Kevin does a fine job of ticking off all of the reasons these Experts (Consultants and Business Advisors) were wrong or misplaced in their recommendations to pursue Offshore Outsourcing. Too many well intentioned businesses started "Offshore Outsourcing" based on trends and perceived cost savings, not neccessarily based on real cost savings or what was best for them. Now these same groups are advising some clients to move back, but is the damage already done?
I observed and fought from the inside while a major Fortune 500 company offshored part of its low volume medical business, twice! The first time they reversed the decision after spending millions of dollars. The second time they made the move and moved 33% back to a contract manuacturer in the US, because the international supplier had quality issues and 60% of the components were still coming from the US. A few years ago I jumped at the chance to help a business recover from Outsourcing. They had chased the lowest cost parts overseas and inadvertently shifted their business from manageable cash flow to tying cash up in Inventory that they didn't need or need at the time of purchase. If you are going to Outsource (domestically or internationally) do it right and with proper planning.
Offshore Outsourcing is just one Strategy in a host of Strategic Planning Projects to keep a company competitive and efficient, best to have a multi-tier approach before chasing the lowest cost part or service around the world.
Don't get me wrong there is absolutely nothing wrong with offshoring or outsourcing (domestically or internationally) the problems reside in trying to:
tailor the data to sell the idea, or
ignore the costs that remain behind, think overhead costs are a burden for everything that continues to be manufactured domestically, or
ignore total landed costs to bring that low-cost product back to assemble and sell.
I loved Kevin Meyer pointedly poking holes in Accenture's revelation that Offshore Outsourcing has not worked. Well Duh, it hasn't and damage has been done to people, businesses, and the nature of competition that will not recover over night.
It is always best to take the time to map out your stategies visually, and you just might save yourself the problems associated with jumping into uncharted territory without accounting for the risks.
Steve was presenting on the topic of Branding to the local Business Owners, Small Businesses and Consultants in attendance. The primary take-away I got from Steve's presentation was Branding is about "FOCUS", and the clear message was that Business (All Business) is about PEOPLE doing THINGS with STUFF. So find a way to clarity about what your business does, and Focus, Focus, Focus.
Feel free to follow along in the summary popplet below (or the fullsize summary)
Did you attend the presentation by Steve Carples? Did you have more to add to what he presented? Did you ask Steve a Question that you'd like to share? If so Click Request Invite in the above Popplet, Get your own Popplet account, Share your opinion of the presentation.
I have only recently had a chance to work with Steve, as he is the newest member of EBITDA Partners, LLC, but he is helping our small group to Focus our Brand, our Message, and our Monthly Seminar Series. The impact Steve has had in the first quarter, well he suggested the first speaker of the year, Jack Uldrich. Steve has helped us to refine our EBITDA Partners message we were giving prior to the beginning of each meeting, and he is helping our team be more effective when we meet. In a few months we will also be relaunching the group blog for EBITDA Partners, something that has been missing. Steve is a welcome addition to our group and I look forward to more presentations by him and with him in the future.
Steve and I talked after the presentation, about "whether a brand could be usurped by a technology shift vs. a mis-step of its own making?" - The company I was thinking of was Kodak, whose brand was seriously eroded by the rapid shift to digital. I would add that Kodak was also impacted by attempting to Leverage its product equity at the time vs. the Add-To mentality exhibited by iconic brands that thrive as well as survive.
Olsen Thielen / EBITDA Partners Seminar Series (20110316). The Seminars are held once per month at the Olsen Thielen offices: 2675 Long Lake Road | St. Paul, MN 55113-1117
Welcome back to Patterson Alliances, LLC (Un-Official website Relaunch).
It's been awhile in coming, moving the website and getting some new features in place.
I elected to begin the switch although one of the new features, I was eager to add, Popplet Mind Maps is still in beta. Popplet is still working through some growing pains, but its a great tool that I highly recommend. I am eager to show how easily it is to create, share and collaborate on Mind Map Summaries of my Blog Posts and Seminar / Event Summaries, all through the use of Popplet Mind Maps (embedded mindmaps).
The embedded mindmap, below, is a summary I created from a presentation by fellow EBITDA Partners member Joe Nemastil, on February 16, 2011. The Beyond The Meeting feature we hope to be offering soon, would allow approved contributors to continue to add feedback and/or comments to Joe's original presentation. I created the original map in the iPad Popplet app, then refined and completed it online.
I expect to have the link to the basecamphq project database up completely before April 1st. Not only has our website changed but many of the services and means to connect project updates to the clients and customers has also changed.
What you can expect from the new site:
more blog posts,
more links to areas of interest around the web,
more Alliances
more summaries of local seminars / presentations of interest,
more Value Stream Maps and Mind Maps to download,
A summary of Why I switched from Wordpress and GoDaddy.com to Posterous as a blog/web host. (A future post)
Rebirth of Apprenticeships in Manufacturing? Maybe!
I was reading a recent IndustryWeek article: Fighting the war for Talent the author, Jonathan Katz, discusses how "Manufacturers faced with Engineering and Skilled Labor shortages are taking matters into their own hands." It's not something new nor is it an idea that is that old. Many industries still use the Apprenticeship as a way of developing employee talent homegrown employees or newly added talent. In an era of "At-will Employment"; outsourced Human Resources, and machine screened resumes, some basic rules still apply:
Hire People who can replace you someday, (Tomorrow, 1 Year, 5 Years).
Hire Good People (desire and willingness to learn, works well with others, great 360 degree recommendations)
Interview lots of candidates not just the perfect fit on paper. The best talent is sometimes on the edges of your job description.
Let your teams have a say over who will join their group / work team.
Apprenticeships do work
In several organizations I've managed we had production, technician, purchasing, and engineering personnel give tours to potential employees / candidates. A tour of the office or plant floor with the candidate as a part of the interviewing process always revealed interesting feedback that we wouldn't have discovered until after the candidate was hired. Our employees felt like they owned the process of bringing on a new team member, they didn't want them to fail so they trained them right. We didn't call it apprenticeships but in many ways it provided the same benefits.
I believe that Apprenticeships offer opportunities to train employees in one of the most effective ways utilizing as many senses as possible. Our senses (touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste) help to lock in our knowledge to recall experiences more vividly and this definitely applies to the apprentice in a manufacturing environment and to all apprenticeships. If the current economy is creating a place for apprenticeships in Manufacturing and other areas of our economy, I for one am all for it.
Visual Tools: Capturing and Solving Problems in Business & Society
Solving the World's Toughest Problems - Graphic Recording, Visual Facilitation,
Through its Public Management Program the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business is educating leaders who can solve the word's toughest social and environmental problems
Thoughts on Innovation in Education, using Mind Manager - Mind Mapping Application to collect the information.
An example of problem solving using MindMapping Software
Remember Markers and a blank white board will work equally well to capture the information, but MindMapping Software allows you to edit distribute your map more easily and save for future referral.
A former coworker, Mark Rosenthal on his blog, theLeanThinker, weighed in about the Toyota situation and its impact on Lean and TPS. Mark has some excellent insights. A few people have asked me, what I thought of the Toyota situation, 1) being a Toyota Prius owner and 2) my own experiences with Lean. For group 1) my answer is simple, good product, great reputation and I'd buy again; 2) Lean is suppose to be about continuous improvement, which implies that no one is perfect, there isn't a process that can't be improved. So much of the Toyota situation has been observation and opinion from afar. Some pretty good technical analysis here and there, but for the majority of us we are merely outside observers to the whole situation. An article referenced by Mark, Anatomy of Toyota Accelerator Pedal, was a post by Popular Mechanics which went into greater analysis of the problem. This article correctly stated that 1) there is much more root cause analysis needed, 2) that separating out fact from fiction has been difficult and my personal opinion is 3) thus far Toyota's response has been inadequate to calm the feeding frenzy and at times has added to it. The discussions in the Manufacturing community about how Toyota's problems reflect upon Lean and TPS, at times seems more disappointment by devotees or competitors piling on. Many have and will continue to idolize Toyota as the ideal we should all aspire to. Toyota has been and is a great example of continuous improvement in Manufacturing and the Enterprise and there is the rub, instead of holding up Toyota as the ideal to emulate we should be holding up the goal of continuous improvement everyday. As humans we often idolize individuals who represent the ideal, and in Toyota's case the industry, TPS, that has been developed around a company. We are better served as Manufacturers:
by focusing our teams on what we need to do in our own organizations and functions to improve.
by recognizing again that Lean, TPS, is a path not the end goal.
by understanding at the top of the enterprise, that no reported problem however seemingly insignificant does warrant further investigation.
by giving our customers an andon, to alert us that there may be a problem which may warrant shutting down the line until the problem is fixed.
When Mark Rosenthal first taught myself and my team, he always made sure we were observant. He'd also ask what did we see? What did we observe on the gemba, in photos, from the perspective of the workers adding that value to the products. He'd ask what did we hear? What were people (employees, customers and potential customers) saying about our products or services. If Toyota and we are to learn anything from this situation I think Mark said it concisely:
...those who are grounded are going to have to get more grounded. Stay focused on the process, the objectives, what is happening right in front of you. Ask the same questions. Tighten up on your teaching skills because the concepts are going to have to make sense in the here and now. No longer will they be blindly accepted because “That is how Toyota does it.”
Mind Map guru Tony Buzan coming to US / Mpls Tour Cancelled
Unfortunately Tony's US Tour has been changed, he will not be coming to Minneapolis or San Francisco. Tony broke his leg and his travel restrictions will cause him to miss the first two stops on the tour.
Tony Buzan, the guru and expert behind Mind Mapping is coming to the US on the first tour in more than a decade. This is part of the ThinkBuzan System a new service and product to help individuals and organizations to unlock their creative potential and find new ways to succeed in today's economy.
I am planning on attending the Workshop in Minneapolis, to meet the man who taught me a new way to organize my thoughts, goals and objectives.
When I started mind mapping about 20 years ago, I began by taking most of my notes at meetings in the mind map format. I've used mind mapping software, from Mindjet since its first release. Today, I use multiple Mind Map Software products for personal and business purposes 1) MindManager 8, 2) iMindMap, and 3) Xmind. I've begun to explore both SpinScape and TheBrain for our "Beyond The Meeting"™ service offering.
I continue to find great value in my personal and professional lives by Mind Mapping, whether it is pencil to paper or on a computer.
Those of you who have worked with me know how valuable a tool Mind Mapping can be for Project Management, Strategic Planning and during Due Diligence reviews. I encourage you to attend one of the Workshops or at a minimum one of the Luncheon's with Tony.
Change doesn't come easy to most people, we fight it for any number of reasons. Not the least of which is loss, we feel we are losing something and perhaps we are actually losing something. Perhaps it is a connection to the feeling or people that came before us, be they family or friends or a way of life. It is like the process of managing grief: 1. Denial, 2. Anger, 3. Bargaining, 4. Depression, and 5. Acceptance.
I was reading a recent article in Consulting Magazine (Dec 2009) the starting point was the following statement:
two-thirds of senior executives say the current global economic crisis was a catalyst for driving change across organizations ...
The questions that have been in my mind since reading the article are: "Why does it take a crisis to drive change?"
At times a business must create a crisis to drive change in an organization. By that I don't mean manufacturer a crisis, but rather frame a problem the busines is having into a crisis that has bad or dire consequences if things don't improve. Sometimes our people don't see a reason to change even if you know that there is. When I was a Plant Manager and I was privy to the knowledge that our business was being sold and one of our sister plants was to close, some in their management chose to single someone else another plant should be closed. I created a different crisis, I chose to point out how much our process and quality mistakes were costing our business. I pointed out that for the company to make future investments in us we'd need to improve and quickly for the next year's budget was fast approaching.
"Why focus on short-term objectives instead of long-term overhaul?"
If you work long enough and in enough companies and businesses you see quite a bit of what can go wrong when focused too much on the short-term versus the long-term strategy. Only focusing on the short-term objectives is like fighting the crisis of the day, and moving from one fire to another. This type of focus means you may miss the fact that a competitor has being pouring fuel into your back door, while walking away your customers out the front. It may mean that you miss that a longtime supplier is sorting parts to get you parts for your new product or new design. Try as they might some bad parts are slipping in. A long-term view might have had you engage that supplier years before to get them ready for the change in your products and designs.
How do you move from short-term objectives to long-term changes? What are you doing to grow your business?
What do you think, do you need to change? Should you create a crisis?
I just finished a wonderful presentation by Weber Shandwick Minneapolis to a group of non-profits Executives, Board Members and Volunteers at the University of Saint Thomas. The Keynote Speaker was Bill Hudson, Reporter WCCO-TV. In addition to the the team from Weber Shandwick, the Non-Profits a number of students at the University of Saint Thomas' PRSSA and members of the UST Public Relations Student Society of America. See more on their own blog, "socialImpact".
Telling Your Story:
A communications workshop for non-profit organizations Agenda
Introduction to Telling Your Story - Dave Mone, Chairman - Weber Shandwick.
Keynote Speaker - Bill Hudson, WCCO-TV
Break-out Workshops:
How to Get Media Coverage - Angie Gasset and Jeff Falk
Media 101 - Conducting Interviews - Walt Parker
Building Community Support - Denny Shields
Measuring and Communicating Success - Aaron Pearson
Latest Trends in Social Media - David Krejci
Building Your Identity and Reputation - Julie Hurbanis
Building Your Communications Action Plant and Wrap-Up - Julie Hurbanis
Hands-on Consulting Sessions.
I'll state it again, this was an excellent presentation and well moderated. It was my first time, but Weber Shandwick provides this instructional session to Non-Profits every year. I was attending in my role as a Board Member of East Side Learning Center.
The discussions were lively and informative. I'm extremely happy that I had the opportunity to attend and I took away a lot of information which will be helpful to ESLC.
Thanks to Andy & Katie who worked with us in the Consulting Session.
Like thousands of others I just finished watching the 2010 Apple 2010 Event where they have officially announced the new Apple iPad. It is an elegant design at a pretty good price point and has the potential to be a game changer as a personal electronic appliance. It is a significant improvement in the ebook space, it is a game changer in the web tablet space.
I've been waiting for a device like this for years. It doesn't have everything I would like, for example handwriting recognition and pen input. It does have Web, Video, eBooks, Apps, WiFi, 3G, new apps like iWorks, and a great deal more.
Tech Specs:
Battery Life : Up to 10 hours battery life.
Height: 9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
Width: 7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
Depth: .5 inches (13.4 mm)
Weight: 1.5 lbs (.68 kg) Wi-Fi model
Weight: 1.6 lbs (.73 kg) Wi-Fi = 3G model
Why would I buy one? As an entrepreneur, business owner and consultant would I want one?Beyond the coolness, new tech gadget appeal, why on earth would I want one?
The GOOD:
3G Access ( No Contract, Cancel anytime, $29.99/month unlimited data.)
iBook - eBook Reader ( Kindle for iPhone runs on it, bookstore/bookshelf is a great touch, flick to turn a page)
As an ebook reader let's get this straight it isn't a Kindle killer, but it is superior at first blush, in many ways.
Mail - eMail (light weight full screen email reader, 2 windows, seamless integration with contacts & calendar)
iWork (Create presentations and collaborate, drag and drop images, let text reflow automatically)
The BAD
It's a large iPhone or iPod touch (no Adobe Flash, some websites won't work).
Locked into Apple even more. Music, Movies, Books, etc.
Battery life of 10 hours is too short for a ebook reader.
No Pen or Handwriting Recognition.
External Keyboard, so I'm carrying more equipment.
To big to be typing on a virtual keyboard on the screen.
No Multitasking. That could change with iPhone OS 4.0 when available.
There is alot more information on the Apple website, and tons of opinions around the web today. Check out Engadget coverage and any of the many Apple fan websites.
Will I buy one? The jury is still out, but I will check it out at the Apple store at MOA or Best Buy when the time comes.
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