http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php en andrew@acmconsulting.ca Copyright 2012 2012-05-10T15:53:46+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/how_to_effectively_manage_contracts_and_maximize_value/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/how_to_effectively_manage_contracts_and_maximize_value/#When:14:53:46Z Listen to my latest podcast where I discuss how to effectively manage contracts and how to maximize the value you achieve from those contracts. Business growth 2012-05-10T14:53:46+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/what_should_yahoo_do/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/what_should_yahoo_do/#When:11:33:05Z As you have likely heard already, Yahoo got themselves in a little bit of hot water lately when it surfaced that their new CEO, Scott Thompson, lied about his university degree on his CV. He claimed to have a computer science degree from a school that didn't offer that degree until four years after he left. So what should Yahoo do? This is only one of a series of bad decisions that the Yahoo board has made, showing that maybe they are not the right group to steer Yahoo back in the right direction. Sure, the board made a correctable error by not checking into Thompson's credentials, but the bigger issue is what to do with Thompson. He lied on his resume and admitted to it in a letter he sent to all Yahoo employees. The issue isn't that Thompson lied about a degree, it is that he lied, period. I don't profess to know him, but does this say anything about his character? Does it mean he has lied about other things in his career? Does he lie to his staff? These are not irrelevant or far-fetched questions to ask. Yahoo is clearly a company struggling to find itself and this takes them in the wrong direction. What would you do if you found out the person running your organization had lied in order to get the job? Running your business 2012-05-09T11:33:05+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/what_can_the_world_learn_from_healthcare/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/what_can_the_world_learn_from_healthcare/#When:15:29:22Z As a consultant who helps many companies in the healthcare industry I believe that there are many of the solutions that are being developed that can apply to other industries. Here is my little secret on how. Overall, I help companies improve profitability and performance and help them become more operationally efficient. This happens to be in high demand in the healthcare industry right now as organizations fight to do more with less. So we need to look at ideas and solutions that increase innovation and provide for better results while not working any harder. Resources are stretched and being asked to take on more work, budgets are being frozen or reduced, there is a shortage of skilled resources and organizations are trying to maximize return on investments and minimize costs and government involvement is increasing. Does this sound familiar? Of course it does because these challenges can apply to almost every other industry. The healthcare industry has no choice but to innovate and no choice but to make improvements because of all of the funding constraints. But that means that there are some remarkable ideas and partnerships being developed that other industries can learn from. Just to give you two examples of this: private sector companies are partnering with public sector organizations to fund redevelopment projects and healthcare providers are collaborating with supplies to develop new technologies to improve patient outcomes. There is a lot we can learn from what is going on in healthcare right now. The question is are we open to that learning? Business growth 2012-05-08T15:29:22+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/resolving_your_organizations_biggest_challenges/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/resolving_your_organizations_biggest_challenges/#When:08:45:23Z My clients face many different challenges, but let me share the top three with you and how I may recommend you resolve them. The first challenge is that they don’t implement their strategies effectively. This seems to be a constant problem as great strategies are developed but never implemented successfully. In order to implement these strategies successfully you need to involve employees in the strategy development process. Create internal champions who will help everyone see how they fit into the bigger picture. You need to provide clear accountabilities and measurements so people know what success will look like and how they can help get there. The second challenge my clients face is that they don’t collaborate enough with their customers and suppliers on improving performance. You must engage employees, customers, and suppliers more often in identifying new performance improvements. Look at your best customer relationships and determine why that is. Look at how your suppliers are working with their best customers. What can you learn and build into your own organization? The third challenge my clients face is that they move too slowly. Organizations often spend a lot of time on activities that are not adding any value to the organization. You need to assess your operations and stop performing activities that don’t increase profit, improve attraction and retention of top people, improve customer service or improve the sustainability of the organization. I help my clients focus on value added activities and if you ask yourself those four questions and you can’t answer yes to any of them you need to stop doing the activity. Research In Motion (RIM) is a classic example of a company that moved too slowly and now they are struggling for survival in the cut-throat cell phone and tablet markets. They developed some very good products but became complacent and they are now losing market share rapidly to companies like Apple and Samsung. Speed is a key component to the success of any company. What are your biggest challenges and how are you tackling them? Business growth 2012-05-04T08:45:23+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/the_four_attributes_of_successful_leaders/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/the_four_attributes_of_successful_leaders/#When:12:17:19Z In a conversation with a client recently we were discussing what are the attributes of successful leaders? I believe that there are four key ones. The first attribute is adaptability, which means that a leader must be able to lead in varying environments whether it be a crisis, a boom, moderate success, ambiguity. A leader must be able to understand and then adapt to the environment around them. The second attribute is being perceptive. Leaders must know what is going on around them, the different personalities of the teams they lead, the different agendas people may have and how the leader is perceived by others and use that information to determine how to best achieve their goals and objectives. The third attribute is being decisive. This means balancing the desire for consensus with the required speed of decision-making. It also means that in most cases some action is better than no action. The fourth and final attribute successful leaders have is being humble. We often read about leaders who give most of the credit to the people around them when things go well but shoulder most of the blame when things go awry. A leader needs to recognize that he/she needs smart people around them and that they can’t do everything on their own. I will also let you in on a little secret. Great leaders aren’t always at the top of their organizations. There are many great leaders we have never heard of yet show all of the attributes I have just discussed. Do you know who those people are in your organization? Professional development 2012-05-03T12:17:19+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/how_to_implement_change_successfully/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/how_to_implement_change_successfully/#When:11:43:34Z Watch this great video on how to implement change successfully. Business growth 2012-05-01T11:43:34+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/why_we_procrastinate/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/why_we_procrastinate/#When:11:25:47Z It is new month, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing and golf season has started. It is a time of change. But when isn't it a time of change? The most successful companies are always changing, yet most of us have a habit of procrastinating. We even procrastinate those things we know will make us feel better or help us grow our businesses. Before tackling how to stop procrastination, we need to look at why we procrastinate. Here are seven reasons: Fear of rejection-We fear that if we try something, we will be turned down. No one likes to hear the word 'no.' Fear of success-We worry what will happen if we become successful. We might feel like an imposter waiting for someone to discover the truth about us (see Lack of confidence). Fear of the unknown-We always worry about what we don't know and how people will react and this causes us to freeze up. Complacency-We get comfortable with our routines and are hesitant to change because we know change is difficult, so we take the path of least resistance-status quo. Lack of confidence-We have low self-esteem and don't believe what we are doing will be valuable to others. Not knowing where to start-We think of things in such a broad sense that we get over-whelmed and don't know where to begin. Often there is a simple solution to breaking through the reasons mentioned above: just start moving. If we spend some time breaking down the initiative into digestible chunks, it becomes more manageable. Once we actually take the first step towards that goal, we can overcome all of our fears. Running your business 2012-05-01T11:25:47+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/how_to_encourage_innovation/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/how_to_encourage_innovation/#When:12:13:51Z There is an ongoing discussion on how to increase and encourage innovation. This is especially prevalent in the risk-averse Canadian healthcare space. In order for innovation to prosper in a marketplace, these conditions must prevail: Understanding what innovation is Innovation doesn't have to be a brand new technology or process, it could be an enhancement of something that already exists. By looking at the definition in a different way, it makes the activity of encouraging innovation easier to digest. Let's think about how we can make improvements. Some will be brand new and game-changing and others will be small improvements on what currently exists. Both are innovations. Having a system that incents innovation This requireds governments and industry organizations to create incentives for companies that innovate. These incentives could take the form of grants, funding, lower barriers to market access, tax credits or relief, or many other options. The key is that companies are incented to improve upon what is currently in the marketplace. This can also extend to those organizations that have the ability to discourage innovation-media, lobby groups, funders. These organizations often publicly punish organizations who are trying to innovate but may not have been successful, thus discouraging others from trying. Having an appetite for risk Organizations that are in the marketplace need to have an appetite for the risks required when chasing innovation. Not every innovation is going to be a success, so companies need to recognize this when embarking on an innovation. Listen to the marketplace, listen to customers and fulfill a current or future need to increase chances of developing successful innovations. Developing a roadmap for success Whenever you try to go from one place to another, you need a map to show you how to get there. Innovation is no different. What are the processes that need to be in place? What stakeholders need to support the initiative? What are the steps required to effectively develop, commercialize and implement new innovation? Without a common roadmap, organizations will falter at various stages by developing their own way of operating. Understanding and taking the first step One of the biggest roadblocks to new innovation is that organizations don't know where or how to start. To talk about innovation as a concept is a daunting task, so we need to break it up into manageable chunks. Understanding the first step in this initiative will go a long way to creating some forward momentum. Don't think of the whole journey, just think of one thing your organization can do to start the journey, then let the laws of physics take over (something in motion tends to stay in motion). Business growth 2012-04-27T12:13:51+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/thinking_big/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/thinking_big/#When:14:17:53Z Thinking big means: - Getting out of your comfort zone, conquering self-esteem issues and recognizing that you can't grow by doing more of the same, but only by changing your world view - Acting instead of thinking about acting and being more assertive in going after what you want. Taking a single step in the right direction will help overcome fear and procrastination - Being a thought leader by thinking bigger and more boldly, using big words (breakthrough, dramatic, extraordinary) and setting the pace for others - Realizing that no idea is too big - Collaborating and innovating with clients to develop game-changing ideas, not just solving problems - Not waiting for an excuse to reward yourself and doing what you want to do, the way you want to do it - Surrounding yourself with the best and the brightest people and eliminating people and things that don't align with your personal and professional development Are you approaching your business by thinking bigger? Business growth 2012-04-24T14:17:53+00:00 http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/global_healthcare_opportunity_5_provide_a_clear_vision_of_the_future/ http://www.acmconsulting.ca/index.php/blog/single/global_healthcare_opportunity_5_provide_a_clear_vision_of_the_future/#When:11:13:13Z The one thing that is often lacking in healthcare is a global vision. What do we want the future of healthcare to look like? I was at a conference the other day and someone said that the goal of Canadian healthcare should be to ensure that our healthcare system was at least as good, if not better, for our children. I thought this was a pretty good start as an underlying principle, but is it a good enough vision? Maybe. Like many organizations, the healthcare system needs a clear vision of its future state. What is the model? What are the underlying principles? What does the future state look like? Only then can we determine the best way to get there. If you don't know your final destination, then how can you plan the route to get there? This requires leadership and an ability to take into account the needs of many different stakeholder groups-patients, doctors, nurses, healthcare administrators, pharmacists, etc. Right now, many heathcare systems are lacking the appropriate leadership and need to start with the basics, deciding on their final destination. Faster results 2012-04-18T11:13:13+00:00