I received and email in response to last Tuesday’s post about the value of adding QF to your culture’s DNA that absolutely floored me.
“Jess” said that “the disruption caused by indulging in QF” was expensive and difficult considering today’s economy. He said that this wasn’t the time to look for innovation, but to focus on survival; and that even in good times innovation was expensive and not all companies could afford that level of brain power.
Granted, a lot of CEOs have a hunker down mentality right now, but even casual reading will show that the smartest companies, whether large or …read more

As a boss (whether CEO, team leader or any level in-between) you need to accomplish many things within your organization (whether company or team) to be successful, especially in the current economic situation.
Near the top of the list is the need to

motivate your people (without breaking the bank);
strengthen and diversify your workforce (often without adding headcount); and
innovate (products and processes; internally and externally; large and small)

Big order, but here’s how to make it happen.
Start by looking inwards to be sure your MAP supports the program.
Next, …read more

Continuing the focus on disruptive innovation as discussed in chapter four  from IBM’s The Enterprise of the Future (a steady Saturday feature since July 12; be sure and download your free copy) begs the question as to what is being disrupted? What are companies really doing to drive financial performance?
The most common approach is “revenue model innovations, nine out of ten are reconfiguring the product, service and value mix. Half are working on new pricing structures.”
Changes include offering more services; moving to recurring charges (as opposed to one-time payments); bundling or unbundling depending on products and industry.
The major change in …read more