Organizational Excellence

Organizations most often focus only on strategic planning or “where” to take an organization; and tactical planning where each functional groups creates a response to “what” needs to be done to react to this planning. Organizational Excellence provides the catalyst and foundation for “how” the organization can strengthen the competencies necessary to actually execute these plans.

This internal introspective review and discussion is intended to:

1.            Identify specific initiatives for environmental change.

2.            Support the development of innovative, creative and critical thinking.

3.            Provide the groundwork for their subsequent execution.

4.            Support the advancement of core competencies, and a culture of excellence.

5.            Provide a foundation in support of the implementation of strategic planning.

6.            Act as an internal environmental scan in support of organizational change.

The end result will be to provide a transformation vehicle, such that strategic planning decisions will be eminently more implementable with a greater degree of buy-in culturally. “We cannot because…” will be replaced with “we can if…” where the ultimate goal will be to deliver a more agile and accountable business. It will also convey empowerment by demonstrating shared ownership to the participating stakeholders.

Issues for discussion will include identifying initiatives which will strengthen the group’s performance in:

1.            Core deliverables

2.            Enhanced stakeholder intimacy

3.            Product superiority

4.            Enhanced planning and resource allocation

5.            A more customer driven focus

6.            Develop team work, accountability, process maturity, and effective execution.

Confidential interviews with various stakeholders will be required in addition to the workshop. One-on-one interviews will be used to identify and capture points of interest for discussion and to assist in setting the scope of discussions within the group session.

The workshop will focus on 4 key areas:

Communication and Relationships

We will engage and challenge how participants view themselves, their peers and the organization from different stakeholder perspectives. We will also identify innovative ideas and programs which will offer management and staff better communication and decision making capabilities. After a group discussion and introduction to what defines great communication and relationship management we will then break into groups to identify specific opportunities for improvement.

Process Maturity

After identifying opportunities for better communication and relationships, we will now focus on how to mature processes. Specifically we will explore how to create better distribution and delivery of information and knowledge. After a group discussion and introduction to what defines the maturity of a process we will then break into groups to identify specific opportunities for improvement.

Knowledge Management

We will discuss and explore how knowledge can be better captured, organized, institutionalized and disseminated in support of the organizations corporate strategies and goals. “Knowledge Management" is in fact also a cultural issue and must be looked at in ways that enable rather than impose on people. After a group discussion and introduction to what defines the identification, development, retention and dissemination of knowledge we will then break into groups to identify specific opportunities for improvement.

Organizational Effectiveness

We will discuss issues related to providing enhanced offerings in core business operations which will create future productivity gains, continued business expansion, and innovation in product evolution. We will explore opportunities for improving visibility and transparency within the organization while at the same time streamlining administrative and business processes. We also look for value added opportunities and competitive advantage development. After a group discussion of what great organizational excellence will look like, we will then break into groups to identify specific opportunities for improvement.

We will then deliver a document, encompassing the individual interviews and the workshop, which reflects the intellectual capital captured. We also envision the strengthening of key stakeholder relationships as this new cultural framework will reflect decisions supported by a common integrated view of the future. We will also invest time de-constructing the findings and supporting planning with regard to the next steps going forward. Many of the identified initiatives will require little if any new funding, and in many cases no formal approval will be required to take appropriate ownership for “doing things better”.

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