Operational Measurement
PART I.
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Today's business environment is characterized by informed customers, rapid technological change, new global markets, tough worldwide competition, environmental concerns, new standards for quality, and an overriding need for continuous operational improvement. The common concerns being faced by all businesses today are similar:
In keeping with the theme of this year's conference, "Business is War, Prepare to Win," we have chosen to relate the development and implementation of a business strategy to the steps necessary for effective deployment of a military strategy. We feel uniquely qualified to do this as we have feet in both camps. Karl von Clausewitz wrote in his classic treatise On War in 1832 that "War is waged by a remarkable trinity of the government, the armed services and the people." The government determines the overall result required (the ends). The armed services provide the means to achieve the results, and the people provide the will to bring about the desired results. It is very clear that all three elements must be in place to ensure a successful military operation. The same analysis can be applied to any business operation. Translating Clausewitz to a business context we can say that "Business is conducted by a remarkable trinity of the organization, the technology and the people". It is also intuitively obvious that all three elements must be in place for a successful business operation. Yet so often businesses fail to realize the mutual importance and interdependence of these three factors. A lot of companies try to implement change in one of these areas without any consideration of the effect on the other two. An obvious example is a company who tries to install a new piece of software, without sufficient emphasis on education and training, or without changing operational policies and procedures. Taking the military analogy one stage further we can examine the steps necessary in developing a military strategy. The first step according to George Edward Thibault is to organize what is known, i.e the context, the objectives, the capabilities, the costs and potential costs, and the assumptions. The context is the external environment in which a strategy must work and this includes current issues, ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs, pressures, fears, etc. This kind of environmental assessment today would include politically correct thinking. The objective describes what the strategy is designed to achieve, and it is a good rule of thumb that the more sharply focused and limited the objective is, the greater is the chance of success. The capability is defined as the ability to execute a specified course of action. From a military point of view it is having the power necessary to accomplish a specific mission. Military capability is determined by three fundamental factors, the resolve of the government, the will of the people, and the readiness of the armed services. The capability of a business can be equally defined as the ability to execute a specified course of action. Business power is not just a factor of the size of the corporation, the market value of the shares, the historical market penetration, or the Fortune 500 listing position. Business power is a measure of the future economic clout of an organization, and as such it a measure of the number of new ideas being generated, the potential of these new ideas, the potential ability to redefine or revolutionize a particular business sector, etc. Examples of this type of business power are Federal Express, Microsoft, and the Dell Corporation. To be Continued STAY CONNECTED To stay current on bullet-proofed manufacturing solutions, subscribe to our free ezine, "The Business Basics and Best Practices Bulletin." Simply fill in the below form and click on the subscribe button. We'll also send you our free Special Report, "Five Change Initiatives for Personal and Company Success." Your
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