What's happening then?

Well it's back off to University for me next week (did I mention I'm doing an MBA?! :) ) and obviously all the preparations for that are in full flow. Lots of reading, lots of sorting out folders and making sure that pencils are sharpened and I have some clean, fresh paper. This year is all about strategy which I'm really looking forward to. Strategy is an area that I've had less exposure to than other areas of the business and in my role I have been fortunate enough to touch all areas and have a good understanding of how they work and why. This really helped me in my first year and helped bump up those exam results a bit.

Strategy is such a complex area that I'm interested in how you teach it to someone. How can you give someone the skills to help visualise and verbalise the future direction of a company and then get the rest of the company to understand that vision and why it's the right thing to do. Some decisions are much easier than others but some of them can have the 'hard sell'. Implementing systems such as ISO9001/27001 ones would be classed as one such change. How do you take a company that has a few rough round the edges processes and procedures and turn them in to a company that is process driven through and through? Not easily would be the answer.

Commitmant to the continued use of these types of systems is paramount to their success. They cannot be driven by a small team, an individual or a department. They have to become engrained in everyone in the company. Like any quality system (EFQM, Six Sigma etc) you are looking for consistancy and conformity to make sure that you set a high standard of what you are trying to acheive and then repeat that in all areas.

I received some really good feedback to the last post and would love to hear from people that have similar challanges within their companies. A Quality Manager role is a thankless task, but I've been told by a wise old sage of the industry:- 'We aren't here to be thanked, we're here to make everyone elses lives easier.'

Mark

Comments

[Peter]

Hi Mark
Your article made me think for on two levels, firstly your MBA strategy and then about your implementation of standards - both (naturally) linked.
When I was doing my MBA a wise old sage said "There is not right strategy, just plenty of wrong ones - the trick is to avoid a wrong one", and since then all my experience has been in making strategy more that an intellectual exercise, how to implement change in a busness.
My worry about standards (especially ISOxx) is that they are process compliance, not about changing a culture to be service orientated. Process plays an important role in codifying rules for people, but it is at the people level these things kick in. The strategy is as much about people and culture than process. You need reporting frameworks and linking that to individual behaviour....
Anyway, that is what you will be learning for the next term I'd imagine. Good Luck

[Mark]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for that, it is an interesting read. I wonder if our wise old sages are the same person or whether there are lots of them around?!

I completely agree with you about the cultural changes needing to happen also. The processes can only help direct the people in the right direction but unless they truly believe in them and the benefits then we never get what we are after.

If you have any further hints or tips on how I can be approaching my second year and strategy I'd be glad to benefit from your knowledge.

Many thanks again.
Mark