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Digg it UP - The Seven Key Steps to Align Employees Behind Strategic Goals
Utilizing The Skills Of Black BeltsMost people believe that Six Sigma is for large organizations and is not cost effective for small businesses. However, this is just a misconception because Six Sigma concepts and methodologies can be tweaked to make them deployable in small business organizations as well. Deploying Six Sigma in small businesses has been made possible with the development of new tools and techniques that can be altered to suit all types of processes, be it a simple process involving just two to three steps or a complex process having numerous sub-processes.Small businesses just need to hire the services of Six Sigma professionals such as Black Belts who have the requisite qualification, skills and experience to handle Six Sigma implementation projects. Small businesses that do not have the requisite funds to pay for the services can opt for providing Black Belt training to existing employees. This is often more beneficial for small businesses because once the employees a
Step 5 – Test The Thoroughness of Coverage. Once Steps 1-4 have been covered and there has been time for the information to be disseminated, or “to percolate” through the company, you will want to set up Step 5, which is a process to test the thoroughness of coverage. That is, you’ll want to determine, through informal sources, surveys, and other means, how well the information is flowing through the organization; how widespread the coverage has been; how well-received it has been; and how adequate you would judge the results of the overall effort to be.
Step 6 – Look for the Gaps and Close Them. Armed with data and other information from Step 5, the next step is to look for the gaps and close them
Sometime back I wrote that the best day to go shopping was the day before Thanksgiving. The reason was that the stores are all stocked up for Christmas in goods and in sale staff. They know the day after Thanksgiving they will be swamped with Christmas buyers so they are getting ready.The day before Thanksgiving, the stores are empty because all of the non-working women are home fixing Thanksgiving dinner. The working ladies rush right to the grocery store after work. So the “Christmas shopping stores” are empty.I said in that famous article that going to J.C. Penney the day before Thanksgiving was wonderful. They had goods on sale and they had plenty of workers to help you select what you needed. We were in and out of there in an hour and we had a bundle of gifts for our 32 grandkids, our great grandchild, and their parents.I worked at J.C. Penny years ago.I worked in the evening part time to earn a little extra cash because I was heading back to graduate school.I a
Step 1 – Know Your Employee “Audience” and Test the Water. You’ll need to do some basic fact-finding to understand how prepared and/or dedicated your employees are to goals endorsement. If this was not clear as a result of your strategic planning process, the best way to approach learning the needed information is through an all-inclusive electronic data gathering process known as the Delphi Process. This process is a relatively simple one, but will require that you hire a technological consultant to run the Delphi, unless you have such a person internal to your organization.
Once the process has been structured and implemented, the data that you will receive will portray an in-depth picture of your employees and their motivation, relative to your organization’s strategic goals. The process will also provide you with insights into a collective intent to act to carry out goals directions. Barring an ability to conduct a Delphi Process, the second best way to gain insight about your employees’ interest in and dedication to your strategic goals is to use “focus groups” as a sampling process to discover that. The agendas for focus group meetings can be pre-cast to provide the answers you will need for later steps in the adoption process. Focus group discussion questions should be structured to accomplish two purposes: Gain information about employees’ dedication to the tasks ahead; while at the same time, to serve to “seed” information that will serve the organization well.
Focus group questions should be structured so that no more than 20-30 minutes is needed for the facilitator of a focus group to gain needed information and to convey some “key ideas” to the employees in attendance.
Step 2 – Discover Your Major Movers. During the focus group [or, other “testing the water”] process, you will discover your major movers, which constitutes the 2nd Key Step of realizing goals implementation. As you, or a trusted member of your leadership team, talk to your people in the focus groups and as you hear and see them interact with others, you will discern those who are the natural or assumed leaders and who demonstrate an interest and a talent for the tasks ahead. Tap into this latent leadership talent and use it to best advantage by selecting and forming these individuals into a cadre of Major Movers for your organization.
Step 3 – Train Them Well. As you discover and identify these major movers you will want to prepare to train them well. By immediately setting up a training program for these leaders and drawing them together, at once, into a cadre for further training and support, you are instituting the next critical step. This training should have two thrusts: 1) to prepare the “M&M” cadre with a common body of knowledge so that everyone is singing from the same hymnal; and 2) to set up the “corporate creep process” -- that is, to ensure that the notion of “how to’s” for employees to work within the organization’s goal framework is embedded in the thinking/processing mechanisms of this group of employees.
The common body of knowledge that is presented to the company’s “major mover” (M&M) group will be talking points that have been carefully refined and “test-driven” as those that most closely depict the “message” of the organization’s goals development function. It is this M&M cadre who will become your knowledge dissemination process within the organization.
Step 4 -- Arrange for a Rewards Structure. The rewards structure should be set up as part of your CCP, or, “corporate creep process.” A structure of rewards, or incentives, should be designed to promote the effective attention to goals by your employees. Incentives programs especially selected as appropriate rewards for employees who promote the organization’s goals should be created [for more information, see Dr. Blair’s article, “Why Does an Incentive Structure Work in Corporations?”].
Step 5 – Test The Thoroughness of Coverage. Once Steps 1-4 have been covered and there has been time for the information to be disseminated, or “to percolate” through the company, you will want to set up Step 5, which is a process to test the thoroughness of coverage. That is, you’ll want to determine, through informal sources, surveys, and other means, how well the information is flowing through the organization; how widespread the coverage has been; how well-received it has been; and how adequate you would judge the results of the overall effort to be.
Step 6 – Look for the Gaps and Close Them. Armed with data and other information from Step 5, the next step is to look for the gaps and close them.
Making changes to improve the overall success of your business should be applauded. It takes a lot of time, dedication, money, and just plain guts to alter the way a business functions; especially in the case of organizational overhauls such as is the case with Six Sigma. When done properly, changes can lead to greater production, happier employees, superior quality, and a better bottom line. However, it is when there is something missing that a company can harm customer relationships, frustrate employees, reduce quality, and hurt the bottom line.The difference commonly isn’t a matter of whether the change was good or not, but is instead the way that the change was put into place. Even the simplest and most reasonable change cannot function if it has not been added to the company’s function in a practical and meaningful way.It is therefore the responsibility of a business to not only choose which changes are needed in order to improve its overall function, but also how and when it sh
Focus group questions should be structured so that no more than 20-30 minutes is needed for the facilitator of a focus group to gain needed information and to convey some “key ideas” to the employees in attendance.
Step 2 – Discover Your Major Movers. During the focus group [or, other “testing the water”] process, you will discover your major movers, which constitutes the 2nd Key Step of realizing goals implementation. As you, or a trusted member of your leadership team, talk to your people in the focus groups and as you hear and see them interact with others, you will discern those who are the natural or assumed leaders and who demonstrate an interest and a talent for the tasks ahead. Tap into this latent leadership talent and use it to best advantage by selecting and forming these individuals into a cadre of Major Movers for your organization.
Step 3 – Train Them Well. As you discover and identify these major movers you will want to prepare to train them well. By immediately setting up a training program for these leaders and drawing them together, at once, into a cadre for further training and support, you are instituting the next critical step. This training should have two thrusts: 1) to prepare the “M&M” cadre with a common body of knowledge so that everyone is singing from the same hymnal; and 2) to set up the “corporate creep process” -- that is, to ensure that the notion of “how to’s” for employees to work within the organization’s goal framework is embedded in the thinking/processing mechanisms of this group of employees.
The common body of knowledge that is presented to the company’s “major mover” (M&M) group will be talking points that have been carefully refined and “test-driven” as those that most closely depict the “message” of the organization’s goals development function. It is this M&M cadre who will become your knowledge dissemination process within the organization.
Step 4 -- Arrange for a Rewards Structure. The rewards structure should be set up as part of your CCP, or, “corporate creep process.” A structure of rewards, or incentives, should be designed to promote the effective attention to goals by your employees. Incentives programs especially selected as appropriate rewards for employees who promote the organization’s goals should be created [for more information, see Dr. Blair’s article, “Why Does an Incentive Structure Work in Corporations?”].
Step 5 – Test The Thoroughness of Coverage. Once Steps 1-4 have been covered and there has been time for the information to be disseminated, or “to percolate” through the company, you will want to set up Step 5, which is a process to test the thoroughness of coverage. That is, you’ll want to determine, through informal sources, surveys, and other means, how well the information is flowing through the organization; how widespread the coverage has been; how well-received it has been; and how adequate you would judge the results of the overall effort to be.
Step 6 – Look for the Gaps and Close Them. Armed with data and other information from Step 5, the next step is to look for the gaps and close them
PEtite modeling is a tough industry to break into. Especially since most modeling agencies won't represent models unless they're 5 feet and 9 inches tall or taller. Have you had people tell you're cute? Do you hear all the time "you should be a model"? But you just don't qualify for the strict standards that most modeling angencies have?Rest assured there is a career out there for the petite model. There is work in the worlds of the fashion, commercial, editorial and many other industries for the less 5 feet 9 inch models. There is even work for models as short as 5 feet tall.Most of the work in the petite modeling industry involoves close up pictures of the face, hands, feet or other body parts instead of the body as a whole. The fashion modeling industry, however is very body focused, that is why they have such stringent height requirements for their models.As a petite or avearage size model you would probably not be working much in the fashion industry so bodily imperfectio
Step 2 – Discover Your Major Movers. During the focus group [or, other “testing the water”] process, you will discover your major movers, which constitutes the 2nd Key Step of realizing goals implementation. As you, or a trusted member of your leadership team, talk to your people in the focus groups and as you hear and see them interact with others, you will discern those who are the natural or assumed leaders and who demonstrate an interest and a talent for the tasks ahead. Tap into this latent leadership talent and use it to best advantage by selecting and forming these individuals into a cadre of Major Movers for your organization.
Step 3 – Train Them Well. As you discover and identify these major movers you will want to prepare to train them well. By immediately setting up a training program for these leaders and drawing them together, at once, into a cadre for further training and support, you are instituting the next critical step. This training should have two thrusts: 1) to prepare the “M&M” cadre with a common body of knowledge so that everyone is singing from the same hymnal; and 2) to set up the “corporate creep process” -- that is, to ensure that the notion of “how to’s” for employees to work within the organization’s goal framework is embedded in the thinking/processing mechanisms of this group of employees.
The common body of knowledge that is presented to the company’s “major mover” (M&M) group will be talking points that have been carefully refined and “test-driven” as those that most closely depict the “message” of the organization’s goals development function. It is this M&M cadre who will become your knowledge dissemination process within the organization.
Step 4 -- Arrange for a Rewards Structure. The rewards structure should be set up as part of your CCP, or, “corporate creep process.” A structure of rewards, or incentives, should be designed to promote the effective attention to goals by your employees. Incentives programs especially selected as appropriate rewards for employees who promote the organization’s goals should be created [for more information, see Dr. Blair’s article, “Why Does an Incentive Structure Work in Corporations?”].
Step 5 – Test The Thoroughness of Coverage. Once Steps 1-4 have been covered and there has been time for the information to be disseminated, or “to percolate” through the company, you will want to set up Step 5, which is a process to test the thoroughness of coverage. That is, you’ll want to determine, through informal sources, surveys, and other means, how well the information is flowing through the organization; how widespread the coverage has been; how well-received it has been; and how adequate you would judge the results of the overall effort to be.
Step 6 – Look for the Gaps and Close Them. Armed with data and other information from Step 5, the next step is to look for the gaps and close them
Agriculture has always been a very integral part in American history. The first settlers to come over to America needed to become good farmers in order to survive. The agriculture industry has grown by leaps and bounds since that time, and now the agricultural job market can be very rewarding. Many of the new agricultural jobs available these days deal with the new types of technology that are required to produce the crops that America demands. The days of a family working their land by hand and producing a small amount of crops is over. Now many large plantations are run by huge corporations that capitalize on many of the new emerging technologies to harvest a larger amount of crops in a shorter period of time. If you would like to get one of these new types of jobs in the agricultural industry, then you will need to make sure that you stay on top of the new technologies available.Many of these new jobs in the agricultural field have embraced these new technologies. Two of the new techn
The common body of knowledge that is presented to the company’s “major mover” (M&M) group will be talking points that have been carefully refined and “test-driven” as those that most closely depict the “message” of the organization’s goals development function. It is this M&M cadre who will become your knowledge dissemination process within the organization.
Step 4 -- Arrange for a Rewards Structure. The rewards structure should be set up as part of your CCP, or, “corporate creep process.” A structure of rewards, or incentives, should be designed to promote the effective attention to goals by your employees. Incentives programs especially selected as appropriate rewards for employees who promote the organization’s goals should be created [for more information, see Dr. Blair’s article, “Why Does an Incentive Structure Work in Corporations?”].
Step 5 – Test The Thoroughness of Coverage. Once Steps 1-4 have been covered and there has been time for the information to be disseminated, or “to percolate” through the company, you will want to set up Step 5, which is a process to test the thoroughness of coverage. That is, you’ll want to determine, through informal sources, surveys, and other means, how well the information is flowing through the organization; how widespread the coverage has been; how well-received it has been; and how adequate you would judge the results of the overall effort to be.
Step 6 – Look for the Gaps and Close Them. Armed with data and other information from Step 5, the next step is to look for the gaps and close them
What is it that makes successful people successful? is it luck? chance? being in the right place at the right time? or is it responsibility and having the balls to go where angels fear to tread.Entrepreneurs have a go for it mindset, they are risk takers happy to step outside their comfort zone.Below are the key strategies to ensure business success, your success, read them , live them, breathe them.Then go out and GET IT1/There are No Friends in Business, everyone is your potential competitor2/ NEVER trust anyone but yourself to get the job done4/ What’s In it For Me- NEVER assume your supplier/competitor/buyer is doing you aFavour5/Name your price- NEVER accept what is being put on the table6/Knowledge is POWER7/ALLWAYS have exit strategies8/NEVER Accept defeat- Get back up, dust yourself down and go again9/Channel you anger into desire & motivation10/Nice Guys Come last- its survival of the fittest dog eat dog
Step 5 – Test The Thoroughness of Coverage. Once Steps 1-4 have been covered and there has been time for the information to be disseminated, or “to percolate” through the company, you will want to set up Step 5, which is a process to test the thoroughness of coverage. That is, you’ll want to determine, through informal sources, surveys, and other means, how well the information is flowing through the organization; how widespread the coverage has been; how well-received it has been; and how adequate you would judge the results of the overall effort to be.
Step 6 – Look for the Gaps and Close Them. Armed with data and other information from Step 5, the next step is to look for the gaps and close them. In looking at the success evidence at hand, you and/or other experts, will be able to identify employee groupings (work groups, matrix teams, departments, divisions, and so on) where the employees seem to have little knowledge of the goals determination and the effort that surrounds goal implementation. Once these pockets have been discovered then additional, educative measures will need to be undertaken with targeted groups of individuals, essentially repeating the work done in Step 3, but on a grander scale and with larger numbers of employees.
Conversely, if the spread of coverage can be seen to be satisfactory, then congratulate yourself that the process is going well!
It is important that one not consider the processes of Step Six as finalized until substantial increases in attitude and behavior changes can be seen through the use of “testing the water,” (TTW) measures such as those described in Step 1.
Step 7 – Maintain Consistent Demeanor in Support of Goals. Throughout the process of cultural change, from Steps 1-6, the executive must maintain consistent demeanor in support of the organization’s goals. For goals to be wholly-embraced by employees, the CEO must show a strong interest and dedication throughout the goal implementation stage. He or she must show strong intent for carrying out goals. This can be done through talks and conversations with employees, through formal presentations and news releases, and, of course, through participation in and support of the other six steps of the goals adoption process.
In addition to the strong show of support, the CEO will need to be constantly aware of how he or she is modeling “goals directedness.” As employees most often follow the behavioral examples they’re shown, they will become acutely aware of the CEO’s commitments, as portrayed by actions, not solely by words. Should these deviate or be in opposition to the originally-established goals and the CEO’s rhetoric, the CEO must be prepared to explain these actions and to provide comprehensible answers as to why a goal was skirted. And, certainly, if it becomes necessary to abandon a goal, that fact should be made clear to the company’s employees at once. In fact, should jettisoning a goal become necessary, a new, mini-version of the strategic planning process should be instituted.
Nothing prevents chaos in the corporate structure quite as well as these seven steps, that focus on getting employees on board and formulating strong support of the organization’s goals, from the top down. Without employees’ endorsement of an effort of goals directedness, it will certainly fail. Rosabeth Moss Canter has said that, “employees can be energized – engaged in problem solving and mobilized for change – by their involvement in a participative structure that permits them to venture beyond their normal work roles to tackle meaningful issues.” And, Peter Drucker recommends strategies such as those described in this article, to avoid the management pitfalls of “intellectual arrogance [that cause] disabling ignorance.”
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