I loved using Ishikawa or “Fishbone” diagrams (named after Kaoru Ishikawa who became one of the guru’s of modern management in the 1960s after he pioneered the use of them in quality management processes in the Kawasaki shipyards). It was like peeling an onion, carefully taking each layer of a problem and figuring out what had caused the problems we were seeing at the time so that we understood the cause. Once we understood the cause we could decide what our next course of action was; was it something we could fix and move on, or had something changed meaning that our landscape had altered and our course of action needed to change?

Beautifully simple.

Has this thinking gone out of fashion?

Take Eastman Kodak, so sad to see a company with such heritage file for bankruptcy. A company with the innovative intelligence to invent the first digital camera but lacking the business intelligence to understand the effect of that innovation in the market and how to use it to change its own destiny. Too scared to embrace the fact that this new technology would cannibalise its already successful business, it went for the alternative… made ill thought through decisions, didn’t look at the ongoing effect in the market, didn’t change, just died.

Do we like to react and respond more than we like to understand the real problems and what we can do to solve them?

IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS!

So, draw one cartoon like fishbone with a big head (see picture at the end of the post).

Take one problem and put the word WHY in front of it e.g. Why are sales of film declining?

Make this question the head of the fish. This is the effect or the consequence of an action.

Brainstorm all the reasons why that problem is happening e.g. all the reasons why the sales of film could be declining and attach them to the bones (branches) coming off the head of the fish. You can group reasons together if you have lots are that relating to the same thing e.g. new technology…

For each branch of the fishbone, dig deeper into what is happening and ask WHY again, creating spurs off each branch until you feel you understand what is happening.

Take time to take this in and decide on your course of action.

Let me know how it goes.

This is what the politicians wanted us to do isn’t it, be brave, be ballsy, put the country back on its feet.

This is of course a lesson in do what I say not what I do.

Take the debate over the benefits cap, a proposal that affects a reported 67,000 people out of the 60′ish million that live in the UK and would save £290m out of a £192b work and pensions budget (figures reported in BBC News). The debate itself has rattled on for days (that on its own costing a fair bit) and now the prospect that it might go regional, the cost of administration to support that will erode even more of that saving.

This wouldn’t get past the Project Board in big business today, it would get sent back with a REJECTED, reason? No game changing ambition and poor ROI. The debate on the matter would either end or the team proposing would work on it to show that a real difference could be made…

They might take the total £192b work and pensions budget and say “there will be no benefits system going forward”. The concept behind this would be that all people on benefits today become employees of the Company for Work and Pensions tomorrow. Suddenly everyone has a job. The admin that today is put behind assessing, giving and taking away benefits would be moved to assessing and giving people work. There would be no sick pay but a bonus for those who turn into work everyday. If you don’t show, or don’t work, there is no money. These jobs would not be classed as public sector jobs, they will be part of a growing number of entrepreneurial companies funded by us the taxpayer. The opportunities would be as diverse as the community of employees within it.

The ROI here is uncapped and the future proofing benefits that support ongoing positive outcomes of a country with zero unemployment…priceless.

OK, I might be dreaming now but I wish I wasn’t.

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I didn’t want to write something negative about a cause I believe in and think that others should too. This led to a wider conversation with the lovely Katy Cory who agreed and added “this is the problem with movements that we want and need to believe because the headlines of what they are they for and what they do are so important but generally they don’t deliver, for example the United Nations (UN)”. We wouldn’t want to ‘out’ the UN as not having the muscle to deliver what it needs to because we know the world is better because of the concept of the UN but is this right? Do we expect less or are our expectations too high, after all it was Mandela who said “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb”.

That conversation has haunted me all afternoon. My disappointment with the ANC is firmly with its political transition where its leaders are failing the people who really need them while they indulge in the power struggles and greed that plights politics all over the world. The movement that that freed people from the Apartheid regime was amazing and resulted in a change that should always be believed in, they seem to have lost their way and I hope this anniversary puts a spotlight on that.

We were so quick to judge an organisation like the UN for its lack of tangible delivery but the truth is some things need to happen and they don’t always have a hard output that can be measured, does that mean they have failed, disappointed us or worse don’t give us a reason to believe?

When I though about this in the workplace I realised it had been 3 years since we had worked on an enabling project, a project that will help get a tangible result, but not directly, it provides the infrastructure or the glue that brings a number of people, concepts and processes together to get the result. Enabling Projects need a reason to believe that goes beyond a hard deliverable, something that you know should happen because so many things will be better because of it, the greater good…sadly this kind of thinking doesn’t resonate in these economic times but it should.

So, when you are reviewing what projects you are supporting in 2012, think about what you need to deliver in terms of output and how many of these deliverables could be brought home if you linked them together through an enabling project – the glue, infrastructure, sanctions that could provide the greater good that makes it all happen. Spare a thought for those organisations like the UN without which the world would be a worse place (Major Achievements of the UN).

Homelessness is more than just a housing issue; family problems , mental health issues, losing your job and so confidence, not feeling like you can be part of society for a variety of reasons – every person has their own story, you need to get beyond the drink and drugs issues, of course sometimes that is why they are there but it’s also a way of surviving where they are.

When I lived in Bristol I could walk to work everyday (the only time I have been able to do that), when you walk through a city early in the morning and late at night you can’t ignore how many people are living in subways, under bridges, doorways and park benches – I just couldn’t walk past them day in day out as if they weren’t part of my life, I saw some of them more than my family at that time! So I didn’t, I made them part of my life and it was an experience so rewarding I remember them dearly…BUT generally people thought I had finally lost it and I found the preconceived ideas of why people are homeless and the way they were judged very sad.

So this year we have donated the money we would have spent on Christmas cards to The Wellspring in Stockport, they have done a fantastic job for years and this year you will add to their Christmas cheer.

From everyone here at Cheeky Monkey we would like to thanks you for your support this year and hope you have a brilliant Christmas and New Year. Spare a thought for those not as lucky as we are and as you walk past the homeless as you rush getting your last minute bits, stop for a chat make them feel part of your life – it’s the warmest feeling you’ll get all season.

The difficulties with the Euro have of course now spread into the European Union, it’s a messy project without the involvement of politics and I for one, would find it easier to follow if I didn’t have to listen to the politicians jockeying for position, if I hear one more time that Labour would have done…

Europe is the world’s largest borderless market and we benefit from being part of that. When I studied Business at University I was always amazed at how much the UK drove and underpinned the European agenda, without the UK it wouldn’t be what it is today and still we are key players in that forum but are we really committed?

When France and Germany decided to support the Euro as a common currency and we didn’t – our relationship changed then didn’t it? Now the Euro is in trouble and although our financial institutions are exposed to this, we aren’t committed in the same way those that did are…it’s that eggs and bacon thing we aren’t as committed as the pig?

It feels a little bit like we want a bit of everything in a time when there isn’t much to go around. The concept of Europe as a single market with a single currency is like the idea of Communism, it works on paper but in practice human nature takes hold and it never works as planned. Maybe the Euro should be given up as a bad job and energy back into the strength of a single market that can compete against Asia & Latin America…my thoughts aren’t clear on this and my enthusiasm for clarity is waning the more that the press yabbers on about power playing and tribal rifts

The role we play in Europe is critical to us all, we need to understand the decisions that are being made and the consequences of those actions and we need to make those decisions openly, while exercising leadership in this international forum.

I would like to see Cameron and Clegg get together and have a televised debate on the pro’s and con’s on the decisions being made like the leader’s they are meant to be and showing the benefits of having a partnership in charge of this country – that two people with differing opinions surely means we cover all bases.

Ultimately Cameron has to make a decision and history will tell if it’s the right one. For once my day doesn’t seem too bad, what about yours?

PLM may sound simple, the art is all about science and magic. Ensuring that you understand what is happening in the world, in terms of the environment (where the stuff to make everything comes from = science), knowing as much as you can about the people who could buy it and what they need and want (even if they don’t know it yet = science) and putting something together that talks to you and me in such a way that we want it (magic).

This article focus on the start of any PLM journey WHO, WHAT, WHY…How could Reebok sell trainers for $1?

So, what is this really about?

• Generating employee loyalty?
• Creating and innovating projects in poor and developing areas of the world?
• A chance for people to feel good again?
• Corporations doing good, really? Just think about what Coke did years ago. They went to the far flung places in the world and sold their product at a price point that area could afford. Where ever I went with my backpack in the world I could share a coke with a local it was awesome and created world domination because of brand loyalty, people have grown up with that brand – it’s a fundamental part of their lives and has kept Coke at number 1 – creating brand loyalty is what this is all about isn’t it?
• Even if it is it’s a slap on the back all round because economically this is what developing areas need. Source the materials locally so the people involved in that get money to invest in looking for better materials, get the local workforce to make them, so they have money to buy them (and educate their families which will lead to lots of other ideas) – it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sustainable PLM is still finding its feet in industry and I think this is a great example of just what can and needs to be done by companies who want to future proof what they do and how they do it. They say it’s a social project which is interesting and I assume a nice PR angle. Social is just one aspect of work that is being addressed adidas are creating projects that address the future needs of doing business, finding new markets and ultimately new consumers.

Interestingly the article focuses on the price point and how they are having to go back to basics to figure out how to make this work and what the price point is, it may not be a $1…this is fantastic and a exercise every business should be doing right now. Forget the term recession, our world has changed and we need to know how to work within the new rules.

How are you looking forward to see who your future customers are and how you are going to reach them no matter how unrealistic that may sound? May be everyone should start a $1 project…

One of the trainers is a DJ so we’ve been swapping notes and I was really excited when he handed me a mix that he’d made.

Over the years, I’ve made quite a few compilations of my own; often for friends and occasionally in an attempt to impress a girl.  So I know how difficult it can be to make one that really hits the mark.

It’s a very fine line between making something that somebody else would like and creating something self-indulgent that leaves the person receiving it baffled.   Unless you really know somebody well, that noise that you love could be enough to send somebody hurtling towards the off button.

As I’ve been preparing the training material, I have faced the same challenge.

I’m a detail person so my natural instinct is to dive in and work out how things work and what it’s doing.  This can be a great approach for some people of a similar mind set but in some cases I have been met with blanks faces from others who couldn’t care what’s going on in the background.  They just want to know which buttons they needs to press and what difference it is going to make.

The truth is that you can’t just shy away from bit that will turn people off. In these cases, you just have to keep on moving with the belief that what you are doing is right.

Getting the material right means striking a balance between the two and that means thinking about your audience and how they are going to take that information.

The problem is that there are often some things that you know that your audience will not like.  This is not because either of you are doing something wrong; it’s down to the inevitable fact that adding structure means that some of the ways of working have to change and some of the shortcuts that people have grown accustomed to have to go.

The truth is that you can’t just shy away from bit that will turn people off.  In these cases, you just have to keep on moving with the belief that what you are doing is right.  The important bit is that you keep on listening while you do it.

Also really interesting that the fastest shrinking country is Moldova, why? emigration. Whereas the the fastest growing country is Qatar, why? immigrant workforce. Bring in the statistics on urbanisation and a good bottle of wine and we could be hear for some time.

The numbers are not accurate but we know that the message is correct the world population is growing at speed and we need to be aware of the challenges that creates.

Impact on the environment depends on population size, consumption and how technology effects the environmental impact. Of course we need to look at ways we can reduce consumption and improve technology – we need more innovation in these areas.

Is a diverse group of people more innovative and creative than a homogeneous one? Is migration going to be the worlds self healing programme? I have no factual data on this but I do know what I see. The worlds greatest cities are already inhabited by large and diverse foreign populations and there are lots of migrant entrepreneurs. The transnational companies we work with have diverse working teams that create innovative behaviour just because of the differences in the group.

The world is getting bigger and its changing.

Mobility of highly skilled workers has been increasing due to globalisation and the growing importance of the knowledge economy, many companies already benefit from this and countries too benefit from the transfer of new ideas and work practices; there is an increasing amount of new knowledge and ideas that we should be harnessing and using to solve the problems we face.

The younger migrants seem to have a great skill base, are more entrepreneurial, less risk averse and believe that they will move several times in their life and commute between countries. This is just what the world needs surely? Is the biggest challenge how we bring that together and make it work? The heart in the picture represents what we need to achieve, as we tell our clients most weeks; talking about and planning change is easy its the execution of sustainable change that is difficult and of course makes the difference.

As the 3,641,850,266th person alive on earth I want to make a difference, what about you?

When was the last time someone asked you or even considered “what it was like to be you?”

This thought has been in my head since I watched The Help the film based on the book written by Kathryn Stockett.

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, a southern society girl returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends’ lives – and a small Mississippi town – upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families as part of a secret writing project that breaks society’s rules and puts them all at risk.

Every day I am astounded by the lives that people lead, the number of different people they are caring for and or the difficulties with health issues they are trying to overcome the concerns, hopes and dreams they have for the future it is always inspirational and humbling.

It’s all about courage and taking the opportunity to change: starting with the simple premise just one person deciding to understand what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes.

When I get the opportunity to bring people together to work on global initiatives, it is always amazing that wherever in the world you live at a basic level what people are juggling is the same although the environments may be staggeringly different.

I have very fond memories of a night out in Jakarta with a group of women from Indonesia, Bali, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Thailand, Poland, Greece and the UK. We as a group represented every religious faith and cultural background you could mention and to begin with the conversation was polite.

As the night went on and we got to know each other barriers came tumbling down as it was clear we all shared the same thoughts, the things that occupied our minds were the same, the way we had to deal with them was different but in a way that we could all understand and take something from. That night changed the relationship I had with those women and dramatically changed the way we worked together resulting in the delivery of change within the project I never thought we would see.

If you are struggling to get an initiative to realise it’s true potential and you think that people are your blocker take some time to walk in their shoes, ask them what it’s like to be them right now, you could change the course of history.

“The longest night in the world is about to finish. Amazingly intense and VERY surreal hours: packing, sending data, stowing experiments, preparing to enter the most alien of worlds.”

In reality, their ‘voyage’ was just a simulation of some of the conditions that the crew of a spaceship would face travelling to the Red Planet, and they had not travelled beyond the Russian suburb that played host to the experiment.

While the experiment could not replicate all of the conditions, such as weightlessness or the effects of radiation; it did give the participants in insight into some of the mental effects that they would be likely to encounter.

They experienced the isolation of being trapped and the frustrations of delays or breakdown of communication with ‘ground control’.  They even tried to imagine what it would be like to land on Mars, albeit in a pit of red sand.

Making a change often has dramatic impacts on people, process and technology, yet when IT is involved the focus often stays firmly placed on two points on this triangle.  And unfortunately, it is only at the zero hour that the impact on people enters the spotlight.

Meanwhile, for some, the journey up to the point that they reach the new world can seem like “the longest night in the world”.   This might be the people driving the change who are not fully sure what the immediate impact will be.  Or, it is the recipients of the change who have heard stories about the alien world and are nervous about how it will affect their lives.  Furthermore, the change may not be immediate and delays can take place as people get used to their new surroundings.

So, as you invest in the development of new technology to reach the new world, how do you make sure that your crew are ready to make the journey with you?