Last week, our Chris Anderson wrote a blog post about the root causes of business problems.  In the post, after he listed ten root causes, Chris went on to write, “People don’t make mistakes. Systems make mistakes.”  One reader (let’s call her Rachael) took exception to that statement.  ”Isn’t it inherent for humans to err?”, Rachael asked.

Rachael is right, of course.  As human beings, we all make mistakes (the statement “to err is human” has more than a grain of truth in it).  The bigger question, however, is this: Does the system have policies, procedures, and processes in place that help minimize the likelihood of mistakes?

The example I provided to Rachael was about writing articles.  In the absence of any policy or process for editing and revising articles, the author might not catch his/her spelling errors or typos (humans err – that’s why newspapers used to have proofreaders).  So when customers read the article — multiply the writer’s two eyes by thousands, maybe millions — the likelihood is great that at least one of them will catch the error.

On the other hand, if there is a process in place where a second set of eyes reads the article and necessary corrections are made (or the central idea is validated) before releasing it, the likelihood of mistakes getting out to the reader are vastly minimized.

That’s exactly the process change we implemented here at Bizmanualz, when we realized that our articles or blog posts were sometimes going live with spelling errors, typos, formatting issues, or a confusing theme.  We installed a WordPress plugin (Peter’s Collaboration E-mails) that lets the author save the post as “pending review”.  Editors get an email alert about the article needing review.  The editor can release the article “as is”, release it with minor corrections, or send it back to the author for more comprehensive changes.

This doesn’t mean that mistakes won’t happen.  (You may recall that Chris’s post states that 20% of all errors can be attributed to an individual).  But here too, the system might have a role to play.  Is the individual in the right place? If writing is a requirement for the job, was the individual properly screened or trained?  Of course, there are situations where the person is clearly not qualified to do the job — here, too, the system comes into play (i.e., is the selection process foolproof?).

Quality standards and tools are there precisely to increase the likelihood of positive outcomes.  You may be surprised at how a simple process change can result in a big drop in error rates.

In my checkered past are many years misspent in the fragile ecosystem known as “IT”.  I’ve been a programmer, systems analyst, and data analyst.  I found the work itself to be largely satisfying.  Many of the people I worked for and with were (still are, I hope) outstanding — talented, dedicated, and personable.  It was the politics and the lack of meaningful communication that I could do without.

Issues, edicts, proposals, RFPs, ad nauseam had to go up one side of the “ladder” and down the other.  My clients and I had to pretend we didn’t notice each other as we stood on the ground, across from one another as we steadied the ladder.

In theory, my clients passed requests up the ladder.  Up they went to a project leader or department head, who passed them off to an IT project leader.  Then, they were passed down the other side of the ladder, and they might come down to me…or they might not.

In fact, we did our best work when we ignored the protocol and worked directly with one another.  I read their request, we discussed it, and we arrived at a mutually agreeable statement of work.  Then I worked on the request, keeping in touch with them as I did so.  Typically they got exactly what they wanted within a week instead of waiting two weeks for something that may or may not work to their satisfaction.

One of the things that has always struck me about the Wide, Wide World of IT and users is the way everyone adheres to communication methods and protocols that don’t work (and never have).  Users and techies often have an unhealthy disdain for one another.  Each is secure in the “knowledge” that it knows what it’s talking about and the other one doesn’t.  One party knows better than the other and “…if only they’d shut up and listen.  We have the answers.”  (Sound familiar?)  Instead of working together for the common good (i.e., the financial health of the organization), they wage meaningless turf battles and accomplish nothing of value.

In the last decade, a lot of IT departments have been significantly reduced or killed off altogher and the work outsourced so that expenses and waste (at least, in the short term) could be cut.  (“After all, we can get the same ‘work’ for 20% of the cost.”)

Yet, a number of companies have elected to discontinue their outsourcing relationships and have brought work back in-house because (Anyone?  Anyone?  That’s right, because…) they fail to recognize that poor communication isn’t incidental, that it isn’t just one of many causes of failed projects.  It’s typically the root cause.

Communication isn’t “I give you a set of requirements and you meet them”, any more than it’s “Here’s your program — over time and over budget, minus some of the functionality you wanted — but it’s yours, so pay me.”  Communication is “Let’s talk.”  It’s a two-way street.  I share an idea with you, and you share your thoughts with me.  Communication is an ongoing process, one that requires not just open minds but a common language.

The July, 2009, issue of Quality Progress Magazine has an excellent take on the concept of improving results by improving the communication process.  In the article (“All Ears“, by Sherman & Vono), the parties in need of more effective communication are the Quality department and top management.  The authors are telling Quality, “You have to speak the language of management — money! — if you expect to accomplish anything.”

The moral of the story for IT and its users — its clients — is a similar one.   IT, you’re trying to sell a concept to your clients, internal or external.  Learn to speak their language.  Learn how to talk in terms of the bottom line.  Show how you arrived at your conclusions.  Use plenty of pictures — charts, graphs, diagrams — to further the communication process.

Effective communication improves quality and produces more satisfying results, guaranteed.

Seen hanging on an office wall:

Rule 1: Customer is always right.
Rule 2: If you think the customer is wrong, refer to rule 1.

In essence, this is not that different from what McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc said – “if you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.”

Some might argue that not all customers have high integrity and they will take advantage of your customer-centric attitudes. That may be true in rare instances, but if you have a product that the customer needs or wants, and if you have a business culture that focuses on maximizing customer satisfaction, the benefits far surpass the any small disadvantages.

I moved into a new house this past weekend. To help me move, I chose a local mover who was referred by one of my wife’s colleague. The mover came over to my previous dwelling, looked at what we had and gave us an estimate – a very competitive estimate. It seemed like he said “we’ll make you happy” after every sentence.

He meant every letter of what he said. He and his crew indeed made us very happy. They took very good care of our stuff, placed the furniture exactly where they belonged and stacked the boxes such that the lighter ones were always on top. They were thoroughly professional, yet took the time to share some jokes and stories with us.

I am sure lots of movers do the same things my mover did. That’s not the point. From the day we first talked about moving, my mover made it clear, not by his words but by his actions that we were all that mattered to him that day. It’s no surprise then, that he was very enthusiastically referred to us by my wife’s colleague. And, when I have to refer a mover to someone, I have a name clearly etched on my mind. As the advertising mastermind Bill Bernbach put it, “word of mouth is the best medium of all.”

Taking care of your customer, listening to them and acting on their best interest pays off. After all, the primary goal of any business is to provide goods or services to its customers. So why not treat such an important component with utmost priority?

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There is a lot to do for visitors like you at the Bizmanualz website. You can read informative blog posts or articles, download policies and procedures samples, or simply browse our products and services. You can also ask us questions about your policies and procedures projects or business improvement initiatives through our blog or other social media channels.

Different visitors ask different questions, but there are a few questions that have become quite common. In this post, I will try to answer some of the most common questions we’re asked from our website visitors:

Question: Can I edit these procedures?
Answer: Sure! The whole point of the procedure documentation that we provide is to give you the starting point and flexibility to develop policies and procedures that fit your specific situation. All our policies and procedures come in easily editable Microsoft Word format. Once you have these files in your computer, you can customize it in any way you like.

Question: Can I download my purchase?
Answer: Absolutely! All our policies and procedures manuals are downloadable. You just have to pick the right option when you place your order. The smaller procedures are available via download only, while the bigger policies and procedures manuals come with the option to download, receive hard copy shipments or both.

Question: Are the procedures applicable to my country?
Answer: Yes! The policies and procedures manuals are based on best practices that companies should follow regardless of their geographic location. While some US regulations (OSHA, GAAP, SOX) might be the guiding principle behind some manuals, the bulk of the content is still generic enough to be applicable to a wide range of locations and situations.

Question: Is my purchase really risk free?
Answer: Yes! If you purchase a hard copy product, you have 30 days from the date of purchase to review the material and, if it does not meet your needs, return it for a full refund (less shipping). For downloaded products, the review window is 48 hours.

Question: What kind of discount(s) do you offer?
Answer: Bizmanualz offers you several ways to get maximum value out of your purchase. We offer automatic multiple-manual discounts for all of our policies and procedures manuals. So, the more manuals you buy, the more you can save. Bizmanualz Management Procedures Series are another excellent way to save. By purchasing pre-bundled manuals, you can save up to 42%. And if you download a sample and take a brief survey about your experience, you’ll receive a discount coupon at the end of the survey.

Procedures manuals from Bizmanualz provide you a fast and easy way to plan, develop and implement your policies and procedures. Over the years, thousands of companies have used our manuals to develop well-written and effective policies and procedures to grow their business.

Do you want to share your experience with policies and procedure? Do you have any questions that you’d like us to answer?

Bonus Offer: If you leave a comment or ask a question on this post, I will personally send you a 10% off discount coupon that you can use to buy any product(s) off the Bizmanualz website. This offer is valid untill the end of June, 2009. So hurry! Keep your questions and comments coming.

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There is general agreement among Quality Managers and Quality Auditors that process auditing is more beneficial than clause based auditing.

In clause based auditing, an organization or a segment of an organization is audited to verify it complies with a particular clause of the ISO 9001 QMS Requirements.

With process auditing, a particular process or group of processes is audited to ensure that it complies with any part or clause of the standard that applies to it.

For example, corrective action is a clause in the standard, but corrective action should also be a continual improvement process.   If you are doing a clause based audit, you would audit aspects of corrective action that are covered in the corrective action clause (8.5.2).  If you are doing a process audit of corrective action, then you would verify that the corrective action process is in compliance with all applicable sections of the standard, not just clause 8.5.2.  It could include things such as Customer focus (5.2) and Customer satisfaction (8.2.1), Competence, training and awareness (6.2.2), Control of documents (4.2.3) and records (4.2.4), Analysis of data (8.4), and (definitely) Management review (5.6).

But effective process auditing requires a good grasp of the standard, so the auditor or audit team knows which clauses of the standard apply to a particular process.  While new auditors or a newly established QMS may start with clause based auditing, the goal should be to move to process auditing as soon as the auditors and the quality team feel familiar with the standard.

As the above example demonstrates, process auditing provides a much more comprehensive and in-depth measurement of the Quality Management System, and thereby provides better value for your internal auditing efforts.

On June 1, 2009, GM officially declared what many of us had known for decades: it is unable to compete in the global marketplace.  The fact that it can’t even compete in the US market, where it got its start a century ago, shows how far the mighty can fall when they’re not paying attention.

There are many reasons for GM’s failure, including:

• Its sheer size and the attendant inefficiencies
• Corporate hubris (perhaps reflected in the famous statement, “What’s good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice versa.”)
• An outmoded business model

But perhaps most importantly:

• Lack of customer satisfaction.

ISO/TS 16949, the automotive quality standard similar to ISO 9001 and based in part on QS 9000 — a standard developed in part by GM — places a great emphasis on satisfying customer requirements.

Customer requirements are often fact-based (e.g., safety standards, legislation) but just as often, they’re based on perceptions.  A company can compile the most lengthy, detailed checklist of customer requirements yet miss a lot of important information when that checklist is not reexamined on an ongoing basis.  If that checklist becomes the “Commandments of Manufacturing”,  the company using it runs the greatest risk of all.  Ask GM.

This is a lesson every remaining business must take to heart.  So, ask yourself: When did you last have an open, honest discussion with your customers (maybe not all, but certainly your best ones) to see how they feel about your goods and services?  Do your customers consider your product – your company – useful and relevant?

When did you last reevaluate your definition of your target customer?  Do you use the “best” tools for getting and evaluating your customers’ perceptions?  Are you doing all you can to cultivate customer relationships?  To maintain them?  Are you making an effort to anticipate customers’ needs?  Are you listening?

An interesting change took place at Microsoft Live Search over the weekend. It turned into Bing! After MSN Search and Live comes what Microsoft calls a “decision engine.” With a new name, a new look, and some new thinking, the software giant is clearly trying to play catch-up with Google.

At a first glance, Bing looks pretty nice. The start page has a clean and welcoming interface, although Live Search had a similar look and feel as well. Search types (images, videos, news etc.) are on the left side as opposed to the conventional top. With the addition of Shopping and Travel options, Bing is apparently hoping to score more relevancy points with its users.

Once you enter a search term or phrase, the result page is pretty clean and inviting too. Once again, the left side is reserved for related search and search history. The links for search types, however, now move to the top.

I like the search history because it leaves a trial so I can trace when I am shooting search phrases like crazy.  Enter a term like “digital cameras” and the refinement options (yes, on the left side) are pretty nice too.

As a user, I am thrilled that there are no ads cluttering my result pages. But, as an AdCenter advertiser, I am not very pleased that my ads are not showing for my target keywords. I would think that this is temporary and ads will soon start showing up.

No matter how appealing the interface, ultimately, it’s the results that matter. For years, MSN Search and, later, Live, have been plagued by lack of relevant search results. It remains to be seen how Bing serves up search results. Early indications, based on my own sample phrases, were mixed. In some aspects, the results seem to give me what I was looking for, while at other times, they were not much different than a Live search result.

Google commands almost 65% of the search market share. At only 8%, Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do. With their muscle power, they have the capability to make big strides, but if history provides any lesson, it will not be easy. Already I am hearing comments about the Bing homepage not being friendly to color blind people, and the image search being slow. But these could be launch related hiccups.

So Microsoft cannot say “bingo!” yet. In their announcement, Microsoft says that it started over. This demonstrates a desire to seriously compete in the search marketplace (as if we didn’t know that). As for me, I am very happy with Google for now. But it doesn”t mean that I can’t use another search engine if the results are to my liking. After all, competition is the key to innovation and if two giants are competing something good might come out.

Knowing your customer, or donor, in the not-for-profit world, helps executives set communication strategy, just as knowing the customer does in the for-profit world. Former Lutheran Hour Ministries chief executive Greg Lewis sought opportunities for increasing the organization’s donor base by better understanding their demographics and motivations, and then communicating to their interests.

As lay leader of LHM, the global outreach and fundraising organization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Greg connected with a “strategic communications” firm that specialized in not-for-profit strategies and message development. The firm analyzed donor data to identify donors with more giving potential.

The agency identified donors in the data with potential to increase giving, grouped them demographically, and then interviewed some to develop donor personas. Ultimately, Greg arrived at a set of communication principles.

1. For example. Greg learned that while 78% of donors were Lutheran, the other 22% were more mission driven than affinity driven. The non-Lutheran group was primarily interested in mission-oriented information, such as education and health programs.
2. Demographic analysis also revealed that some wealthy donors were making regular, though small contributions, and represented an untapped well of giving.

With a better understanding of its donors, the Lutheran Hour Ministries crafted a communication strategy reinforcing donor’s knowledge that their generosity was making an impact.

Sitting here at Soulard Barber Shop Saturday morning, I am reflecting on the IT Innovation Conference I attended last week in St. Louis. First of all, it was satisfying to see more than 500 IT professionals, infrastructure managers, staffing providers, storage, and computing vendors and CIOs gathered at a regional conference amidst the poor economic news of our time.  But it made sense, in light of the “glimmer of a turnaround” described in the closing keynote by CIO magazine publisher emeritus Gary Beach. Perhaps those who showed up had sensed the same. It was reassuring.

But even more reassuring was the talk of planned projects and ongoing implementations. One company was bringing a supplier management program on line. Another was doubling data center capacity to support an anticipated spike in consumer demand. Yet another was implementing an electronic records conversion across dozens of hospitals. (Check out the meeting agenda.) What was reassuring was not only the volume of activity presented in sessions and discussed in the hallways, but also the realization—in demonstrable, robust terms—to what exactly is required for success: great communications.

More so than in years past, project managers showed how they involved users from the very beginning, long before requirements were set or vendors were selected. They described involving users in large collaborative sessions to define requirements and evaluate vendors against requirements.  One healthcare company went so far as to invite three vendors in for a long weekend of product demonstrations and working sessions, and hundreds of professional employees showed up voluntarily on their weekend to participate!

Nobody wants to feel like an IT implementation was done to them. Users need to feel buy-in, like they helped design the solution. If they designed it, they will use it, and you will get a return on your IT investment, now, and throughout the system’s life. Since every system falls short in some ways, users must be committed to helping you improve the system. That implies that you, the project champion, have a communications plan. And that plan has to foster three-point communication:

• You gather input, often from users.
• You reflect back what you heard in some demonstrable way, such as in a beta test or feature set.
• Your user acknowledges—ultimately through increased usage—that you heard them and acted appropriately.

No matter how great your technology, communications must be robust. Prior to launch, gather input. Reflect what you heard with written requirements. Involve users in source selection and beta demonstrations. Build in channels for active and frequent user response. If users are not coming to you, go to them. That’s what so many of this year’s conference presenters demonstrated.

Read about next year’s IT conference in Saint Louis.

Times are tough, the economy is struggling, and your customers just aren’t buying.  So what do you do?

Let’s take a hard look at your sales and marketing processes to find the top ten ways you can close more sales:

1. Increase Your Customer’s Life-Time Value (LTV).
   How profitable your customers are over time defines your LTV and is a key component of your strategic growth.  Companies spend ten times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one.  Your current customers already know you, which means they are more likely to purchase from you again, spend more money with you, and therefore are likely to be more profitable.  If you don’t know your LTV, then how do you know how much money to spend and on which customer segment?
2. Improve Your Demand Forecasting.
   Every customer buys on a cycle. So this means you should track cycle times and variance to increase the accuracy of your forecasting and the loyalty of your customers.  If you don’t know when your customers need to reorder, then you may just lose them when the time comes for them to reorder.
3. Increase Your Sales Cycle Efficiency.
   There is an old sales adage that time kills deals.  The speed at which each prospect converts into a customer and the number of prospects required for conversion determines your sales cycle efficiency.  So ask yourself – are you taking the right steps to measure and reduce lost sales?
4. Improve Your Follow-up.
   Only about two percent (2%) of sales occur on the first contact.  Eighty percent (80%) of your sales will require five to eight contacts or touches of some type before you close the sale.  In other words, if you are contacting the prospect less than five times or more than eight times, then you could have a problem with follow-up in your sales process.
5. Increase Your Company’s Awareness.
   To keep the sales pipeline full of good quality leads you must continuously increase the awareness of your company and the solutions that it provides. Public relations is more efficient at building awareness than advertising, yet many companies spend wildly on advertising and trade shows while neglecting to fund public relations efforts. Increase your name recognition, not your budget.  Use more cost effective public relations.
6. Improve Your Lead Quality.
   Do you have methods in place to measure the conversion potential of each lead?  Lead qualification activities should pre-qualify every lead to ensure you take the right follow-up actions for the marketing offer. Strong leads produce strong sales.
7. Develop Your Lead Generation Process.
   Lead generation is a process, not an event.  So you need to ensure that you have a regular stream of article publishing (blog) activities occurring.  In today’s web 2.0 connected world, you should be using social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to increase your exposure and connect to your community.
8. Reduce Your Sales Discounting.
   Discounts represent deficiencies in your sales & marketing processes, which means you should be careful how often you discount. Instead, look for the root cause of your sales or marketing deficiency and you will reduce the need to discount. Customers believe opportunity costs outweigh operating costs. If you show your customers your value (more marketing), they won’t focus so much on price.
9. Train Your Sales and Marketing Personnel.
   Provide your sales and marketing people with more regular formal training.  Arming them with better product knowledge, as well as presentation, negotiation and selling skills, will improve their effectiveness and boost both employee morale and your bottom line – a win-win for everybody.
10. Understand the Problem You are Solving.
    Know what problem you are solving (as the customer sees it) to create an accurate value proposition.  Don’t pretend to understand the customer… ask them.  Obtain the voice of the customer through interviews, focus groups, and real two-way communication.  Ask probing questions to ensure that you have an accurate definition of your product.  Remember, a product encompasses everything that customers experience, including all the people the customer comes in contact with to make up the experience itself.