Listening to and engaging employees in participation and contribution to change minimizes creating the situations that generate resistance to change.  We’re also helping you “out-executing the naysayers”. In one case, after General Manager introduced us and outlined the initiative, we had developed buy-in from the whole organization – in one day.  Except for 1 senior employee. He clearly had influence beyond his job position.  He looked me straight in the eye and said “We’ll see about that.” (He scepticism was deserved – they had tried a number of initiatives, without success). Within a few weeks, working across the organization, we collaboratively resolved an issue he had been working on for 2 years.  He liked the “bully pulpit” that he had (I am O-for-lifetime seeing anyone who had a bully pulpit willingly give it up).  He saw that the process worked, so he became a convert.  The whole effort benefited from his positive attitude and influence.

You are likely familiar with the concept of “continuous improvement”, celebrated by Toyota and many other companies.  An improvement-seeking culture takes continuous improvement to a next level.   Continuous improvement has a general group or organizational context.  In an improvement-seeking culture, each individual is actively seeking ways to improve their work, as well as processes and interactions with other areas.

We implement change collaboratively with the organization as we proceed in development of the Visual Twin(sm).  As a result of identifying and implementing change as we proceed, we are continually reducing time, effort, poor results and cost as we proceed.  This is easy on the organization, does not “add work.”

Three key practices we follow to make this as easy as possible on the organization:  1.  Operation of the business takes priority.  2. Operation of the business takes priority.  3. Operation of the business takes priority.

As a practical matter, things never do just calm down. As one of our clients observed, “We waited to start until things ‘calmed down.’  If I had realized how easy this would be on our organization, and how quickly we would see results, we would have started months ago.”

Don Ortiz, former General Manager, Promax Automotive.

4aBetterBusiness provides complete guidance and management of the initiative, while the organization continues to work, by design, with minimal disruption.  We schedule and conduct interviews throughout the organization, at a time that works for them. We speak with people and observe where they work and as they work. (e.g., not yellow post-its on the wall and taking groups of people away from their work in conference rooms).  This continues to build engagemenet and buy-in as we proceed. We develop and validate the Visual Twin(sm), minimizing time requirements on management and staff.

The listening and implementation of changes builds momentum.  Employees “chase us down” to share issues, because they know these will be addressed.  In one company production supervisors stopped going out for smoke breaks, and instead came to speak about process changes and practices.  A company with chronic absenteeism transitioned to a record number of perfect attendance awards.  Terms clients used for the experience include employee empowerment, collaborative teamwork, transparent communication, inclusiveness, and improvement seeking, among others.

While each situation is different, you can reasonably expect to see meaningful results in weeks, and payback in months.

In 25+ years of leading initiatives as primary consultant or Interim COO, I have had exactly 1 situation that didn’t work out.  Shortly after founding 4aBetterBusiness, the leadership of one of my first clients drastically changed their objectives and attitude towards employees from what they originally professed.  I terminated the engagement, provided all the deliverables developed to date, and put them in contact with another consultant who would work in the way they wanted.

Ensuring we have shared values up front has been a critical part of a mutual decision to move forward.  There are always un-anticipated events that occur, but with shared values we can always come to agreement on “what good looks like” and how to achieve the desired outcome.

Yes. The process engages the entire organization, and develops capabilities to achieve ongoing improvement.  The way of working to achieve the transformational results – an improvement-seeking culture – becomes “the way we do business here”, with daily interactions supporting this at every level of the organization.

“We’re delighted with the process and outcomes.  As impressive as those results are, we’re especially pleased with the way the process developed the buy-in of our employees.

We will be able to sustain those gains and achieve ongoing improvements in performance and profits.”

– Levi Cottington, President, CHT Products