How do you assess your organization's ability to successfully manage an innovative process?

An innovative assessment will require an objective evaluation of all the factors that could affect  the process from idea generation to successful implementation.

Areas that should be evaluated as part of any innovation assessment should include:

1. Identify all the factors that are either feeding or starving innovation in your organization:
2. Define how your customers or clients are pulling you to change your business model;
3. Recognize the technology push that can provide you new opportunities for innovation;
4. Understand the difference between change and innovation;
5. Evaluate your process for giving ideas a fair hearing in your organization;
6. Identify where your sits on the innovation structure scale (predictability vs. creativity);
7. Ascertain any possible constraints (staff, group, organization, market etc.) that would inhibit identifying & implementing innovation;
8. Discover how your employees perceive innovation and how it should be part of every person's job description;
9.  Recognize how your employee award system can drive or hinder greater creative thinking.

 If you have any questions or would like more information on conducting your own innovation assessment, please contact me, Joe Bonocore, jbonocore@bonocore.com, 415-845-8692

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How do you encourage rather than discourage innovation to win in this changing economy

First,  we must understand that innovation is not just having a better idea. To be innovative, the idea should drive significant advancement in any of your present activities.

However, just having an idea does not mean that you are encouraging innovation.

History tells us numerous stories of organizations who had "breakthrough ideas" but did not capitalize on them.

Most innovative ideas failed due to either (1) the value of the idea was not recognized in the organization or (2( an unsuccessful implementation.

Soon, Managing an effective innovation process (from idea to implementation) will be considered a necessary core competence to thrive in the new economy.

Are You Encouraging or Discouraging Innovation in Your Organization

Based on our experience and additional research, we find that many companies discourage rather than encourage innovation in their organization.

In most cases this is because they either (1) have an environment that awards "not making mistakes. or (2) lack an effective innovation process that drives a creative idea to successful implementation. 

In the not too distant future, all companies will be required to implement an ongoing innovation process to thrive in this fast changing market. This applies to large and small companies in all key industry segments.

OOne reason for this is the changing needs of the marketplace.  Your customers expect to buy products and services that are better, faster. and cheaper.

These customer expectations are dramatically changing the competitive landscape in all key industry segments from information technology to manufacturing.

Today, a number of forward thinking companies are changing to meet these market expectations. Numerous creative new innovations are being implemented. Many have been supported by the significant expansion of our technology capabilities.
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Do You Have a Runaway Project?

Our firm recently completed a comprehensive review of how effective companies are at managing their new product launches and IT systems projects.  

One of our conclusions:  many companies can significantly (1) shorten their projects timeline and (2) reduce project cost.

In most cases, this requires both earlier identification of project problems; and effective & timely restructuring if you have a runaway project.

To improve this effort requires management be sensitive to of the early warning signs of a possible runaway project and, if you have a runaway project, take the necessary steps to regain project control.

In our study, we interviewed 105 companies in the technology, financial services, health care, distribution, and manufacturing industries and found that 76% of these companies had one or more major runaway projects in the last three year. 

They stated that each of these projects had significant negative results on their business including: 

1. Cost overruns which impacted profitability & cash flow;
2. Delays in product &service launches which resulted in loss of expected new revenues; and
3. Delays in upgrading systems & process improvement efforts resulting in delaying operational efficiencies and cost reduction targets...

Our complete findings & recommendations are contained in a recently published white paper entitled “Prevent a Costly Runaway Project: Recognize the Signs & Take the Right Action”. 

This white paper provides executives with:

·         The definition of a runaway project;

·         Early warning signs so you can identify one;

·         Examples of causes of a runaway project; and

·         Recommended approach for identifying & correcting a runaway project

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If you would like a copy of this white paper, please email me at jbonocore@bonocore.com . I will be happy to send it to you.

Twelve Step Approach to Future Success for Professional Service Firms

The professional services marketplace has changed dramatically over the last few years. This is the result of both (1) the current economic turmoil and (2) efforts by many service firms to restructure in order to meet the expanding demands of their clients.

Examples of these expanding client demands include:

·         The need for greater complexity in executing many professional service offerings;

·         An increased client sensitivity to the price of services being offered;

·         Greater demands to improving project performance, including expecting shorter delivery times and higher project quality; and

·          More access to the best “hands on” expertise in the firm. This is especially true for assisting clients expand into smaller & emerging markets to create new opportunities for their growth and profitability

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The good news: Firms that do respond effectively to these growing client demands could see significant new opportunities to increase their own growth and profits.  

This will be especially true in key professional service market segments such as consulting; information technology; audit & tax; law firms; and IT, process, & telecommunications outsourcing service providers. 

In our consulting efforts, Bonocore Technology Partners (BTP) identified four high priority areas and twelve actions that service firms should take in meeting these needs. We believe that adopting new innovation in these twelve areas can create significant market differentiation in the current demanding professional services marketplace. 

The high priority areas where new innovation and market differentiation can be achieved in many firms include:

1.      Implementing more effective client management techniques;

2.      Adopting higher project quality standards and implementing greater project efficiencies in all service delivery processes;

3.      Managing the firm’s key knowledge assets (including both talent and intellectual property) more effectively to expanded client access of these limited assets to many more clients; and

4.      Implementing operational excellence techniques in all service support processes in the firm.

                How effective is your firm in implementing best practices in these areas?

Many professional service firms have a long way to go to meet the needs of the marketplace. Assessments we have conducted found that most firms can benefit from an evaluation of your present operations and the development of a comprehensive action plan to improve operations as well as minimize any negative impact that may arise in today’s marketplace.

Based on our experience, there are twelve key steps that should be included in this plan for most professional service firms. They are:

1.       Educate firm management on the characteristics of the new “Client Demand Driven Marketplace” and develop management consensus around the changes needed in your organization to meet these market demands.

2.       Create a firm-wide commitment to be much more nimble, efficient, and responsive in helping your clients in their efforts to simplify, streamline, scale, enter new lines of business, and restructure company operations.

3.       Centralize the service delivery operations with a view toward a more global organization & service delivery strategy. Restructuring into a global services & delivery model is an important step in meeting present market demands for a higher level of client service. A global structure can help significantly in effectively executing steps 4 through 12 (defined below).

4.       Provide greater access to the best knowledge assets in the firm to many more clients. Executing this plan can drive additional revenues and improve your firm’s market differentiation by permitting greater access of this knowledge to a larger number of clients. 

5.       Create a more efficient service delivery model. Standardizing your service delivery processes (to the greatest extent possible) & centralizing your key knowledge resources, can go far in meeting to clients present expectations.  The ultimate goal should be more effective & efficient project management with higher project quality.

6.       Improve retention rate of the firm’s key talent.  Our research tells us that centralizing key resources can not only improve revenue but also result in higher key talent retention. Examples include more effective deployment on client projects & sales efforts and a greater awareness of the support required to leverage these resources (e.g. resource training).

7.       Implement higher project quality project standards. Client expectations are requiring that service firms improving project & process quality. Higher quality standards can also reduce project cost and shorten delivery times. This can also result in greater client satisfaction and generate additional fees with “follow on” projects.

8.       Implement a more effective sales & marketing strategy. The objectives are to identify who are your best clients & how you can improve the effectiveness and integrate your sales and marketing efforts.  One example is to more effectively manage the entire selling cycle to drive greater sales. The goal is to increase the number of wins as a percentage of opportunities.

9.       Develop a more flexible approach for pricing your services. The successful services firm of the future will present a number of service pricing options to their clients. This will be necessary to answer the client’s growing sensitivity to fees and their desire for more flexibility in pricing. When structured correctly, a flexible fee strategy can also help to shorten today’s longer sales cycle time and drive down cost. An example includes reducing the number of “tough negotiation” sessions with your clients which generally result in lower fees. You should also keep in mind that, in many cases, offering flexible pricing options may be in conflict with your ability to develop certain services and manage certain projects.

10.   Restructure your present support organization including policies, procedures, & systems to more effectively support you in today’s marketplace. This may likely require centralizing performance management and supporting systems. The goal is to improve overall operational effectiveness and provide greater business intelligence information to meet client demands. 

11.   Understand your true profitability by service & by client. In most cases, this will require centralize & standardize client service & delivery data (including data across all business lines and geography). Service firms should better understand the true cost of delivering each service and managing each client. This knowledge of service & client profitability will continue to grow in importance as each firm develops a better understanding of their “profitability drivers” and creates new competitive pricing alternatives.

12.   Develop the capability, scale, and expertise to effectively enter smaller growth markets. Many potential clients need your firm’s skills to help them create new opportunities for growth. However, most professional service firms will require a very different service model to be successful in entering these smaller but growing markets. This will require working in an environment of providing your services to a larger number of smaller clients. This will necessitate:

a.        Reorganizing business units across a wider geographic area; and

b.      Restructuring your services and service delivery model to be more scalable and efficient to maintain your profitability in an environment of providing your services to a larger number of smaller clients.

              The future success of each professional service firm will depend on how effective they are in implementing best practices these twelve areas. Naturally, specific solutions in each area will vary to fit each firm’s situation.

              Our firm provides consulting counsel in helping professional service firms to evaluate their present situation and implement an action plan meeting the changing needs of the marketplace.

               For questions, additional information or to schedule a risk free assessment of how your firm is positioned for future success, please contact Joseph J. Bonocore at 415-924-9992 or by email at jbonocore@bonocore.com.

Early Warning Signs of Losing Your Competitive Edge

Many leading edge companies know there are a number of key leading indicators that, if monitored, can identify the potential early warning signs of a company losing its’ competitive edge.

            These are strategic measurements included to evaluate their long term competitive health. With this information, management can take early corrective action.

Periodically, I will write about these warning signs in this blog.

The first two measurements are:

·         Sales Lead Effectiveness:  The effectiveness of your sales/marketing teams to turn a qualified lead into a sale. Do you know if this measurement has gone up or down over the years? High quality companies improve this measurement year over the year. Do you? Do you know why you are winning or losing?

·         Retaining Tier One Employees: What percentage of your employees are rated “tier one”. High quality companies improve their average over the years. Do you know why you are succeeding or failing in retaining your tier one employees?

These are just two of a number of key indicators that we believe should be measured to improve profitability. 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Joseph Bonocore

jbonocore@bonocore.com

Do You Have A Leadership 2.0 Culture?

Over the past few years, a number of CEOs have challenged their leadership teams with a vision and goals that while some saw impossible or out of reach, they were achieved in record time.

These leadership teams had to develop new skills & techniques to effectively manage and collaborate in the realities of the new economy to achieve these results in record time..

For example, they had to see the everyday recurring problems as possible opportunities for achieving breakthroughs in clarity, creativity, innovation, and common purpose.

With the right Leadership 2.0 techniques, tools, and communication, an effective management team can quickly adopt to this new reality as well and  rally around a clear enterprise vision that is the foundation for inspiring a sustainable shift in your strategic, operational, and financial reality as every new situation warrants..

The bottom line is that once the leadership is aligned effectively, the impossible becomes probable.

BTP’s Leadership 2.0 approach which is based on our firm’s thirty years of experience in working with CEOs and management teams to improve their effectiveness in a wide variety of economic climates.

This approach gives our client’s leadership team the tools to work more effectively in today’s economy. We do this by working with them in a three step development exercise::

·         Step 1: The CEO Reflection Session:  This is a “One on One Reflection Discussion” with the senior leader of the enterprise. The objective is to gain the leader’s perspective on the business and to understand the issues from the senior executive’s standpoint. This discussion becomes a critical foundation for the next step which is the Senior Executive Leadership 2.0 Session.

·         Step 2: Senior Executives Leadership 2.0 Session: This is a “Reflection & Re-thinking Session” for the Senior Management Team. The leadership team experiences a renewed “leadership journey” together.  There is a significant benefit for the group to take this “time out” together  to reassess how they can be more effective in growing the business.. This “leadership journey” is focused on the company’s specific issues with the goal of improving the company’s operations including defining priorities; setting goals; and defining each executive role in achieving them.

·         Step 3: Leadership 2.0 Implementation Session:  This session is designed to follow up on the Senior Executive Session. Additional company staff who will be involved in the changes will be introduced to the process and plans. All  those with some leadership role in executing the tactical steps in the Leadership 2.0 Implementation Plan resulting from Step 2 should be in this session. 

Upon completion of this effort, the company should well on their way to initiating a cultural change and receive at least two major benefits. It should have a leadership team that is more effectively working together and an action plan for performance improvement.

This should be a good  first step in implementing a Leadership 2.0 Culture in the enterprise. 

And it can all can begin with one conversation.

If you have interest in learning more about this  Leadership 2.0 Culture process, we would be happy to answer any questions or discuss how we might be able to help.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like any additional information.

Thanks

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Joseph Bonocore

jbonocore@bonocore.com