The following is an excerpt from Kaufman Global’s latest white paper, “Engage the Organization and a Performance Culture Will Follow,” written by Principal and President Jerry Timpson. The white paper examines the reasons why leaders fail to pursue engagement, even while it’s proven to be fundamental ...Read More >]]>

The following is an excerpt from Kaufman Global’s latest white paper, “Engage the Organization and a Performance Culture Will Follow,” written by Principal and President Jerry Timpson. The white paper examines the reasons why leaders fail to pursue engagement, even while it’s proven to be fundamental to success. Content stems from research completed amongst a large group of top leaders and known change agents with diverse industry backgrounds.

Engagement is about working together, being involved, two-way communication and, most of all, the ability to have input, make decisions, and take action on those things within one’s immediate control. This level of involvement generates value. However, value is an exceedingly complex topic. If you doubt this, read a little about prospect theory, loss aversion and anchoring. So first let’s establish that we are talking about the value that is derived from efficient and effective processes.

The most basic definition of value; the worth of something, implies subjectivity. Value for a product or service is best understood where it is created, and where it is consumed. Since value means different things to different people we need to find some common ground. A simple way to think about it goes like this: Value remains when waste is removed. Waste is anything an all-knowing, all-seeing customer would not be willing to pay for — because it has no worth to them. Just as the customer has an opinion about value, those closest to creation of the product or service know the most about how to mitigate waste and increase value. This definition allows anyone to ask and answer value questions related to their personal situation, such as:  “Would the customer be willing to pay for:

• me looking for my missing wrench?” No.
• us counting excessive inventory?” No.
• our inability to find or retain the best talent for this job?” No.
• accidents that result from an unsafe work environment?” No.

You get the idea.

The individual or team touching the product, service or process creates value, and the customer judges it. However boundaries can’t go completely undefined and left to personal whims. In day-to-day work, value is bounded in absolute terms like quality, quantity, time, etc. These definitions are turned into metrics and spread across the enterprise, but usually at levels too high to effectively measure individual or workgroup performance. Only through engaging the organization at this level ― those doing the job — can we react to the dynamic environment, make real-time adjustments and capture the value that is otherwise lost.

Peter Drucker, the highly regarded organizational design and management thinker, described “knowledge workers.” This was a natural evolution from manual labor and factories to offices, information, data and design work. We need to expand the concept of knowledge worker and describe a new one: Value Workers. Value workers are individuals and small teams or natural workgroups with common deliverables. They subjectively know the most about and best way to achieve optimal results within their sphere of influence. Value workers apply their deep local knowledge at their position along the value chain. A few examples:

Manufacturing | The assembly line worker knows the most about how to reduce the amount of movement required for the job. The maintenance technician and equipment operator are best able to increase Overall Equipment Effectiveness and reduce Mean Time To Repair. The Plant Manager optimizes factory output by engaging the functions and taking decisive action.

Psychiatric Hospitals | The direct care worker may recognize patient behavioral triggers sooner than their physicians due to daily interaction and familiarity. The unit treatment team is best equipped to improve a patient’s mental health by making necessary changes to the treatment plan. The Hospital Administrator balances the needs of the patients, nursing staff and doctors and sets priorities.

Oilfields | The maintenance technician controls cost by managing the proper inventory of materials to complete a job. The operations manager knows the most about balancing customer priorities for field technical equipment. The oilfield operator knows which component suppliers contribute to the best rig operating conditions or uptime.

If leaders want better results they must embrace pushing decisions and the ability to make change and capture value down into the organization where value workers engage.

INDIANAPOLIS — Kaufman Global’s Vice President of Business Development Michael Plageman will be one of more than 80,000 attendees, from over 110 countries, at the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) being held next week at the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas. OTC is the world’s foremost event ...Read More >]]>

INDIANAPOLIS — Kaufman Global’s Vice President of Business Development Michael Plageman will be one of more than 80,000 attendees, from over 110 countries, at the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) being held next week at the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas. OTC is the world’s foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. Companies from around the world, including 2,500 exhibitors, will come together to access leading-edge technical information, the industry’s largest equipment exhibition, and valuable new professional contacts.

The four-day event will be filled with educational programs on a variety of topics, including those on emerging technologies, safety and environmental issues, and the changing regulatory environment. Scheduled presentations and panel discussions will feature insights from Petronas, Petrobras and Pemex, and other leading oil companies, on targeted topic areas such as Energy Challenges and Opportunities in Vietnam and Beyond and Business Innovation: A New Voyage for Independents.

To connect with us one-on-one during the event, call +1 317 818 2430 and ask for Michael. As part of our expertise in implementing operational excellence programs for Fortune 1000 clients, Kaufman Global partners with leading oil and gas organizations to drive tangible improvements in asset utilization / velocity, business process, facilities optimization and enterprise change efforts.

The likelihood of sustainable change is directly related to the degree to which that change is valued and supported by leadership, practiced by the organization, and consistently reviewed for improvement potential. Yet, how do you reach that level of cohesiveness — where everyone is fully engaged to eliminate ...Read More >]]>

The likelihood of sustainable change is directly related to the degree to which that change is valued and supported by leadership, practiced by the organization, and consistently reviewed for improvement potential. Yet, how do you reach that level of cohesiveness — where everyone is fully engaged to eliminate waste, improve quality and drive innovation? The simple truth is that implementing Lean is more than the adoption of a set of tools. Rather, success lies in developing new skills, new habits and, ultimately, a new culture. It’s a transition from a “traditional,” siloed work environment to one built within a high performance team infrastructure.

The Evolution of Lean | Opinions on how operations could and should be managed to maximize effectiveness have evolved. For millennia, family was the primary work unit. The family farm was a work and social system based on intimacy and trust. Personal ownership, commitment and the resulting quality of the work were all high. However, efficiency suffered because tasks were not, in general, methodically optimized.

During the industrial age, assembly lines and mass production came into existence. Simplification narrowed the scope of individual work. Teamwork was discouraged and perceived by managers as insubordinate behavior. Regardless, production increased (i.e., more cars were manufactured at a lower price) which says a lot about the efficacy of mass production. On the assembly line, economic efficiency improved but social and psychological elements were sacrificed. The assembly line defied the common human behaviors of recognizing, discussing and resolving problems.

Today, Lean has become recognized as the most successful framework for operational excellence. When implemented to its full extent, a Lean organization has a clear focus on the flow of work that is being managed by highly knowledgeable teams empowered to make decisions. Not simply a work system, Lean is a management system and social system because it achieves both high levels of engagement and economic efficiency — key goals for every organization.

The Power of Teamwork | Engaging people in meaningful collaboration doesn’t happen on its own. While some level of cooperation to problem-solve is an innate human trait, so too is following orders and minimizing disruption. Unless given overt license to do so, people typically won’t form teams to solve day-to-day problems. Most of today’s traditionally run organizations still suffer from the assembly line mentality mentioned above. Simply introducing Lean tools or establishing a quality control group to address performance problems is a Band-Aid® solution. You may see a short term gain, but without a long-term strategy for continuing to improve and measure progress by the team that owns the process, backsliding is almost inevitable.

Effectively implementing Lean and sustaining results requires solid teamwork, led with discipline and reinforced with positive feedback. A basketball team doesn’t develop superior performance by practicing only when it’s in the mood. It will not improve by hitting the court in a random or disconnected manner. Furthermore, performance lags without a clear sense of roles and responsibilities and a game plan for each position on the team. Similarly, in order to develop the skills and habits of a Lean organization, there must be a clear plan and disciplined effort that supports, encourages and mandates teamwork.

The Lean Daily Management System® (LDMS®) is a proven method for actively connecting leadership and their teams to the work they do every day. Tying together practices like leader standard work, daily accountability, and visual controls, it provides a disciplined, structured and ongoing process for checking and adjusting the improvement cycle. LDMS focuses small, intact workgroups on continuously improving their day-to-day work processes. It cultivates new habits by establishing a foundation for leadership to engage employees and manage improvements.

Is your organization awash with “tools” but lacking a structure for them to be consistently and collaboratively applied? If so, I offer leadership simple advice. Engage the people who know the work best, arm them with methods they can apply and institute measures that are meaningful to them, then watch your teams really take flight.

This issue of KeyNotes focuses on collaboration ― providing news, methods and evidence to celebrate the power of people working together. From the boardroom to field techs, from the factory floor to the finance office staff, collaboration has in its core two consistent ingredients for success ― people ...Read More >]]>

This issue of KeyNotes focuses on collaboration ― providing news, methods and evidence to celebrate the power of people working together. From the boardroom to field techs, from the factory floor to the finance office staff, collaboration has in its core two consistent ingredients for success ― people and process. Collaboration success most often lies with effectively linking the initiative with its work teams by providing a structure within which the goals are visible, the objectives shared, the progress unambiguous, and, tools are consistently applied. Structure drives collaboration, active engagement, ownership and ultimately… business results.  It enables every person to be involved and bring genuine value to the party.

In this issue, our latest Trend Setter John Settineri, Global Director of Enterprise Lean Sigma at Avery Dennison emphasizes the importance of creating a collaborative work environment to get people focused on and engaged in a common purpose. Regularly applying the see together, know together, act together principle, he oversees the company’s Enterprise Lean Sigma council — a centralized, cross-functional group of professionals that guide, support and enable Continuous Improvement efforts. Through his efforts, Avery Dennison has experienced meaningful ongoing improvements in service delivery quality and lowered costs that have contributed to reducing lead times and enhancing safety.

>> Read the full issue. To access previous issues of KeyNotes or to subscribe to our email list, click here.

INDIANAPOLIS — Kaufman Global announced today the promotion of Amy Howard to principal. Based out of Indianapolis, Howard is now one of the owners of the firm.

“This event marks a significant milestone for both Amy and Kaufman Global,” said Jerry Timpson, president and principal of ...Read More >]]>

INDIANAPOLIS — Kaufman Global announced today the promotion of Amy Howard to principal. Based out of Indianapolis, Howard is now one of the owners of the firm.

“This event marks a significant milestone for both Amy and Kaufman Global,” said Jerry Timpson, president and principal of Kaufman Global. “Amy’s experience, affinity for people and thoughtful willingness to express her point-of-view has had a consistent, positive influence on our market presence and worldwide service delivery. These same characteristics are anticipated to remain solid assets of her and our firm moving forward.”

Howard joined Kaufman Global in 2000 as a member of the marketing team and has since moved through progressively responsible roles in operations, business development and delivery. She has more than a decade of experience in supporting cultural transformations, and has specific expertise in implementation design, office kaizen and Lean Leadership®. Prior to joining Kaufman Global, Howard earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Purdue University.

# # # 

About Kaufman Global
Kaufman Global is a proven implementation partner that focuses on accelerating performance. For 20 years, the firm has worked with clients around the world to drive enterprise-wide change initiatives and cultural transformations. Leveraging Lean, Continuous Improvement and proprietary change management techniques, Kaufman Global delivers structured implementation and transformation projects that enable sustainable operational and financial results.

Living in an “Information Age” has its challenges. Many of us have come to rely too much on technology, expecting it to solve the world’s problems with little or no manual effort involved. Much like drivers who use GPS systems to blindly navigate the roads, organizations have become ...Read More >]]>

Living in an “Information Age” has its challenges. Many of us have come to rely too much on technology, expecting it to solve the world’s problems with little or no manual effort involved. Much like drivers who use GPS systems to blindly navigate the roads, organizations have become adept at creating systems that continuously — and quite consistently — gather more data than they can ever hope to digest. The ever-present “black hole” has become the standard repository for stacks of randomly gathered and unstructured data for which there is no defined home.

As much as we enjoy implementing sophisticated data management technology that automatically gathers and stores data (e.g., Electronic Workflow Tracking, BPM and RFID), the human factor is ultimately the “glue” that converts raw data into usable and valuable information (i.e., “sticky data”). Commonly recognized as methods for gathering sticky data, the above technologies, when supported by a workforce, can transform real-time data into business intelligence generators that drive more accurate insights into key areas of the business.  The simple truth is that without a structured program in place to target, collect, distribute, and analyze the most relevant data in real-time, organizations can be data rich but information poor.

Let’s look at one example. In a number of recent assessments within a global services organization, equipment repair quotes were consistently being rejected due to unacceptable delivery cycle times. Why was this? Determined to find the answers, the organization began researching the issue but quickly came to a road block:  minimal information was found on past successful or failed service project bids. Consequently, staff continued to waste energy reinventing the wheel for each new project, consuming significant amounts of unnecessary analytical time and effort.  What’s the underlying problem here? While there were certainly post-implementation reviews completed after each project, there was no subsequent communication or storage of data outside of everyone’s heads. The results (i.e., the discoveries) simply fell into a bottomless black hole. There was no mechanism to create sticky data that in turn could have been used as valuable information for subsequent efforts.

How should data be incorporated into the decision-making process? At Kaufman Global, we apply our SLIM-IT® model to ensure sticky data is an integral part, and final output, of any value stream. Applying a series of human elements, SLIM-IT incorporates change management techniques, the Lean Daily Management System® (LDMS®), KPI tracking, as well as a Lean structure that is designed to optimize communications across functions and organizational levels. Through this methodology, the power of data reaches its full potential because it’s held in place by the outer bands of formal organizational engagement.

What system do you have in place to ensure that the right data gets communicated, in the most effective way, to the right people?  Is data being translated into value-added information that sticks?

To learn more about best practices for leveraging data to drive business intelligence, click here to review my previous blog post entitled, “Understanding the Value of Data as a Corporate Asset.”

INDIANAPOLIS ― Kaufman Global announced today its plans to attend the 2013 SPE / IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition being held at the RAI Conference Center in Amsterdam starting March 5. As one of world’s largest energy and petroleum drilling events, the annual conference provides the opportunity for ...Read More >]]>

INDIANAPOLIS ― Kaufman Global announced today its plans to attend the 2013 SPE / IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition being held at the RAI Conference Center in Amsterdam starting March 5. As one of world’s largest energy and petroleum drilling events, the annual conference provides the opportunity for producers, contractors, and service company professionals to meet, discuss, evaluate and share ideas to advance drilling operations internationally, promote solutions to common problems and improve overall efficiency and profitability.

Hosted by the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the event has brought together emerging technologies, state-of-the-art innovations, leading-edge companies and organizations, as well as thousands of engineers, scientists, managers and executives for the past 30 years. This year’s event will include an increased number of technical sessions ― 18 in all ― on a variety of topics including drilling process / technology, tubulars, deepwater / subsea, and well technology / field development, among others.

“Once again, we are proud to be a part of this premier event; one that brings together professionals from throughout the drilling industry to learn from each others’ successes,” said Michael Plageman, vice president of business development for Kaufman Global. “This event marries well with how we work with clients to improve asset velocity and reduce cycle time. Methods like Lean and Office Kaizen can further advance efficiencies, improve service quality and, ultimately, maximize competitiveness.”

To learn more about the 2013 SPE / IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, click here.

# # # 

About Kaufman Global
Kaufman Global is a proven implementation partner that focuses on accelerating performance. For 20 years, the firm has worked with clients around the world to drive enterprise-wide change initiatives and cultural transformations. Leveraging Lean, Continuous Improvement and proprietary change management techniques, Kaufman Global delivers structured implementation and transformation projects that enable sustainable operational and financial results.

About International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC)
IADC is dedicated to enhancing the interests of the oil-and-gas and geothermal drilling and completion industry worldwide. IADC’s contract drilling members own most of the world’s land and offshore drilling units that drill the vast majority of the wells producing the planet’s oil and gas. IADC’s membership also includes oil-and-gas producers, and manufacturers and suppliers of oilfield equipment and services. Founded in 1940, the Association is a leader in developing standards for industry training, notably its Well Control Accreditation Program (WellCAP)® and rig-floor orientation program, RIG PASS® among others. For more information, visit http://www.iadc.org.

About Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose members are engaged in energy resources development and production. SPE serves more than 104,000 members in 123 countries worldwide. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry and provides services through its publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s a bacon revolution going on. Everyone seems to be talking about bacon and eating more of it lately. Bacon recipes are sweeping the Internet. Fast-food chains are peddling double bacon burgers, and upscale restaurants are wrapping steaks in it. Some ...Read More >]]>

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s a bacon revolution going on. Everyone seems to be talking about bacon and eating more of it lately. Bacon recipes are sweeping the Internet. Fast-food chains are peddling double bacon burgers, and upscale restaurants are wrapping steaks in it. Some connoisseurs are even adding bacon to desserts. To top it off, retailers are carrying all types of bacon-themed products, ranging from bacon soap, to bacon salt water taffy, to bacon soda. It’s everywhere you turn.

Until recently, the bacon frenzy had me puzzled. In today’s health conscious age, this new obsession didn’t add up. After all, 68% of bacon’s calories come from fat, almost half of which is saturated. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), foods rich in saturated fats can raise cholesterol levels, increasing risk of heart disease and stroke. So, having witnessed bacon’s rise in popularity over several consecutive months, I couldn’t help but ask myself: Why such a pig…I mean “big”… push for a food that we’ve all come to recognize as being so unhealthy? Is there a new, fat free bacon on the market? Have experts made a discovery that bacon is actually good for the body?

Upon doing some research, there were no ground-breaking “bacon discoveries” to be found. However,  I did learn about some healthier ways to prepare and eat it. Reading the countless available articles, I had a sudden epiphany. It hit me that the meticulous handling of bacon provides a valuable lesson. There’s a right and wrong way to do things, and, in many cases, the right way is neither the easier nor the faster path to take (but it’s still “the right path”).

Suddenly, I felt inspired by bacon. To me, bacon provided an ideal metaphor for how a business should manage its operations. Much like there’s a right way to consume bacon in order to maintain a long, healthy life, there’s a right way for businesses to manage and improve operations to drive lasting value. Going about it the wrong way… well, there are consequences.

Don’t see the similarities between handling bacon and improving operations? Consider these few simple improvement recommendations:

Remove As Much Fat (Waste) As Possible | To lower intake of the saturated, fattiness of bacon, consumers should consider baking it, rather than frying. For optimal results, bacon should be placed on a rack, which allows the grease to drip down into a pan underneath — keeping it from getting reabsorbed. This makes for less greasy, crispier, and, ultimately, healthier bacon.

Much like bacon preparation, businesses that effectively apply Lean methods can remove waste (the fat) from their operations. Waste can be defined as anything that uses resources but does not add real value to transforming a product or service. According to Taiichi Ohno, the father of waste elimination in manufacturing operations, there are seven unique types of waste. Once waste is removed, the improved processes require less human effort, capital investment, floor space, materials, and time in all aspects of operations.

Consume in Small Intervals | When eating bacon, servings should be kept small and include antioxidant-rich fruits or vegetables to create a more well-balanced meal.

To effectively sustain improved operations, Daily Workgroup Meetings should be held to monitor progress. Lasting no more than 10 minutes, these tightly facilitated, loosely scripted, daily stand-up meetings (a) bring everyone together as a team; (b) provide every person with the same picture of what is going on; (c) focus each person on the metrics and key performance indicators that they can control; and (d) generate a sense of ownership among the team about their area and processes.

Cut Back On the Non-Essentials | Regular bacon eaters should strive to minimize intake of other processed meats to keep their total consumption of processed meat to a minimum.

A guiding principle of Lean is to define value as perceived by the customer, and to leverage that knowledge to remove unneeded barriers (non-essentials) from meeting those expectations. To adopt the lens of the customer, operational decision-making should only be done after asking, “What does the customer value, and how might this decision help or hurt that value?”

So, with these ideas in mind, I’ve officially joined the bacon revolution. In 2013, I’m more focused than ever on driving sustainable change. How about you? Are you in?

INDIANAPOLIS — Kaufman Global announced today its participation in the ASQ Reliability Division’s annual webinar program, a worldwide education series that promotes quality through reliability training. Kaufman Global’s Jerry Timpson, president and principal, and Sean Wright, executive vice president and principal, will present, “Change Management Inside the ...Read More >]]>

INDIANAPOLIS — Kaufman Global announced today its participation in the ASQ Reliability Division’s annual webinar program, a worldwide education series that promotes quality through reliability training. Kaufman Global’s Jerry Timpson, president and principal, and Sean Wright, executive vice president and principal, will present, “Change Management Inside the Organization: Understanding and Avoiding the Yo-Yo Effect,” on Thursday, April 11, 2013, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

During the one-hour, interactive webinar, attendees will learn about common themes that emerge as organizations embrace change, what can be done to avoid some of the more frequent and often detrimental problems, and how to enhance systems to optimize the odds of long-term, value-adding viability. Content will be targeted to top leadership accountable for results, as well as Operational Excellence Leaders and internal change agents.

“Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen organizations approach Continuous Improvement initiatives in a number of ways with varied levels of success,” said Timpson. “This presentation will deconstruct those variables to identify the most critical roles, accountabilities and deliverables that must in place to drive sustainable change and value.”

To register for, or learn more about, the event, click here. There is no charge to attend.

# # #

About Kaufman Global
Kaufman Global is a proven implementation partner that focuses on accelerating performance. For 20 years, the firm has worked with clients around the world to drive enterprise-wide change initiatives and cultural transformations. Leveraging Lean, Continuous Improvement and proprietary change management techniques, Kaufman Global delivers structured implementation and transformation projects that enable sustainable operational and financial results.

A recent 60 Minutes segment highlighted the innovative approach used by California-based design firm IDEO and founder David Kelley to incorporate human behavior into the design process. Known as “Design Thinking,” the methodology advances innovation through a deep ...Read More >]]>

A recent 60 Minutes segment highlighted the innovative approach used by California-based design firm IDEO and founder David Kelley to incorporate human behavior into the design process. Known as “Design Thinking,” the methodology advances innovation through a deep understanding of customer needs, wants and behaviors. How are they gaining this insight? By putting together teams of diverse individuals to brainstorm and build on the ideas of others, they are taking the problem analysis, barrier identification and solutions vastly farther than one could alone.

Watch 60 Minutes "How to design breakthrough inventions"

The idea of design or layered thinking aligns with the Lean process beautifully and shouldn’t be considered “new.” Strip away the trendy terminology and at the core of Design Thinking is the power of bringing together a cross-functional team to focus intensely on a specific opportunity. As I thought of the many successful small teams we’ve helped form and facilitate over the years, three points from the segment stood out to me as key to enabling great teams for bigger picture thinking and outcomes.

Diversity Enables Out-of-the-Box Thinking | While you need subject matter experts keenly familiar with the problem or process at hand, don’t omit players from up and downstream processes. In fact, it may be best to include some that are far outside the process to ask the “obvious” questions that those too close to it may overlook

As an example, one of our corporate clients had a technology manufacturing unit that had begun leading frequent Rapid Improvement (Kaizen) Events as part of their Lean focus. Event designers there took the idea of “outside eyes” very seriously and recruited nuns from the adjacent Catholic university to participate. Rationale? Close by, no cost, well-educated, observant, know nothing about manufacturing, excellent penmanship, polite, used to long hours, and, very passionate about trying something far removed from their normal day. Outcomes? Some of the nuns’ questions were way out there. Yet, there were many winning ideas that helped frame meaningful change. And, talk about “holistic” change. Everyone had fun too!

Speed Collaboration by Getting Physical | Getting very different people to open up and collaborate requires more than a conversation around a conference room table — especially if trust isn’t running rampant through the organization. A good way to speed engagement? Get moving!

Take your team and have them physically walk the process (go to the gemba!), observe and ask questions. This provides an opportunity for communication and feedback between individuals who, based on their backgrounds, are bound to see the different things in the scene unfolding before them. Process more virtual than physical? Have the team collaboratively build the value stream map of how the process works today. The physical act of standing at a wall together (e.g., hashing out the process steps, writing and placing Post-it® notes, etc.) helps take the focus away from “us” and “them” and instead zeros in on why things work how they work. Always eye-opening, we guarantee you will hear a lot of comments like “I didn’t know that,”, or “Our team does it like this,” or even “That step doesn’t happen there.” With these gaps revealed, then you have some meaty issues to work on solving together.

Consensus Understanding Enables Empathy | If there’s no agreement on how the process works today or clarity around roles and responsibilities, there’s likely a lot of frustration and finger pointing going on in the background. Once the team is all seeing the same thing and agrees how it actually works (warts and all), then it’s easier to look at the problem areas from a different perspective.

A recent experience with a global engineering company clearly demonstrated the power of “layering” team experience by partnering with one of their high-tech equipment suppliers to resolve technological failures for end clients. With the current state map established and agreed to, both parties provided insights on problem areas and root cause data. While there were areas of improvement to be addressed independently for each organization, the teams were also able to constructively identify interfaces where they could do more to help each other. This resulted in improved overall service quality for the end user but also strengthened their relationship as partners working towards a common goal.

While not every organization needs to construct a team cocktail quite as exotic as IDEO does, bringing new ideas to old problems will always have tremendous benefits. What’s the most interesting set of “outside eyes” you’ve ever involved in a team?