Author Archives: greg

#169 – BALDRIGE CYBERSECURITY AWARD IS COMING – GREG HUTCHINS

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Greg HutchinsWe are all familiar with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA).  Now simply known as the Baldrige Award – the Performance Excellence Award.

Well, a new award is coming – The Baldrige Cybersecurity award may be out in a year or so.

Why?  Well, information and data is where value is more commonly found.  The information may be organizational, personal, or intellectual property.  This information is hugely valuable and is commonly digitized.  The information has to be protected through cybersecurity. Continue reading →

#169 – IS YOUR ORGANIZATION’S PLANNING BRITTLE – GEARY SIKICH

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Untitled1-150x150Good intentions do not make for the creation of a robust/resilient organization.  Business Continuity plans, Disaster Recovery plans, Emergency Response plans, etc., that are standalone documents generally reflect good intentions – whether to meet regulatory requirements or to address governance.  I would have to say that this should be a wake-up call for executives in all industries.  We live in a complex and interdependent world.  Complex systems are full of interdependencies that are hard to detect.  The result is nonlinearity in responses to events, especially random events/shocks.  Continue reading →

#169 – CEO’s AND THEIR SAUSAGES – LEARN TO LOVE THEM LIKE THEY DO – JOSEPH PARIS

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image001-2-300x300-250x250It’s been another week, much like the many other weeks for me.  In addition to running a couple of companies, working on a few projects and pitching others, and the routine management and engagement of the Operational Excellence Group on LinkedIn; I had a few more conversations with the leadership of Continuous Improvement or Operational Excellence (CI/OpEx) Programs at various companies (most in the Fortune 1,000).

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#169 – GIVE A LITTLE TO GET MORE – TIM RODGERS

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24b3bf6I’ve been managing supplier relationships for almost my entire career, including hardware component suppliers, contract manufacturers, technology alliance partners, and engineering service providers. Over that time I’ve worked with a number of people at all levels who seem to believe that their one-up position as the customer entitles them to demand more from suppliers while paying less. The attitude seems to be: “Do as I say or we’ll take our business elsewhere.” Continue reading →

#168 – SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT: PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER – GEARY SIKICH

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Untitled1-150x150Introduction

It is mid-year 2014 as I write this article.  We have recognized the need to better manage supply chain risks for the better part of a decade now.  Yet, we still seem to be deluded into thinking that the modern supply chain is resilient to the point of invulnerability.  Most organizations have a supply chain that is a mix of competencies, from manufacturing to professional advisory services.  Continue reading →