2011 - Really Making a
Difference
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| Freedom from Terminal Sameness
Newsletter - Issue #69 |
January 2011 |
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A fresh year is upon us, the economy is
looking up and there is
energizing opportunity in the air. This is an ideal time to jettison
the organizational baggage that has been holding back new product
execution for a long time. This is the year to eliminate a belief
system that supports the ongoing systemic issues that keep cropping up
product after product, year after year. This first issue of 2011 will
provide some fresh perspective on bringing about positive changes in
new product execution for your organization.
Jeff Jorvig
New Product
Execution Coach
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Items
of
Interest
to
New Product Development Teams
Leadership Quote of
the month:
"Change is the key that unlocks
the door to growth and excitement in any organization. The leader's
ability to inspire a 'culture of change' can make or break their
success."
-- Mac
Anderson |
NPD
Execution
Quick
Tip
A Few Thoughts from my Twitter Feed
- It takes broad participation, razor sharp focus
and true leadership to jettison the organizational baggage that
promotes terminal sameness.
- Tolerance of systemic NPD execution issues that
impact you is really complacency at work. Do not expect merit badges
for avoidance.
- Too busy to deal with issues outside your
perceived circle of influence? So is everyone else. Welcome to terminal
sameness!
- Achieving real change requires staying the
course long enough for a cultural shift to occur. Most raise the flag
of defeat far too soon.
- A never-ending sense of insane urgency will
prevail in organizations that place emphasis on today over improving
for tomorrow.
- New project management must go beyond the pure
tactical to become an agent for change. Being different must be the
mantra for modern PM!
- The Lean concept of a "Pull" demand for greater
efficiency is so terribly violated in new products. It's all push and
impact is unknown.
- Everyone expects tool/flow upgrades for
efficiency improvements. Where's that same expectation on advancing
techniques for project delivery?
- Yes, there are inefficiencies in product
development that make you crazy. How's waiting for someone else to
notice and fix them working out for you?
- Managers manage within constraints, leaders
continuously challenge those self imposed constraints.
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2011
-
Really
Making
a Difference
Current
Situation
Interestingly, there are far more similarities in new product execution
issues than there are differences. Most organizations have very similar
stories to tell about the frustrations of getting new products from
concept to production, as per the business case projections.
Requirements closure, scope control (feature creep), cost/schedule
overruns and missed revenue targets are some of the typical themes for
product development teams.
Another common trait is the inability to effectively address systemic
issues such as these. From my perspective the reasons for this include
limited focus, a lack of assigning individual ownership, a smokescreen
of unavailable funding and a limited understanding of the full
financial impact of the current situation. Organizations have latched
up and are stuck in a loop of purely addressing issues within
functional silos, unable to fully visualize the full New Product
Development ecosystem.
The widely used matrix approach has left a huge gap in the ability to
address obstacles that span multiple functional boundaries.
Collaboration is working well on project specific topics and failing
when the subject is more abstract, as in resolving broad coverage
systemic execution issues. Get the picture? Take a step back and take a
good honest look at what is happening, or actually not happening, when
the subject is new product execution.
A common definition of insanity is doing things the same way and
expecting different results. How about making 2011 the year of fading
insanity by doing things differently, really differently?
Delivering
Change
in
2011
 The
following concepts outline the typical gaps that I have noted in
addressing long term new product execution issues.
Ownership
Solution by committee is ineffective because there is no ownership of
the problem. Assign the problem, give this individual the proper cross
silo power, set clear objectives and measurement and then get out of
the way. This role is not a "in your spare time" activity!
Cost of Current Situation
There MUST be a recurring cost identified with any systemic issue that
requires a solution. Failing to identify a cost of staying the same
allows the "unavailable funding" smokescreen to continue. If there is
not a significant cost then it is simply not a substantial issue, real
or perceived.
Involve the Team
Solutions that do not include the team members that are experiencing
the full impact of a problem are a just a management band-aid. Never
forget that real solutions come from those that are experiencing the
pain, not from conference room sessions.
Seek Perspective
Be aware that being too close to the problem will shade objectivity.
It's human nature to both knowingly and unknowingly substantiate a
position that will have minimal impact on us. Strive to always seek out
an objective perspective to keep self-serving motives in check.
Avoid Tool Exclusivity
Tools bring significant advances in productivity. However, don't fall
into the trap of assuming that the solution to all systemic issues lies
in tools. New product execution strategies must include people
management, individual communication and the maintenance of personal
objectives.
2011 will be the year of positive change only if you enthusiastically
seek it. It is too easy to assume the source of change will originate
elsewhere, a common misconception that allows terminal sameness to
prevail. That assumption is dangerously easy!
"Have you
ever watched a fly bouncing off a window pane, even with an open door a
few feet away? Many times the fly keeps crashing into the glass until
it finally dies. There are many companies in today's world doing
exactly the same thing. They continue down 'today's path,' wearing
blinders to the possibility of change... until they die."
-- Mac Anderson
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| How
we
can
Help
"Providing
solutions to the systemic project challenges that quietly steal early
revenue opportunity - Put simply, a cure for Terminal Sameness"
If you want new
product execution to be significantly better than it has been and are
reaching out for solutions, you have found the right place! The
sequence to resolution is below:
- What do you want to be different in new product
execution?
- How would a successful implementation of that
difference be noticed by the business? What would success look like?
- Contact me via email,
or
phone at
480-442-6730.
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Feedback
To increase the value of this newsletter for you
I would like to hear your comments.
- What do you like or not like about this
newsletter?
- What subjects would you like to see covered in
the future?
- How is the format?
- Ask me a question related to new product
development and I will anonymously post and answer it here in this
section.
Please email me here with any questions,
comments or suggestions that will help me better serve my readers. I
would enjoy hearing from you.
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