SAN
DIEGO, April 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In this
rapidly changing world, operational excellence via continuous
improvement (CI) is a necessity for organizations to remain
relevant and profitable. But don't count on old-school thinking and
hierarchies to win the day.
"Traditional management models often rely on linear processes
and hierarchies, but organizations need to adopt dynamic systems
theory," says business process Maribel
Topf, author of Process Alchemy: Using Employee Driven
Solutions To Achieve Operational Excellence (2024, Indie
Books International).
According to Topf, operational excellence has diverse benefits,
from increased efficiency and productivity to enhanced customer
satisfaction and profitability.
"Dynamic systems theory recognizes businesses as complex,
adaptive systems where multiple variables interact unpredictably,"
says Topf.
Over the last twelve years, Topf has successfully managed the
continuous improvement programs for two companies for the Fortune
1000 company Snap-on. She has reviewed and overseen over 10,000
employee-led continuous improvement projects, gaining valuable
lessons on business process improvement.
"Nature provides fascinating examples of dynamic systems theory
at work, such as ants and bees, where efficiency thrives through
independent work guided by straightforward rules and signaling
methods," says Topf. "Bottlenecks are avoided by not having one
organism attempting to organize or make group decisions."
Continuous improvement (CI) begins with examining an
organization's cultural and operational positive and negative
aspects. Topf's book cites eight lessons to help create operational
excellence at a business:
Freedom fuels innovation. Teams thrive when given the
freedom and empowerment to tackle issues with minimal
bureaucracy—without excessive approvals or documentation.
Recognition drives effort. Your employees work harder
when their ideas and efforts are consistently acknowledged, even in
small gestures. Even if not implemented, recognizing and evaluating
their ideas is crucial for sustaining their engagement and making
them feel valued.
Foster culture through storytelling. Stories about
managers' behavior, how failures were managed, and how credit was
distributed all shape and reinforce the organizational culture.
These narratives become integral parts of how culture is perceived
and upheld.
More management is not needed to drive transformation.
Each additional supervisor increases meetings and content requests.
Each manager introduces about 1.5 full-time equivalent employees'
worth of unnecessary work to their team. In short, more layers of
management are likely to lead to higher overhead and a slowdown in
work.
The CI practitioner doesn't need to be a subject matter
expert. A genuine CI practitioner remains independent of any
specific department. The role of the facilitator is to bring out
the team's creativity and insights. A CI practitioner observes body
language, gathers information, fosters alignment, and ensures the
team's productivity.
A CI practitioner can manage multiple projects. A CI
practitioner is a resource, not the lead. Teams are responsible for
95 percent of the work. The CI practitioner facilitates important
process-gathering meetings, acts as a mediator, aids in creating
decision-making rules, and fulfills similar supportive roles.
Multitasking is not a good thing. The greatest killer of
organizational productivity is multitasking at all levels. The
continuous shifting of attention among multiple priorities only
contributes to significant delays in decision-making and execution.
When a task is interrupted midstream, time is required to
refamiliarize yourself with the work and reset to where they were
in the process. Often, reworking will be involved.
Data gathering is not straightforward. One of our
greatest challenges is the amount of data collected right now.
There's a common misconception that merely connecting the dots will
lead to profound insights. Some of the best data gathering comes
from personal observation, real-time manual collection, and
auditing of data acquisition processes.
Topf says it's worth noting that many hive-style insects and
animals use a variety of signals to communicate instructions
quickly and effectively. This underscores the importance of
communication at all levels in achieving operational excellence in
business.
"Both traditional management models and dynamic systems
processes work with constant feedback loops, enabling teams to
promptly respond to challenges and opportunities. A dynamic
approach to dealing with the inherent complexities of
organizational change involves continuous feedback, adaptation, and
learning," says Topf.
Understanding how communication and data flow throughout the
organization is crucial for identifying gaps or inefficient
handoffs, which will significantly contribute to achieving short-
and long-term victories."
About Indie Book International
Indie Books International (Indie Books International.) serves as
an independent publishing alternative for executive coaches,
strategic consultants, and agency owners to help create impact and
influence.
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SOURCE Maribel Topf