BP Group 20th Birthday – Evergreen Articles

In a few weeks time the BP Group will be twenty years old. As part of the celebration we are publishing an article a day – all are evergreen and provide an insight as valuable today as when they were originally published. 
As we move towards September 19th we will bring the story up to date with a preview of the upcoming book – The High Performance Organisation (Samir Asaf & Steve Towers). Also there are draws from iPad3’s – the first for these on Friday for the recently completed Certified Process Professional Masters® hosted by Jennifer van Wyk in Johannesburg. (see below)
The first article is one we wrote in 2006 – as relevant today (if not more so) – Enjoy!
Developing the BPM skillset for long term success
Tomorrow we’ll cover BPM and the Balanced Scorecard, and Wednesday Business Process Excellence – How to Succeed with BPM in the Age of the Customer

Who is going to win the iPad3 from South Africa?


Outside In from Forrester Research

OUTSIDE IN is the new book from by Forrester Research analysts Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine.
If you can get passed the normal consultancy hyperbole and Americanisms this book promises to provide some interesting information in furthering the cause of Outside In.
Naturally take with a pinch of salt the offers for speeches and presentations from Research Analysts (great stuff but I would rather have the people who have really done this stuff rather than just researched it!) you can review the 80 case studies.

Take away nuggets like “Aim to make it effortless for your customers” Phil Beinart, AT&T and “82% of customers stop doing business with an organisation as a result of negative experience”. The latter leaves me to believe those customers who don’t leave are either very lazy or penalised punitively for trying.

Now as I say don’t let my irony fool you… you review the preview and then order the book from this link. Enjoy! http://bit.ly/OutsideInForrester

Blurb for Forrester:
Based on 14 years of research by the customer experience leaders at Forrester Research, OUTSIDE IN offers a complete road map to attaining the experience advantage. You’ll see how the roots of customer experience success or failure lie deep within your company, not just with customer-facing employees. And you’ll learn about the six disciplines that customer experience leaders must master: Strategy, Customer Understanding, Design, Measurement, Governance, and Culture. With dozens of diverse case studies from around the world, OUTSIDE IN is the one resource you need to turn a focus on customer experience into growth and profit.

For qualification using the CEMMethod® (2006) http://www.bpgroup.org/certification-by-city.html

John Zachman at Architect World 2012

Great conference, fantastic people. 27 Countries recieved 25 Awards in the Architect Worlds 7th Annual Conference in Bangalore.

iCMG hosted the event which has become a truly international festival of achievement.
You can review the full proceedings at http://www.icmgworld.com/corp/ArchitectureAwards/2012/architecture_awards.asp

Here’s a few snaps of yours truly 😉

John Zachman is an inspriation to all

 John Zachman receives his Hall of Fame Award
And honestly it was THIS BIG!!

Looking at the world Outside-In

Outside-In wins the Triple Crown.

The headline claim of advanced process management approaches such as ‘Outside-In’ is winning the triple crown. What do we mean by that?
Triple Crown is the ability to simultaneously reduce costs, improve service and grow revenues as a direct consequence of implementing advanced process management. Outside-In shifts attention from ‘doing things right’ to ‘doing the right things’ and as a consequence much of the work taking place within an organisation becomes ‘dumb stuff’ when tested against the achievement of the successful customer outcome. This ‘dumb stuff’ can be eliminated and typically will result in cost reductions of 40-70% within three to six months of implementation across traditional processes.

What does the cost reduction include?

A large slice of reduction is in the potential effort to run a process – the people. It also includes considerable swathes of information technology, now no longer required to manage the significantly simplified ‘outside-in’ processes.  Saves are also available across the enterprise from reducing the need for ‘outsourcing’ that does not explicitly contribute to the delivery of successful outcomes. Progressive Outside-In companies such as Google, Apple, Gilead Sciences and Southwest airlines actively redeploy staff to the benefit of the bottom line – making more with less. Service improves and revenues grow.

Traditional inside-out companies have a massive opportunity

The size of the prize exceeds normal ‘inside-out’ expectations as many companies who measure efficiency and effectiveness struggle to realise single digit improvements against legacy processes. However when you look at processes through the ‘outside-in’ lens much of the previously assumed ‘must be here’ activity is no longer required.

Why is this so?

Work has grown over time and become complicated and separated into functional specialist areas supported by a multitude of IT systems undertaking specific tasks such as CRM, accounting, claims management and HR systems. In the context of Outside-In these activities can be challenged with the question “does this activity specifically contribute to the achievement of the SCO? “. If the answer to that question is ambiguous then applying relevant techniques creates a  realignment of work and releases significant cost previously disguised as necessary process.

Triple Crown plus

It gets better. The reality of processes in an Outside-In context means they are specifically contributing to the achievement of the SCO and correspondingly meet additional requirements such as compliance and regulation more effectively. Transparency of process – seeing who does what, where, when and why – is another by product of the new environment. So in addition to reducing costs, improving service and growing revenues we better meet regulatory requirements. The latter is especially important in the new business reality created following the recent recession and reshaping of industries such as banking.

If it is so good why aren’t we all doing Outside-In?

Large bureaucratic organisations typically suffer from senior management inertia, disbelief and arrogance.
The reality of successful Outside-In companies is plain to see as they become leaders of their business sectors. Their performance outstrips competitors by several magnitudes and they are often regarded as having some magic ingredient – you may have heard your management team say ‘ha yes they are quite different to us as our challenge is unique’.  The bottom line is that Outside-In companies utilise a range of tools and techniques that improve alignment to the successful customer outcome and these approaches go way beyond the industrial/information age mind-set.

A new way of working

Outside-in approaches create a completely new reality that reshapes how we manage and organise work so much so that functional pyramidal structures become artefacts of the past. A senior manager who may have spent considerable time clambering to the top of these rigid monolithic structures is directly threatened by the shift to Outside-In and may be understandably reluctant to embrace a new order of business that completely changes most things you have ever known.

How can you embrace Outside-In?

The shift in mind-set is underpinned by method and new techniques (CEMMethod™) appropriate to process alignment for successful customer outcomes. Several organisations offer support, training and coaching towards the new order and include emergent technologies that enhance our ability to better organise work. Direct training is available through the BP Group (www.bpgroup.org) where people are encouraged to qualify as licensed BP Group Certified Process Professionals®.
Associated Licensed partners and companies offering consultancy and technology support can be reviewed at www.oibpm.com
 
Join the community
You can read more in the latest book ‘Outside-In. The secret of the successful 21st century companies’ at www.outsideinthesecret.com and join the global community through LinkedIn at http://bit.ly/joinbpgroup

Three part webinar OUTSIDE-IN, Discovery, Understanding and Implementation

This next few weeks sees a rush towards Outside In with several books in the pipeline from academics, researchers and practitioners. Both Forrester and Gartner join the fray next month following existing publications from Wharton, Harvard and Sloan Business schools.
Not to mention of course our very own Outside In – The Secret (published in 2010).

http://bit.ly/Outside-In_BPGroup

What is the fuss all about? Find out how you can embrace all that is Outside-In in this snappy, to the point webinar by yours truly 😉

>>>>> Please register for Outside In 101 – A three part programme <<<<<

http://bit.ly/Outside-In_BPGroup

Discovery – Understanding – Implementation

Part One: Discovery
What is Outside-In (OI)?
Why is OI the preferred choice for the 21st century leading companies?
How does OI fit with other process approaches?

Part Two: Understanding
If OI is so good why isn’t everyone doing it?
What are the direct benefits of OI?
Who is implementing OI and how does it compare to the Old Ways?

Part Three: Implementation
What can I do to implement OI?
How do I get started?
How do we take others on the journey?

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

http://bit.ly/Outside-In_BPGroup

___________________________________________________________________
Steve Towers | BPGroup.org | SVP & Founder | www.bpgroup.org
BP Group, New Bond House, 124 New Bond Street, London W1S 1DX
Offices in London – Houston – Denver – Bangalore – Sydney – Associates in 118 countries
Office: US: +1 303 800-0924 | UK: +44 20 3286 4248 | Fax: +44 20 7691 7664
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Latest Video: http://youtu.be/hjfDrrzjfuY
Recent visit to UK PM’s office: http://bit.ly/SteveJohnCharlesNo10

In praise of the Customer focused organization (and the best at what they do!)

When is a good business model a really good business model?

When (perhaps)
… the customers keep coming back for more (76 million per year)?[i]
… you are consistently outperforming you industry rivals (record breaking profits in Q1 2012)[ii]?
… the shareholder value is growing year on year?[iii]
… you consistently drive out costs and grow revenues?[iv… receive positive feedback from yourchosen customer base?
… when your strategy is clearly stated and easy to understand by employees, management, shareholders and customers alike[v]?
 
By all the above criteria Ryanair the Irish airline is a terrific and much envied success. And yet you may hear many criticisms of Ryanair however as Michael O’Leary, their ebullient CEO points out, they are not Ryanairs customers.
In fact he wishes they never darken his door again as the Ryan Air offering is specifically not aligned with “picky, choosy time wasters” (his words not mine).
What is the secret?
Part of the magic is a complete focus on understanding their chosen customers successful outcome, and while that may not include you or me, it is certainly the bulk of travellers in Europe whose repeat business has helped Ryan Air outperform the sector for the last decade.

So have you personally and has your business really clearly articulated who is your customer and then defined the business you are in?

[iv] BBC News 21 May 2012: Budget airline Ryanair has reported record profits as fare rises helped to offset a sharp rise in fuel costs. Net profit for the year to March was 503m euros ($643m; £406m), up 25% on a year earlier. Revenue rose by 19% to 4.3bn euros.
[v]Ryanair’s objective is to firmly establish itself as Europe’s leading low-fares scheduled
passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares
service. Ryanair aims to offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic while
maintaining a continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies. (http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/Strategy.pdf)

Outside-In at Apple strikes a chord

BP Group CPP Master® Arun Kumar (with noted technology innovators Gieom in India) comments:

Just saw the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference….and I am overwhelmed by iOS6 features on a phone. They have tied up with the likes of BMW, Honda, Jaguar, Audi to have a SIRI button in the next 12 months in their cars where traffic, weather, turn by turn navigation and Realtime Estimated time to arrive at a destination can be manipulated using voice on the iphone. They are calling it going from handsfree driving to Eyes free driving.
This wouldn’t have been possible if you don’t think outside in…..if you don’t make the process for the experience of the customers and not just for your capabilities. Many I talk to think the innovation is a gamble…..how frustrating when actually innovation can be achieved by looking at a process and thinking of creating an ecosystem with others to achieve that. But anyway, happy that I can relate to these innovations and think it’s just how you look at your processes and not some design room magic by einstein haired scientists. Thanks for the halo.
(Arun is third from the left)
And thank you Arun for the observation!

What is your personal Successful Outcome?

The recently completed Cape Town CPP Masters was a great success. Of the 12 new CPP Masters Charles Lewis shared the following tale (thanks Charles pictured on the left)


One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

“You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman, “you should be working rather than lying on the beach!”
The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And what will my reward be?”

“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer.
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!”
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions. “You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said.
“And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”
Once again the fisherman asked, “And then what will my reward be?”

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “And what do you think I’m doing right now?”