Canada – a Poor Nation in a Rich Country?

 

Last Spring I wrote a series of articles on Canada’s economic, social & political malaise. If you do an AI search using the latter phrase, you’ll see the data. In those pieces I contrasted the ‘Great White North’ with Singapore, that economic & innovation powerhouse that I’ve come to know & love. I proposed a series of countermeasures and a road map back to prosperity. Has anything changed since I wrote those articles?

Things have indeed changed since I last wrote about Canada – they’ve gotten worse. Trade tensions with the US have further degraded productivity, business investment, and our standard of living. Trade barriers within Canada remain impenetrable. Our debt & deficit continue to mushroom, and per capita GPD declines. We are officially in a ‘technical’ recession.

Canada’s economic malaise is bleeding into day-to-day life. Family formation & birth rates are at historic lows. Kids can barely afford rent; home ownership is an impossible dream. Violent crime & infant mortality rates are spiking. Healthcare? - don’t ask.  Even life expectancy is falling.

There is strong separatist sentiment in Western Canada and Quebec. Alberta will hold a referendum on sovereignty this fall. As for Quebec, if the front-running Parti Quebecois wins October’s provincial election, we’ll soon have a second sovereignty referendum. Alberta & Quebecois separatism is fueled by the strong sense that ‘we can do better outside of Canada’.

And yet, Canada remains a ‘rich’ country. We are endowed with one of the planet’s most magnificent & munificent land masses. We have pretty much everything Singapore lacks. And unlike Singapore, our cities & infrastructure have never been destroyed. Our people have never been imprisoned or enslaved. We are not surrounded by enemies. We have never been invaded by a merciless imperial army. We live next door to the world’s richest & most innovative market.

Singapore has become a rich nation in a poor country. Is Canada becoming a ‘poor nation in a rich country’? Anxious to deflect attention, our elites invoke the ‘ogre down South’, but even that tactic is wearing thin.

Clearly, something has gone badly wrong. Is Canada’s decline irreversible? What would it take to regain our historic tenacity, self-confidence & entrepreneurial spirit? (I provided a humble road map in my earlier articles.) I believe our PM is sincere & capable and wish him well. His thankless challenge is to clean up a decade of malfeasance and restore a once-great country.

I do not wish to be misunderstood. This gives me no pleasure, and I have no partisan axe to grind. Canada (and America) gave my family a chance at a better life. Am I not obliged to signal the growing gap between my native land & the innovation powerhouses I’m lucky enough to experience?

They say, the ‘darkest hour is right before the dawn’. Let’s hope so.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis, co-author of Harnessing Digital Disruption

E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

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

Towards an Ambidextrous Centre of Excellence

 

Centres of Excellence (CoE) usually focus on protecting the core business by building capability & evangelizing critical methods or technologies (e.g. Lean/OpEx). That’s no longer enough – in an exponential age, the CoE must also help us grow.

The CoE’s Role is Changing

I’ve worked with CoEs for a couple of decades now & have seen them evolve in different directions. Historically, CoEs have focused on Cost – rightfully so.  Most CFOs will tell you Cost improvements tend to last longer than Revenue growth.  Moreover, Cost is amenable to Total Involvement, Quick & Easy Improvement, Kaizen Teian and other core elements of Lean/OpEx.

The CoE’s core functions comprise five key pillars:

1. Standardize & Share Best Processes & Methods

2. Build Knowledge & Capability

3. Lead, Align & Connect

4. On-Demand Support

5. Create Value through Innovation & Continuous Improvement

I’ve italicized ‘innovation’ in Pillar 5 to highlight the Growth imperative. Exponential technologies like AI, Data Analytics, Blockchain and the rest enable Growth.  Agentic AI, for example, is like the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin movies, making questions around How less daunting. Going forward we’ll be far less constrained by the tyranny of the How.

Protecting the Core is No Longer Enough

Ambidexterity

And so, protecting the core business with Lean/OpEx is no longer enough. To help ignite new Growth, the CoE must absorb a) new technologies like those mentioned above, and b) new ways of working including AI-enabled experimentation, Design Thinking, and Growth Hacking. 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.

I don’t wish to be misunderstood: Lean/OpEx lays the essential foundation. Most transformations begin with Lean fundamentals, but we can’t stop there.  Otherwise, we’ll miss enormous Growth opportunities. Moreover, we’ll commission a Kaizen event when we really need an AI agent or Growth Hacking. I’ve also seen the reverse scenario. A digitally-focused CoE jumps to an expense Digital solution (e.g. RPA or Agentic AI) when a Lean/OpEx solution would be quicker, better & cheaper.

Building an Ambidextrous CoE

We need to build connected, complementary ‘learn by doing’ curricula around a) Protecting the Core Business, and b) Igniting New Growth.  We supplement these with time-boxed, focused, fast-paced sprints and other practical events activities like Boot Camps, Hackathons, and Shark Tanks. Such activities are flexible & can be focused where needed. We begin with Lean/OpEx basics – which remain opaque to many people. Every generation has to relearn the fundamentals.

My practice is to run these in a Train-the-Trainer style. Once the CoE levels up, they can take the baton & teach the organization.

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