Greetings!
I know.... I know .... I've lapsed in keeping a commitment to this article blog - in part because I have been very busy - as I'm sure most other folks have been as well. However, the proverbial light bulb did go off over my head on how best to keep up with this forum .... just write less .... but do it more often. I need to incorporate it into my lifestyle - rather than do it in 'fits' of activity. Kind of like with dieting, the activity does not usually drive long term quality results - as it seldom addresses the fundamental (root cause) issue - it's the life style - not the food!
Now, back to the fun stuff ....
In part 1 of my article entitled 'Methods to the Madness - The Project Portfolio', I was mentioning how many companies seem to conduct project portfolio planning by ... well ... not planning. They do often employ the 'spinning-the-plates-on-a-stick' methodology - or put another way, all projects have an equal right to 'spin'. This is a great circus trick to catch sometime, but is probably not an optimum business process. Why, oh why don't more companies use an objective decision model to determine priority??
I had been waiting on a contact of mine to report back on his company's efforts (no cop out as to why I am so late with this article though) to conduct a meaningful portfolio management exercise. His report back, although not surprising, was nonetheless disappointing. I was expecting to hear that the company decided on a tool (ie: Priorities Matrix or just a good ol' fashion checklist to see how the project matches up against company objectives) to determine the relative level of impact to support the overall company strategy. Turns out that the company (a rather large company that's been around for a while )could not determine which projects were deemed to be 'core' to the company. So, when in doubt (remember, uncertainty can and does breed fear - a whole separate dissertation) .... cover your basis. I have heard this story repeated in a number of different forums. The tools work when utilized, but it looks like human nature is doing what it does in times of economic distress too. I'll keep searching on a successful project portfolio story, and will report once I find one.
Just a quick thought regarding Toyota (and it's - until recently - hailed production system (TPS)). Reams of columns have been written about what happened, what may have happened, what should have happened and what they should do now. All I know is that I own a Toyota, and it's a pretty darn good vehicle. Their recent actions appear to be panic/fear driven (see above) - such as reducing the reliance on 'outsourced' vendors staff. These folks, many engineers, worked in Toyota facilities right along side Toyota engineers. This is not where the problem lies - especially if they are true to the TPS and believe in this quality system. Toyota said it correctly when they commented; ' As we look at this past generation of vehicles, it did seem to be all about the growth of the company, and there were lapses' (WSJ: 7/6/10). A healthy dose of RCA is in order. Oh, and to the execs at Toyota, it does start at the top. So, let's get it right and get back to producing those wonderful vehicles I have enjoyed driving!
Just one more quick comment, Sweetwater Music has THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE that I have seen . I get nothing for this statement, but do love to announce a true service winner when I see one. All you music affectionados, check them out sometime!
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