Be the Digital Change Agent for your organization

Businesses in the 21^st Century still straddle the great digital divide. Even before this pandemic, we had workers on one side of the line working 24/7 from virtual offices, while others were working in factories and offices in jobs that depended on having a human interfacing directly with other humans or with machines.  On one side, we have companies with processes that are highly automated, while on the other side of the divide we have manual processes.  The global pandemic has only exacerbated these digital divisions.

In this ever competitive job market, the ever growing use of digital tools and the internet-of-things to increase connectivity and productivity, Change Agents are driving transformation in how we do business.  Change Agents are often early adopters of digital trends.  Many will start as advocates for specific technologies and, over time, develop into experienced business transformers.  They recognize the impact of digital transformation and are driven to help their organizations adapt.  Digital Change Agents are naturally passionate about, and interested in, technology and how it can transform the way we work.

Are you a Digital Change Agent in your organization?  And if you are, how do you succeed in adapting your organization and business processes to leverage digital technologies?  One way of doing this is by building your Digital Change Agent Network.  When building your Digital Change Agent Network here are the characteristics to look for:

• Desire to help others as part of the team
• Capacity (time) to help
• Respected by peers
• Expertise in subject/functional area or system

Some nice-to-have characteristics: existing superuser; knows the organization/ industry well; seen as a go-to source for help; fast learner; strong communicator; and/or training/coaching/listening skills.

Where do Change Agents come from? Change agents should be members of the stakeholder groups who will be receiving or implementing the strategy, project, or change. Change leaders typically reside in the business (as opposed to IT for technical projects). Change agents can also be external to the company, such as advisors who have expertise in the business area or system.  These external change agents can also bring specific expertise in business transformation management techniques, tools and processes.

How do you achieve digital change?

1. Get executive support – This is pretty much a prerequisite to any transformation initiative. If you’re in IT, it will help to have allies from the business side. The C-Suite can add weight behind your strategies, and your peers in marketing, sales, finance, etc., can help you “sell” them to your internal customers.
2. Interact with people – Technology experts tend to be introverts. If you’re one of them, you’re going to have to break out of your comfort zone. There is no substitute for talking to the people who will be using the technologies you deploy. It’s the only way to gauge the level of their resistance and address the underlying causes.
3. Speak their language – Working across the digital / technical divide means that you need to adjust your communication style. Remember, Jane in finance may be brilliant in her area, but if you start speaking in acronyms and cryptic terminology you may lose her quickly – and maybe even permanently.
4. Have a plan – Share your vision for what digital transformation means to the organization and how it will help you achieve your collective goals.
5. Keep it doable – Help your internal customers understand how your path to digital transformation will affect them personally. How will they still be able to do their job faster with less hassle? Make fewer mistakes? Spend less time at the office?
6.  Address their concerns – If you start talking artificial intelligence and machine learning, people will think “layoffs.” Help them see that doing more with less is about helping everyone perform their role to the best of their abilities and not about scaling back.
7. Go slowly at first – You need to assess the organization’s openness to change and then create a plan that lets people set a comfortable pace. With system implementation projects, and Agile approach is recommended.
8. Choose a champion – There’ll be at least one end user in the business that shares your passion for change. They can be instrumental in helping others manage the transformation. Champions are typically natural teachers, other-oriented, and well-liked by their peers.

Companies need to value Change Agents and have solid retention plans for these individuals.  Agents can become targets for poaching, by internal groups and by other companies. Change Agents need to have a development plan that provides a plan for increasing responsibility to encourage change agents to remain in their role. This journey should lead the individual, post project, to a senior role in the organization or the company's permanent continuous-improvement group. This can be a much bigger incentive than cash for Change Agents. Having Change Agents in regular exposure to senior leadership for coaching and development is also a huge motivator for these types of individuals.

Finally, using an external Change Agent often helps solve problems by simply bringing in a new perspective and approach to organizational change. A Change Management consultant can help illuminate problems and find solutions before they begin affecting the workplace, and in the process help develop internal Change Agents and Champions that will drive sustainable performance improvement and efficiencies.

Relationship Selling - "Going for the Green"

"Going for the Green: Selling in the 21st Century" is a "how-to-book" written in the form of a novel about golf. So, it can be read as this - a story of a single mother who, suddenly about to lose her job through no fault of her own, discovers a new world of unrealized opportunity.

Or, you can read this book as a learning tool about how to use your relationships within your organization and with your clients and vendors, to succeed in selling your products or services.

The author, Doug Peterson, uses golf analogies to keep the reader engaged in the process of learning how to deal with challenges in making sales numbers. He asks the questions, and educates the reader through the storyline, about the process of Relationship Selling.

The book includes some practical advice, which includes:

• "Studying the Links". What do you need to know about your customer?
• "Playing out of the Rough". Once you have gathered useful information about the client, how do you analyze and process that information to be successful?
• "Changing your Game". Are you product-focused, or customer-focused?
• "Course Management". How do you develop a relationship strategy in order to build an effective plan?
• "Grip it and Rip it". Can you sell your solution within your own organization?
• "The Approach Shot". How do you 'win' the opportunity?
• "On the Green". How to manage the new strategy?

The book concludes with advice on getting "In the Cup" and "Turning Pro".

A good, and easy read - whether you enjoy golf stories, or want to learn more about Relationship Selling.

Manufacturing Sector is Looking Up

With Manufacturing having gone through a tough time in the US and many other countries over the past few years, where does that leave improvement strategies for manufacturing companies? Is there still a place for organizations like APICS? What are the roles of Lean and Six Sigma in driving competitive advantage for manufacturers? Answers to these questions depend very much on where Manufacturing is going.

So ... what are the trends worldwide? I did a search of news items around "manufacturing growth" for August and this is what I found:

From CNN Money
USA - The nation's manufacturing sector grew at a faster pace in July, according to a survey of industry executives released Monday that contained lots of good news for Wall Street expectations. More ...

From Bloomberg
GERMANY - German unemployment fell to the lowest in almost two years and European manufacturing expanded at close to the fastest pace since 2000, bolstering arguments the European Central Bank will raise interest rates this week to bring inflation under control. More ...

From Reuters India
INDIA - India's manufacturing sector will need massive investment of $135 billion over the next five years if it is to support economic growth of more than 8 percent, the commerce and industry minister said on Wednesday. More ...

From Shanghai Daily
CHINA - CHINA'S manufacturing growth fell to a five-month low in July as companies trimmed production and overseas and local orders eased. More ...

From Financial Times
UNITED KINGDOM - Continued improvement in export markets helped UK manufacturers register a twelfth consecutive month of growth in July, a period of expansion that has encouraged them to take on more workers. More ...

From Independent Online Business Report
SOUTH AFRICA - South African manufacturing growth accelerated to an annual 6.1 percent in June, the fastest pace since December 2004, as the rand's plunge against the dollar fuelled exports and made imports more expensive. More ...

The Importance of Your Brand

When it comes to your image, are you hitting hard or striking out? Cover all your bases with these 4 critical elements of a winning brand.

What instantly springs to mind when customers hear your company name? If you're uncertain--or even worse, stuck with a less-than-stellar image--it's time to give your brand an overhaul. It's no coincidence that industry leaders in every category from soft drinks to spas toil endlessly to create some of the world's most recognized brands. But it doesn't have to cost millions or take years to put your company's branding efforts on track.

Kim Gordon writes about this in the August edition of Entrepreneur magazine. Kim suggest that you just follow these four guidelines to create a winning brand image.

1. Differentiate your brand.
2. Promise value.
3. Be a market leader.
4. Integrate your messages.

... more

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Kim's Small Business Tip Of The Week
Out-of-home advertising is one of the few marketing tactics that will match a local sales territory. You can put your message exactly where it will reach your prospects, tailoring your buy to eliminate waste. You can buy just a single outdoor billboard or 20 to reach commuters in Atlanta, and you can reach tourists in Key West with taxi-top ads or by advertising on the backs of the pedicabs that transport passengers up and down famous Duval Street in front of the bars and restaurants. This ability to pinpoint your prospects by using different types of advertising media in highly specific locations can make out-of-home advertising extremely cost effective. You can choose the out-of-home advertising option that fits your type of business and budget. From Chapter 5, "Think Outside the Box"

Read more about it in Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars
Kim Gordon's website: http://www.smallbusinessnow.com/

Forecasting Demand Part 3: Achieving the Benefits of Accurate Demand Forecasting.

Achieving the desired benefits of accurately forecasting demand requires that you keep in mind some basics:

1. Keep the goal of demand management clearly in focus: to predict customer demand accurately every time.
2. Gain as much depth and insight into forecasting techniques as possible. Find that technique or combination of techniques which are responsive to your needs and are capable of being attuned to a changing environment.
3. Measure, measure, measure!
4. Apply what you learn from analysis of sales data, forecast data and of your measurements to improve your business.
5. Bring your resources in line with what your customer requires.

RELATED ITEMS
Forecasting Demand Part 1: Is a Demand Forecast a Sales Target?
Forecasting Demand Part 2: What is Demand Forecasting?

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SMALL BUSINESS VIEW

As a small business owner, you may feel that you do not have enough time to dedicate to improving your demand forecasting accuracy by using forecasting tools and methods. You are too busy fighting fires and meeting current demand. Well, ask yourself - how many fires were caused by poor planning, unexpected customer requirements, limited resources to fulfil orders? And how many of these fires could have been avoided if you knew 2 weeks ago what your customer would be wanting today?

Forecasting Demand Part 2: What is Demand Forecasting?

Predicting customer demand, simply put, is Demand Forecasting.

Following our previous discussion (Forecasting Demand Part 1: Is a Demand Forecast a Sales Target?), this then becomes one of the most critical functions in the organization. The quality of the output from this function will determine the success of the organization in meeting customer demand ... and its chances of growth in the long term!

If the objective of Demand Forecasting is to predict customer demand accurately every time, then the process and the achievement of this objective is more important than whatever theory or single technique is used in achieving this. If, simply by talking to your customers or sales/ marketing people you can forecast demand accurately, then that is the correct forecasting technique to use. In a different market, more sophisticated computer-based techniques or combination of techniques may be appropriate. It is therefore important to approach demand forecasting in a professional manner, by understanding the theory, but once you have found a methodology which works ... exploit it!

In meeting the objective of demand management, organizations will vary in their methods. To what extent forecasting theory is applied will vary from company to company. As long as we keep focused on this simple objective, the process of forecasting customer demand must remain as flexible and dynamic as the market which we are in.

“Nothing is more important to accurate forecasting than developing a logical and consistent system which is responsive to the needs of managers and capable of being attuned to a changing environment.” Renfro & Morrison

The fact remains that it is impossible to accurately forecast customer requirements every time. So, the management of any demand forecasting system will focus on:

1. measuring forecast error
2. understanding the causes of forecast error
3. continually minimizing the error
4. Managing your business by buffering the impact of the forecast error by keeping surplus inventory and/or capacity.

RELATED ITEMS

Forecasting Demand Part 1: Is a Demand Forecast a Sales Target?

Forecasting Demand Part 3: Achieving the Benefits of Accurate Demand Forecasting.

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SMALL BUSINESS VIEW

Generally, as compared to bug businesses, you are closer to your customers, are selling fewer products or services, and have a simpler order to delivery process. As a small business owner/ manager, you thus require less sophisticated tools to forecast demand, and the technique that works the best for you is simply talking to your customers and sales people.

Where small businesses fall down in this area is that they do not track forecast accuracy. Doing this will help you undersand the relationship between your customer service level, and how well you plan your business.

Forecasting Demand Part 1: Is a Demand Forecast a Sales Target?

How many companies realize that sales forecasting is difficult and then invest in correcting problems caused through bad planning? We keep safety stocks and high inventory levels, both in process and finished goods; we invest in increasing production capacity - machines and manpower; we spend a fortune on marketing in the wrong markets; we purchase sophisticated planning tools to reschedule production more efficiently; ... and the list goes on!

So much waste is generated in organizations because we don’t understand the markets that we are trying to sell our products into. Of the total capital tied up in high inventories alone, what percentage is spent on generating and measuring sales forecasts daily/weekly? If we could forecast accurately, by how much could we reduce our inventories and improve the quality of our plans?

Most forecasting is judgmental and intuitive. Unfortunately, many times companies use judgmental forecasting where they should not. In many cases forecasting is confused with goal setting!

If sales people are asked to forecast sales, these figures then become their sales targets and the yardstick by which they are measured. These sales forecast are normally driven to a great extent by budget. What does this really have to do with actual customer demand?

Statistical forecasting separates the process of forecasting from that of goal setting. The forecast will then be objective and the process will remain flexible to change as the market changes. This forecast is thus much more valuable to the business than the sales goals. Sales campaigns and promotions designed to meet sales targets can be modeled into these tools as events. This all make the demand forecast a number that can be used for planning and against which actual results can be measured so that the accuracy of this number can be improved over time.

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RELATED ITEMS

• Forecasting Demand Part 2: What is Demand Forecasting?
• Forecasting Demand Part 3: Achieving the Benefits of Accurate Demand Forecasting

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SMALL BUSINESS VIEW

In a make-to-order business (as many small businesses are), your demand forecast is driven by your order book. However, with this, you have a fairly short planning horizon. So, how do you see beyond the order book to plan growth in your business? Find the demand forecasting technique that works for you and use it to plan your business; monitor actuals vs planned; and avoid surprises.