuous Improvement: Root-cause problem solving to constantly refine processes & methods.

 

How Is the CoE’s Role Changing?

Ambidexterity

The explosion of new ways of working, including Digital technology & methods has put intense pressure on the CoE (& everyone else). Ambidexterity is Job One – we have to become ‘two-gear’ organizations able to a) Protect our core business with Lean/OpEx, and b) Ignite new Growth with Digital methods. (For more on ambidexterity check out my blog & books).

Ambidexterity is especially important for the CoE. Here’s a recurring scenario: we jump to an expense Digital solution (e.g. RPA or Agentic AI) when a Lean/OpEx solution would be quicker, better & cheaper. The reverse scenario is also common: We commission a Kaizen event when we really need Growth Hacking. The net effect is the same: the CoE loses credibility.

Some organizations try to address the problem by setting up parallel CoE’s – one focused on Lean/OpEx and protecting the core business, the other on Digital methods (Cloud, Data, AI) and Growth. This can work if there is strong alignment & cross-fertilization between teams, but the risks are obvious. Business transformations almost always begin with fixing the foundation with Lean/OpEx. This essential work typically entails dozens or hundreds of process improvement events. Doing such work positions the CoE for the next part of the journey – automation & digitizing the new process. Splitting this work between two groups short-circuits ambidexterity. The proverbial left & right hands are disconnected from the start.

Towards an Ambidextrous CoE

Protecting the core business with Lean/OpEx & igniting new Growth with Digital is hard because each entails different mindsets & skillsets. In fact, they reside in two different worlds, first articulated by Aristotle. (See my articles on Contingency & Necessity).

How do we build a CoE comprising individuals at home with the mindsets & methods each world? How to build a CoE that can both protect the core, and ignite new Growth? Stay tuned.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

How Do We Win in an AI World? (Part 2)

 

Imagine we’re a large multinational, customer-facing company under intense competitive pressure. We’ve invested heavily in AI & there’s pressure to demonstrate a rapid ROI. Our team members, though loyal & capable, are hesitant to apply AI tools that might eliminate their jobs. What to do?

What’s In It for Them?

Job One is to answer the question: ‘What’s in it for them?’ Please refer to my earlier articles for my thoughts.

Some AI basics

1) AI can be a fine servant but is a dreadful master, 2) AI’s challenge is not unprecedented and mirrors the challenges posed by breakthrough technologies since the Industrial Revolution. In fact, the challenge is not so dissimilar to that posed by Robotic Process Automation (RPA) a decade or so ago in industries like Financial Services.  3) RPA is deterministic AI (If X, then Y) and excels at automating data entry, invoice processing, or high-volume, routine tasks. 4) Agentic AI is non-deterministic (If X, then Y or Z or maybe W) and excels at complex, cognitive tasks like customer support, strategic planning, or managing end-to-end IT operations. Agentic AI learns, which is disturbing to many.

So, let’s imagine we’re the company described above, and our goal is to improve both Customer & Employee Experience (CX & EX) in a critical customer-facing process, while reducing Lead Time & Cost. How do we proceed?

Overall Approach

1)    Begin every AI use case by clearly defining the problem. This is harder than it sounds. Too often, I hear problem statements like: “We need everybody to use AI this year so we can show the Board we’re getting a good ROI.”  Good luck with that.

2)    Lay a solid foundation by taking waste & variation out of the process. I remember our RPA partner telling me, “If you bring us garbage processes, you’ll spend a fortune & create garbage at the speed of light.” This also means levelling up your data. Is it high quality, complete & end-to-end? If not, fix it (with APIs, RPA & advanced analytics)

3)    Look for both analogue & Digital remedies for Value Stream & Customer Journey hot spots. Early on, analogue remedies will be most effective. Let’s say your goal is to reduce cycle time. Start with OpEx/Lean fundamentals like wringing out waste, addressing bottlenecks, level-loading, and creating extra capacity by cross-training.

4)    Agentic AI remedies come into their own after we fix our process & data gaps.

Key Enabler – Ambidexterity

Your Centre of Excellence (innovation support team) must become ambidextrous – in other words, adept at both OpEx/Lean & Digital remedies. In the age of AI, the ambidextrous win.

More to come.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org