Leadership 2

C.A. Schifman and Company
Organizational Development Since 1986:
 Change management
 Leader development
 Team and board development
 Facilitation
 WorkOut (since 1989)

C.A. Schifman and Company - 207-408-3550
www.developingpeople-business.com

WorkOut Clients Include
International Multifoods
L.L. Bean
General Electric
Metavante
World Kitchen
PNC
FDIC
National Steel
PG&E
IBM
Alstom Power

Frito Lay Co
Yellow Freight
Acme Steel
Dresser, Inc.
Northeast Utilities
NStar Utilities
Metropolitan Life
Wawa Food Markets
Varco International
Avery Dennison
AES Corporation


WorkOut Engages People’s

Experience
Creativity

Enthusiasm


WorkOut Involves Everyone
Top Down
Leaders or managers identify a
key business improvement goal,
then challenge those closest to
the work to recommend ways to
reach the goal.

Bottom Up
Those closest to the work make
specific recommendations to
meet the goal, then implement
the approved recommendations
within 90 days.


WorkOut Creates Cultural Benefits
Nurtures and Reinforces A.C.T. Behaviors
 Accountability for taking ownership of the
work, making improvements to the work and
implementing improvements quickly.
 Collaboration across functions and between
levels.
 Trust in yourself, your peers, your reports,
your managers and leadership.


WorkOut Delivers Results
 Reduces operating costs
 Speeds cycle times
 Reduces bureaucracy and busy work
 Obtains strategic business objectives
 Gets existing business done quicker
 Unblocks log jams

WorkOut is Scaleable
WorkOut fits different levels of scope, time frame, and resources.
Level A
Strategic
organization-wide
goal

Level B
Functional
business unit
goal

Level C
Local department
improvement
goal

Organic
Streamline and
Simplify

Total planning time:
4 to 6 weeks
Planning Team
2.5 Days

2 to 4 weeks
Planning Team
1.5 Days

1 to 2 weeks
Planning Team
1 Day

1 week
Planning Team
½ Day

# of WorkOut teams

# of WorkOut teams

# of WorkOut teams

# of WorkOut teams

3 or more

2 or more

1 or more

1

Length of WorkOut
session

Length of WorkOut
session

Length of WorkOut
session

Length of WorkOut
session

3 to 5 days

2 to 3 days

2 days

1.5 days


Process Overview, the 6 Steps
1 of 4

1) A Sponsor*:
Selects a critical business challenge
Selects a Champion to oversee a WorkOut
2.) A Champion*:
Selects a Planning Team to guide the WorkOut
Serves as lead of the Planning Team
* Each step is guided by a WorkOut process manager.

2 of 4

3.) The Planning Team*:
Refines the business challenge
Defines measurable goals
Identifies WorkOut team participants
Compiles data and background information
critical for the WorkOut team(s)

3 of 4

4.) WorkOut team(s) in the WorkOut Session*:
Systematically analyze the challenge
Generate recommendations to meet the goals
Define the cost and benefits of recommendations
Create action plans to be implemented
within the next 90 days
Present recommendations to the Sponsor for
immediate approval
* This step is guided by a WorkOut session facilitator.

4 of 4

5.) The Sponsor*:
Makes “yes” or “no” decisions on each
recommendation presented by the WorkOut
team(s) on the spot
6.) WorkOut Team Leads*:
Oversee the 90 day implementation of the
approved recommendations, with the involvement
and support of all of the team members

WorkOut Key Elements
WorkOut aims to …
– Create the forum for
dialogue and change
– Eliminate bureaucracy
and barriers
– Cultivate grass root
solutions

People closest to the work…
– Know it best
– Have significantly more to contribute
to achieving business goals—and
want to do so
– Will respond favorably to a team
challenge

Actions begin immediately…
– Leadership decides ‘live’ on the recommended solutions
– Teams implement their solutions with updates to
leadership at 30, 60 and 90 days
– Recommendations must be completed in 90 days

WorkOut Encourages
Leaders to Empower Others
People are most likely to feel the power of self-motivation
when leaders create three conditions:
 Leaders provide people with opportunities to
choose their own course of action. WorkOut does
this.
 Leaders provide people with visible forums to make
their choices public. WorkOut does this.
 Leaders support people’s decisions and help them
overcome organizational obstacles. WorkOut does
this.
Leadership principles from “The Leadership Challenge”
by James Kouzes & Barry Posner

What Goals are Right for WorkOut?


Where many people agree there is room for improvement



Where many people have suggestions on how to make
improvements



Where you can get - or where you need to get - results quickly



Where an issue touches people from several functional areas



Where multiple changes can be made to improve one issue



Where peoples’ experience and common sense can provide
significant background information



Where buy-in and support from many people can accelerate change


Identify Your WorkOut Opportunities
 What are the strategic business objectives you need to reach in the
next six months?
 Where do you need to get things done quicker, more cost effectively?
 Where are the obstacles that block your success?
 Where are those numbing recurring “learned to live with” problems?
 Where is there a new initiative that needs to be implemented with
maximum buy-in?
 Where do we need to streamline, simplify and/or eliminate
unnecessary work?
 Where is bureaucracy undermining measurable business results and
people’s enthusiasm, creativity and experience?

Examples of Actual WorkOut Goals

1 of 3



How do we improve the budget and financial reporting process to insure we are capitalizing as many costs as
possible?



How do we improve the new store opening process to eliminate critical issues and reduce other start-up issues to
ensure seamless transitions from Store Development to Store Operations?



How do we consistently and efficiently mange a major event that results in increased customer satisfaction and
perception of the company?



How do we optimize business practices to achieve our 2008 variable profit of 25M?



How do we increase our merchandising resets to 4 per year, while meeting base requirements, increasing
customer and associate satisfaction, and meet the company's safety standards?



How do we optimize our reporting process though actively managing data flow between Corporate and Field?



How do we sell more to and through each part of the organization?



How do we reduce the cost of re-work and build ownership within the design groups?



How do we change our information methods to better serve our customers?



How can the company reduce its employee turnover levels that are currently costing the company
in excess of __mm per year?



How should web-based technologies and capabilities be utilized to grow our business, maintain
long-term customer relationships and foster customer loyalty?



2 of 3

 How can we implement comprehensive financial planning product(s) by second quarter that
provides sustainable competitive advantage and works within our line-of-business structure?
 How can we more effectively and efficiently prepare for and present the FTS solution to
customers/prospects to realize a 20% improvement in “making the cut”?
 How can we improve the current structure for employee evaluation, growth and development that
incorporates accountability and fairness throughout the company?
 How do we standardize and simplify cost allocation to build a more workable, manageable, flexible
and understandable cost of service model?
 How can we create and implement an integrated process for long range planning to ensure it is
inclusive and maximizes the value of the company?
 How can we create and implement a simplified decision process that drives daily operational &
investment actions?
 How do we construct our capital projects in the most effective and efficient manner while adhering
to the project plan?



3 of 3

 What inefficient activities need to be removed at store level so that the company can slow the
growth of labor hours and expenses to allow for reinvestment in store level compensation?
 How can we bring discipline and rigor to our program planning process to most efficiently deploy
limited resources?
 How do we promote a culture of health and make it easy for employees to make healthy choices,
while keeping the growth trend of medical insurance expenses below market trend?
 What governance process is needed at Corporate to support Area Managers to properly plan,
organize and resource future needs?
 How can we solicit total team cooperation to achieve above standard expectations in store
conditions while continuing to build sales?
 How do we ensure entire and on-time collection as a part of doing business every day?
 How do we optimize reporting processes through actively managing data flow to meet the needs of
Corporate while reducing the burden on the businesses?
 What do we need to do to improve coordination between departments at Corporate?


Getting Started
Your Entry Points to the WorkOut Process:
 Complete roll-out and delivery using our consultants.
 Internal Capacity Building for organizations that want us to train their
internal resources to conduct WorkOuts.
 WorkOut In a Box for organizations that have significant experience
facilitating improvement initiatives and are looking for our initial
guidance and our detailed materials.


Examples of WorkOut
Outcomes


GE Superabrasives, looking for productivity
gains in their manufacturing process, pulled
the engineering and manufacturing functions
together in a WorkOut to reduce cycle time on
one manufacturing process by
34% in 90 days.


L.L.Bean employed WorkOut to increase
efficiencies in their warehouse
operations.
The result was a 20% reduction in
damaged goods, the implementation of a
new warehouse transition system
installed without customer service
interruptions, and an increase in
accuracy of warehouse picking of .25%
during peak season.


An international consumer goods
company increased sales by $500,000
annually during its first WorkOut session
by figuring out how to sell to and
through their own businesses.


“The Workout team submitted seven
recommendations that will make us much
more efficient and effective. The best part
is that the issues addressed will not only
save us time, but will also save the
General Managers time.
The time saved by making the changes in
our work will ultimately save
approximately 19,000 labor hours over
the course of the year.”
– Manager of Internal Audit,
Multi State Retailer


A steel company used WorkOut to reduce
errors in order shipments by 15% and
significantly increase response time to
customer complaints.
A nation-wide bank used WorkOut to
integrate two disparate compensation
systems into one during a merger process.


A financial business’s WorkOut team
recommended they send auto leasing
customers only summary reports of
monthly usage.
When all the savings from this one
WorkOut recommendation were totaled:
paper, postage, computer time, labor,
customer service time, it amounted to over
$100,000 in annual savings.


“ When we need to cut cycle time, we go to
the people who manage the process and
those around them.
We don’t tell them how to do it. We give them
a STRETCH goal then we say: Do a
WorkOut, and come up with an answer.”

– GE Manager


WorkOut creates the spirit of the start-up
firm. Different levels and functions work
together. Issues are debated in the spirit
of what will be best for the overall
organization.
Decisions are made quickly, in an
interactive forum where everyone can
participate and have a voice. And people
are empowered to implement solutions
quickly.
“GE Work-Out”
McGraw-Hill 2002


Leadership 2

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (8)

Similar to Leadership 2

Similar to Leadership 2 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Leadership 2

Editor's Notes