February 2020 - CRITICAL INPUT

Being in control and capable comes first

February 13, 2020

According business improvement expert from Critical Input Tim Griffiths before managing a process step-change, an organisation’s goal first goal should always be focussed on being “in control and capable”.

To define this, a process is considered “in control” or stable, if it’s in statistical process control. Capability is the ability of the process to produce output that meets specifications, consistently.

“This is always our first point of focus when reviewing scope and process improvement or transformation projects with clients,” Tim said.

Having your process in control before implementing improvements will ensure your organisation is capable of managing change and more accepting of the transformation.

Given that change is the new normal in the corporate world, in theory, all organisations should be always striving to be “in control and capable” to maximise growth and adaptability.

It also means that full attention is put on finding and implementing solutions, rather than being distracted by what Tim calls “shiny rocks”.

“It’s a common phenomenon that occurs among high achievers and organisations who are looking for the ultimate solution, rather than looking at their internal basic enablers or processes, which may not appear as ‘shiny’,” Tim said.

“So they pursue the ‘shiny rock’ and disregard basic processes or abandon them for ‘not working’, yet they want to chase a new system or a new innovation before they’ve understood the process.”

More often than not the shiny rock is merely a distraction and a way to procrastinate or avoid addressing the real issue, which nine times out of 10 relates to process and is core to productivity.

“We aim to bring a lean and simple approach to the problems and issues that clients may have,” Tim said.

“We don’t bring a bucketful of solutions – it’s more of a structured understanding of the issue. This includes the drivers at the time, the issue the client may have and how we improve the processes around those issues, whether it’s in the supply chain or project management.”

ABOUT US

Critical Input is a business and process improvement consultancy. We help our clients to improve their end-to-end supply chain processes through process improvement strategies, project management and staffing resources. At the centre of everything are three principles: Process, because without process, there is no destination; people, because without buy-in, there is no evolution; and principles – because integrity is everything.

CAPABILITIES

Experts in: Supply Chain: CI works across the end-to-end supply chain, delivering sustainable results with our proven change-management approach; Project management: We work collaboratively with our clients to ensure the new and enhanced capabilities are fit-for-purpose and tailored to the context, maturity and requirements of their organisation; People: CI can provide skilled resources as backfill, for outsourcing purposes or as additional support; Process: CI works with our clients to help understand, communicate and improve their processes.

DIFFERENTIATORS

Our brand values of Process, People and Principles set us apart.

PAST PERFORMANCE

Rio Tinto Projects, Sedgman/THIESS, Sydney Water Corporation, Coronado Coal Pty Ltd, Cement Australia Pty Ltd, Senex Energy, APA Group, Archipelago Resources, Glencore/Xstrata, AECOM.

These top three qualities of a great leader may surprise you…

February 13, 2020

The top three qualities of a great leader

Most people want to go to work and feel as though they make a difference. A great leader will set their people up for success and reap the benefits in improved productivity, better results and, ultimately, happy shareholders and staff.

The three top qualities of a great leader spring from within and can be found in all of us.

1. Caring is powerful

A great leader demonstrates a great deal of care for the people within their organisation. They really understand that those people really are what defines that business.

Companies’ visions or strategic imperatives usually focus on shareholders and creating value. Rarely is there any mention of caring for the people who work there.

If leaders care for their people and look after them, then customers will naturally be looked after, the bottom line will improve, and shareholders will be happy.

Leaders who can create a caring culture where people operate out of creativity, not fear, will reap great results and positive change.

2. Being genuine is impressive

People can usually tell when a leader is not being genuine with them and that will impact on their performance and commitment.

This means not only being genuine in terms of being themselves (no-one likes a fake) but also being truthful in your dealing with others – especially your team.

A leader who is genuine in both senses of the word will gain the trust of their people who know that they are being given the whole picture in terms of their jobs and the business’ direction.

That trust will manifest in better performance, less staff turnover and reduced absenteeism.

3. Transparency breeds legitimacy

In organisations where leaders hold back on information, staff struggle to understand where they’re supposed to go without transparent communication and a shared clear message being understood throughout the business.

Culture beats strategy every time. A good leader can create their own micro-culture, which starts with their commitment to transparency and communications. This helps to build an atmosphere of trust within the team.

People who feel safe will communicate back to their manager, enabling them to make informed decisions based on that feedback. No-one is going to want to step forward, step up, put their head up, if they feel that it’s going to get chopped off.

ABOUT US

Critical Input is a business and process improvement consultancy. We help our clients to improve their end-to-end supply chain processes through process improvement strategies, project management and staffing resources. At the centre of everything are three principles: Process, because without process, there is no destination; people, because without buy-in, there is no evolution; and principles – because integrity is everything.

CAPABILITIES

Experts in: Supply Chain: CI works across the end-to-end supply chain, delivering sustainable results with our proven change-management approach; Project management: We work collaboratively with our clients to ensure the new and enhanced capabilities are fit-for-purpose and tailored to the context, maturity and requirements of their organisation; People: CI can provide skilled resources as backfill, for outsourcing purposes or as additional support; Process: CI works with our clients to help understand, communicate and improve their processes.

DIFFERENTIATORS

Our brand values of Process, People and Principles set us apart.

PAST PERFORMANCE

Rio Tinto Projects, Sedgman/THIESS, Sydney Water Corporation, Coronado Coal Pty Ltd, Cement Australia Pty Ltd, Senex Energy, APA Group, Archipelago Resources, Glencore/Xstrata, AECOM.

Critical Input helps Sydney Water reach milestone

February 9, 2020

While Sydney Water is a colossal organisation compared to CRITICAL INPUT PTY LTD, Sydney Water and Critical Input represent an integral part of each other’s stories, thanks to a many-faceted relationship that has spanned nearly five years. During this time, Critical Input’s Senior Consultants have worked both on and off-site on projects at the most senior and granular levels to ensure the small steps have been taken toward continuous improvement and, ultimately, toward the major transformation that is the new Regional Delivery Consortia (RDC) framework under the banner of Partnering For Success (P4S). As with all Critical Input projects, the work has been a close collaboration with our client. The focus has been on process, people, project management and supply chain. A big thanks to Mark Simister, Mary Gardner and so many others for their commitment to doing great work.