Category Archives: Tips&Tools@Risk™

#180 – I’VE SEEN THE FUTURE OF WORK AND I DON’T LIKE IT! – GREG HUTCHINS

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Greg HutchinsI live in the northwest of the US.  We are now the small business and start up mecca of the US.  Why?  San Francisco and Silicon Valley are too expensive.  So, folks are moving in droves to Portland and Seattle – 1/3 of the license plates in my hood are out of state.

But, there are challenges.   The cost of housing and living in the NW is now approaching San Francisco standards of 4 years ago.  The challenge is that the surplus of new folks (millennials in their late 20’s and early 30’s) moving into town require livable wage work.  So with the influx of folks into the NW, Seattle and Portland are raising the minimum wage to $15/hour. Continue reading →

#179 – OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE: WHAT IS IT? – JOSEPH PARIS

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image001-2-300x300-250x250Operational Excellence is a term you’ve probably heard a thousand times.  So what is operational excellence—what is the definition of operational excellence— what does it mean?  And why is it important?  Before we can be it, we have to know what it is.  If I were to stub my toe on it, what would it look like?

Let’s start by differentiating operations from operational. Operations is about processes, whereas operational deals with systems—even entire enterprises. Accordingly, there must be a difference between excellence in operations, or process excellence, and operational excellence. Simply put, excellence in operations is efficiency—doing things right—but operational excellence is effectiveness—doing the right things. Continue reading →

#178 – QUALITY AND INNOVATION – JAMES J. KLINE PH.D.

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aIMG_4231-150x150Introduction

In 2015, innovation was added to the Baldrige Excellence Framework.  While there is no doubt that innovation is important for an organization’s survival, a fundamental question is: How much does a quality improvement process, which is encouraged by the Baldrige Excellence Framework, contribute to innovation?  While there is no simple answer to this question, some indication can be seen in an examination of the focus of the quality improvement process and what happens to a company, with a reputation for innovation, when a quality improvement process is implemented.  Continue reading →

#177 – WICKED PROBLEMS – JOSEPH PARIS

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image001-2-300x300-250x250There are all manner of problems (being an optimist, I rather use the term “challenge”) that we face each and every day.

Most of these challenges are simple enough: what’s for dinner this eve; is there traffic on the highway that is going to impede my progress; do I have any clean underwear, and so on.  Some challenges are more complex; how are we going to meet our production schedule; my primary vendor has failed and I need to bring a replacement on-line; which automobile or house should I purchase and what are the financing options, etc… Continue reading →

#177 – RECOVERY: LEAST UNDERSTOOD ELEMENT OF BUSINESS CONTINUITY LIFECYCLE – GEARY SIKICH

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Untitled1-150x150The post-crisis recovery phase is one of the least addressed in planning, training and simulations.  This is an area that, if not properly managed, can cost financially, reputationally and operationally.  Communications, internal and external are, at best, misjudged.  Guidelines for recovery are lacking and most entities lose focus when it comes to discussing recovery operations.  It may be that recovery is one of the most complicated of the lifecycle elements and that no two recoveries are going to follow the same pattern.  Continue reading →