There have been many new methodologies and strategies developed over the years to help businesses improve their performance. Not to age myself, but I got started in the process improvement “game” during the mid 1990’s when JIT, TQM, TOC and Deming’s principles were the “fads of the day.” Fast forward almost 30 years and the landscape is dominated by Lean, Agile, Six Sigma and/or some combination (e.g. Lean6S, Lean/TOC, etc.).
When you look “under the hood” of where we are now, it’s not much different. It’s disappointing to see that we really haven’t “moved the bar” in terms of treating businesses more effectively; otherwise, businesses wouldn’t be canceling so many improvement projects, changing improvement methodologies, hiring and firing people to meet earnings, or just giving up entirely on the process improvement “hoax”!
There are still no standards of care and no baseline to judge if a business is actually healthy or not. There is no governing body to ensure people are qualified to give the advice they are giving. Basically, we are still getting treated by local shamans and traveling salespeople, pushing their elixers and methodologies on everyone — then leaving town hoping that they didn’t cause more damage than good.
It is time for treatment to evolve, just like it did for humans when Henry Gray changed the face of medicine when he published his now infamous book on the human body in 1858, Gray’s Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical. For the first time in recorded history, they defined and illustrated all the systems within the human body, their purpose, their function, and even surgical standards for common treatments. It was revolutionary because it standardized the way they could teach, which allowed them standard treatments that could then be improved upon – it has been updated ever since, with the latest edition released in October, 2020.
This is exactly what I envision for businesses!!
Imagine the difference!
The Human Method: A Framework For Treating Businesses Like People
The Human Method is a holistic approach to business performance improvement that cuts across traditional improvement methodologies by treating businesses like people – aligning efforts on improving the health, fitness and performance of the business vs. adherence to a “methodology”!
Businesses Are People
Businesses really are people. You don’t have to imagine too hard to see the similarities, .
Head & Brain
Arms & Hands
(1) develop the products and services (R&D, Operations)
(2) Service customer needs (Sales and Servicing)
Legs & Feet
Midsection
Nervous System
Immune System
Treating Businesses Like People
Whether they are just looking to be more healthy and fit, or look to transform their performance, businesses deserve to be treated like people – where they see professionals trained to identify and diagnose, along with treating and rehabbing the client until they achieve the results they are looking for.
- They are sick and just want to feel better.
- They have been injured and want to get get the injury fixed.
- They have a “disorder” and looking for a way to become normal, like their friends and family.
- They are unhappy with their performance and are looking for ways to perform better.
Regardless the reason, businesses, just like people, visit a doctor because they want to be happy with their life and able to perform at or above their own expectations.
It is time for business treatment to evolve!
Businesses Are People and it is time to treat them that way!
Assessing Business Health & Performance Like People
Improving Business Health & Performance Like People
Measuring Business Success Like People
Helping Businesses Evolve Like People
I. Assessing Business Health & Performance Like People
Whether it’s a business, or a person, the assessment is the most important step in the treatment and/or transformation process. An “incorrect” assessment can be harmful because it can delay the proper treatment, creating negative impacts to their performance, or worse, to their life. For this reason alone, there needs to be treatment standards and certifications, just like doctors have before they are allowed to treat people. Current mainstream methodologies lack the holistic view, scientific “rigor” and certification standards necessary to ensure they are diagnosing the “patients” problems efficiently and correctly.
Holistic, Human Approach To Business Assessments & Diagnostics
Just like it is for people, a comprehensive view is the only way you can understand how the entire system is working or not working together. A complete and thorough business assessments must uncover the gaps between the performance expectations and performance reality. Understanding how the mental, physical and social aspects of their performance impede their ability to perform at their expected levels is the goal of a “successful” business assessment.
Different Assessments For Different Purposes
- General Health Assessments – for those that just want to make sure they are healthy and fit
- Pre-surgical, Injuries and Second Opinions – for those that have physical problems and need help now.
- General Psychological and Social Assessments – for those that believe they need help dealing with personal and/or social issues they are having.
- Transformation “Physicals” – detailed and aggressive assessments for those that are interested in transforming their performance mentally, physically and socially.
Regardless the reason, ALL assessments should include the mental, physical and social perspective
Mental Assessments
Mentally, what you should be looking for…
- Goals, Values,
Beliefs & Perceptions - Mental Development
- Business Acumen
- Will/Grit/Motivation
- Self-Awareness
- Knowledge/WillAction
- Mental Disorders
Physical Assessments
Physically, what you should be looking for…
- Lifecycle Development
- Reflexes, Strength & Flexibility
- Fat vs Muscle %
- Speed & Agility
- Healthy business habits
- Physical injuries and development disorder
Social Assessments
Socially, what you should be looking for…
- Honesty, Integrity and standards
- Assertive vs Passive Personality
- Social Awareness
- Clear & Concise Communication
- Community Involvement
- Social Deficiencies & Disorders
You can’t meet your potential if you aren’t mentally, physically and socially prepared to succeed.
II. Improving Business Health & Performance Like People
Whether your business is “injured” and looking to get better; or, in its “prime” and looking to maximize performance – if your head isn’t into it, then the chance of success is limited at best!
Everything Starts In The Head...
Getting the head on board is the most important part of any improvement or transformation program. Just like people, the “head” of a business drives everything it does, as well as how well it does it.
Everything we do, starts with the head!
Goals & Aspirations
Drive & Accountability
Promises & Expectations
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strategies & Tactics
Planning & Preparation
Then You Can Work On The Rest!
Once you are ready mentally…then you are ready to get to doing the real work.
There are many parts that need to be looked at, if you want to be the best you can be.
Knowledge & Skill Development
Strength & Flexibility
Speed & Agility
Healthy Habits & Behaviors
Teamwork & Communication
Practicing & Performing
Improving Business Performance Summary Text
III. Measuring Business Success Like People
Business Happiness
There are many ways that you can measure success; however, there is only one that really matters to everyone, and that is Happiness. I know happiness is subjective and sometimes hard to measure, but it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s why we gave it a definition, which can then be used to create a mathematical equation that allows us to measure the happiness of the business and its stakeholders.
Happiness is being healthy and performing as planned.
Customer Happiness Index (CHI)
It’s our “proprietary” way of measuring the happiness/frustration of a business…and it’s stakeholders!
- Grounded in the “FED” Up Model
- Frustration =Expectations (Plans) – Delivery (Results)
- It’s an index centered around 0 – what is expected!
- One simple measurement that can be used anywhere and for anyone!
Everyone is a “customer” somewhere within the business and they all have expectations of someone/something within the business – Customers, Workers, Managers, Leaders, Suppliers, Investors, Owners.
Once expectations have been communicated and understood, you can measure and manage them efficiently and effectively.
Happiness Is being healthy and performing as planned!
IV. Helping Businesses Evolve Like People
A businesses ability to adapt to changes in the environment, whether they are slow and gradual or fast and unexpected, dictates a businesses ability to survive within its environment.
Just like humans have evolved over millions of years to its current form – technology has evolved to allow the same evolution for businesses.
Business Brain Evolution - Developing The Pre-Frontal Cortex
The most important evolution humans have had is the evolution of its brain. The development of the pre-frontal cortex and expanded brain size has allowed people to adapt to their environment, make better decisions, and most importantly, solve problems more effectively and efficiently — allowing humans to excel at whatever they put their minds to! With the latest in technology, the same can be done for businesses!
Current Business Brains
MAMMALIAN BRAINS reacting based on primal instinct. No ability to make reliable decisions in a timely fashion because their brain hasn’t evolved to process real-time information.
Evolved Business Brains
HUMAN BRAINS have the ability to plan and make real-time decisions based on historical and current information being processed real-time through an expanded memory.
Real-Time Business Models
Giving businesses the ability to change directions throughout the day, allows them to successfully manage different situations that arise throughout the day (e.g. Not enough people, too many people, emergency situations, etc.)
Imagine the difference…
- The only thing that matters in business is that everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing, when they are supposed to be doing it. When situations arise throughout the day, the sooner you can change directions the sooner you can alleviate the problem.
- Too much capacity…not enough capacity
- Security and Emergency
- Being able to seamlessly make real-time adjustments throughout the entire organization, when different situations arise throughout the day — since everyone knows exactly what they should be doing, without being told by their manager or holding an “emergency” meeting.
- Knowing exactly what situations occurred, how efficiently and effectively you handled them — giving you a clear picture of what was done well and what needs to be worked on.
Understanding what was done and how it was done is far more valuable than the end results! It’s like watching film on your teams performance, with the ability to identify if they “did what they were supposed to” in that particular situation.
Real-Time Systems Integration
Integrating real-time into your vital value streams gives you the ability to monitor, identify problems and quickly make adjustments – dramatically reducing the amount of resources required to “create value” for your customers.
Nervous System
Integrating with the central nervous system allows real-time control of connected business functions,
Immune System
Integrating with the immune system allows you to identify security/safety/problems real-time keeping your business safe.
Self Awareness
If you aren’t aware of your “self”, you won’t be able to make the appropriate changes to align with your standards.
Integrating with an evolved brain, businesses are able to dramatically improve performance across all the important business systems.
Treatment Philosophies
Treating businesses like people and helping them meet their potential.
Before
A.I.
Businesses are people and deserve to be treated that way.
Guiding Principles
It’s how we look at the world and drives everything that we do.
Core Values
How You Do What You Do
Core values define how you do what you do.
- Honesty, Integrity and Respect are the foundation of everything you do – If you don’t have all three, you can’t be trusted to make the right decisions and will eventually be “figured out”
- Discipline and Accountability are the building blocks –
- Higher Standards are the are what drive you to keep improving upon everything you do.
In the end, it’s all about performing against your plans and goals – when you cut corners, your performance eventually fails, along with any trust gained along the way.
Principle 1: Pursue Perfection
It's More Than A Mindset
Pursuing Perfection in everything you do!
To truly be the best that you can be, you must pursue perfection across ALL aspects of your business.
- People
- Process
- Product
- Environment
PDCA cycle is the proven vehicle used to get there.
- PLAN: Plans (primary and contingency) are made to meet the goals/objectives depending on the situations and problems that arise throughout the business.
- DO: Execution of plans
- CHECK: Are we not meeting/meeting/exceeding the plans?
- ACT: Appropriate responses to magnitude of target differentials
The intention is to CHECK, ACT repeatedly to ensure you are performing according to your plans. The more often you Check/Act, the more responsive you are to changes in market conditions.
Principle 2: Create Value
It's What Customers Pay For
Creating Value for your customers is the only way to stay in business.
- Value Added (VA)
- Value Enablers (VE)
- Non-Value Added (NVA)
Principle 3: Sync Value Streams
Where's "Herbie"?
Synchronize Value streams
- Create Standards
- Create Flow by eliminating bottlenecks
- Pull vs Push
Principle 4: Eliminate Waste
Don't Take The "DIMWIT TOOR"
Elimination of waste is the over-arching goal of any continuous improvement program, regardless the maturity level of the business. How you identify and prioritize your waste removal, dictates the success of your transformation and continuous improvement efforts.
The “DIMWIT TOOR” is what you experience when you don’t separate the waste in terms of people, process, product and environment – you get lost and don’t prioritize your efforts in the most efficient way possible.
- Always start with the product
- Adjust your people, processes and environment to align with the product flow.
Principle 5: Reward & Recognize
A Routine That Pays Dividends
Rewards are transactional, while recognition is relational.
A reward is generally a tangible gift given to an employee from their manager or the executive team to celebrate something they accomplished with the context, if the employee does X they will be rewarded with Y.
Rewards can be a great way to encourage employees to give your organization their A-game and can be an incentive for people to want to work for your company. However, you should be careful to not create a culture at your company where employees feel entitled to rewards. Rewards should be reserved for exceptional work and achievement.
Transforming Perspective & Performance
We are revolutionizing how businesses are being looked at and uncovering secrets to reaching their full potential. By combining the perspective of treating businesses like people with a set of Guiding Principles human-like, improvement methodology Guiding Principles driving improvement methodology.
- Changing How Businesses Look At Team Performance
- Changing How Businesses Measure Their Performance
- Changing How Businesses Improve Their Performance
- Changing How Businesses Diagnose & Deal With Problems
- Changing How Businesses Adapt & Survive
- Changing How Businesses Evolve & Thrive!
