An organization’s reputation is important. In the private sector it can account for twenty-five percent of its book value. It can also make the difference between market dominance and slow decline. For government there is no good way to quantify reputation. However, having a good reputation may mean the difference between obtaining the needed funds and continuing to beg. Continue reading
There seem to be a lot of angry talk about various risk management certifications on the web lately. Most such comments are coming from people who are very ill-informed about how certification, any certification, works in general. As a creater of 2 national risk management certification programs that have been hugely successful in Russia, here are my 5 cents. Continue reading
Risk management competencies can significantly improve decision making in any profession. The bad news is that these competencies do not come to us naturally. They have to be developed. Even if you do not operate in a high risk, uncertain environment one should consider the extensive research, into what is referred to by scientists as heuristics and biases, cognitive psychology and psychometric paradigm, collectively called risk perception. Continue reading
I 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
Operational 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