Lean and Six Sigma have now matured as the premier continuous improvement tools in today’s business environment. But there is still much confusion over which is the best tool to use and when. Some companies declare themselves staunch six sigma advocates and some are just as passionate about the lean tools. This mindset can often cause us to use the wrong tool set in our continuous improvement endeavors; the proverbial square peg in a round hole. [Read more…]
Strategy Deployment Webinar
How to deploy Breakthrough Business Strategies to achieve sustained growth and profitability in the current challenging business environment.
According to a study conducted by CFO Magazine, over 500 companies revealed that the top reason for the lack of value in their company’s planning process can be explained by the lack of a well-defined process to drive their strategies to execution. [Read more…]
Balanced Scorecards vs. Strategy Deployment
The original intent of the Balanced Scorecard attempts to identify targets (both financial and operational) that are strategic in nature. However, most companies that I am familiar with misuse this tool, and tend to merge daily management measures (KPI’s – Key Performance Indicators) and strategic measures together. This often leads to confusion over what is truly strategic and where management needs to focus its attention, as well as confusion as to where to best deploy its resources.
I like to think of measurements as either Daily Management as measured by Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and Strategy Deployment (SD) measures that are tied to the strategies of the company. I think that all functional departments should develop their own KPI’s to monitor and improve their specific functions.
Strategy Deployment targets however, are cross-functional and need to be worked on by multi-functional teams. These are the measures that are found in the “Target” section of the SD Matrix. Also, SD targets are set to “breakthrough” measures requiring the focus on the fundamental processes that deliver the desired, repeatable, consistent, breakthrough results. I feel that the Strategic Deployment process does a better job at identifying the underlying business processes that need to be implemented/changed/improved. True sustainability is had by focusing on repeatable business processes that drive breakthrough results.
Mark DeLuzio Interviewed on The Lean Nation
Lean Horizons President and CEO, Mark DeLuzio, was interviewed on The Lean Nation radio show with Karl Wadensten on April 12, 2011. If you missed the broadcast, you can click below to listen to the podcast.
Click here to listen to Mark DeLuzio on The Lean Nation.
The Lean Nation is on 790AM (Citadel Broadcasting, ABC Affiliate) in Providence, RI every Tuesday from 3-5pm. The show features real world examples and actionable advice from lean and business thought leaders on how to reinvent yourself into a lean operation in business and in life. The show’s host, Karl Wadensten, is the president of VIBCO, a Rhode Island manufacturing company, which has created a Lean Revolution using lean methodologies based on the Toyota Production System.
Mark DeLuzio to Conduct Strategy Deployment Workshop
Lean Horizons Consulting President and CEO, Mark DeLuzio, along with Associate Partner Jorge Barron, will be conducting a workshop on Strategy Deployment at the 2011 Shingo Prize International Conference. The workshop will be most beneficial to leaders who are concerned about how to achieve breakthrough performance by ensuring organizational alignment and maximizing the use of resources.
The workshop will focus on:
- Introduction to strategy deployment
- Link strategy deployment to Shingo model
- How to develop strategy deployment through a practical case study
- Top level matrix
- Defining breakthrough objectives
- Selecting Annual Improvement Priorities (AIPs)
- Defining targets to improve and assigning resources
- Next steps and action plans
- Examples and other success stories
Benefits of Strategy Deployment include:
- Reduces the speed to value cycle by aligning lean strategy to resources
- Forces organizations to focus on the critical few strategic imperatives
- Ensures standardized, sustainable, high performing business process
- Ensures sustained breakthrough results
- Provides a means towards strategic competitive advantage
- Provides a means to communicate the strategic vision
- Creates a common focus throughout the organization
Mark DeLuzio was also inducted into the Shingo Academy in 2007.
For anyone interested in attending the 2011 Shingo Prize International Conference, please register here. Be sure to check the “Monday March 28 AM: Strategy Deployment – DeLuzio” box when registering.