At Bright Water Consulting, LLC (Bright Water), we have worked with many CEOs over the years, and, in our experience, we have identified three key needs:
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- Operational Excellence,
- Innovate with data, and
- Run and operate processes.
Bright Water helps companies achieve Operational Excellence by streamlining and automating processes. The result of these efforts is increased business velocity while reducing cost.
The Bright Water Team helps businesses innovate with data. The results of our efforts allow companies to glean deep insights from data so they can ask the right questions and get better results.
Bright Water has a deep expertise needed to help companies run and operate processes. Our process efforts allow companies to focus on delivering the promise of their brand to their customers.
At Bright Water we know that: CEOs and senior leaders need three things: 1) business velocity and agility, 2) continuous cost reductions, and 3) business resilience. In today’s fast-paced world, it is clear that all companies need to be technology companies and all CEOs need to be technology leaders. Companies that do not wisely drive their business processes with analytics and technology will suffer market losses at the hands of competitors who do. At Bright Water, we have observed that companies who wisely leverage the application of analytics and technology understand those are the key differences between winning and losing. We view the perspective of the Chief Information Analytics Officer as never more relevant for enabling the strategy and operation of the enterprise than it is today.
Velocity Matters. Businesses are nothing more than an aggregation of business processes. Processes take inputs and produce outputs. If the output of a business is purchased at a profit, the business can continue its operations. Otherwise, the business fails. Anything that a business produces repetitively is the product of the process. Sound processes allow output to be produced cost-effectively with quality and minimal variation from specifications. Process matters.
In order to understand why Velocity matters, consider the steps in a typical decision process. A typical decision process can be characterized by the OODA loop. First, the decision-maker “O”bserves the environment. Next, the decision-maker “O”rients to issues of concern in the environment. The “D”ecision is made and, finally, an “A”ction is taken. When action is taken the environment is changed as a result and this change impacts all actors in the environment (they must react to it). The cycle then starts over again. It is an endless OODA loop.
In order to demonstrate the value of the OODA loop, let’s imagine a business that completes a single cycle through the OODA loop in 12 units of time. Let’s say 3 units of time are spent at each stage of the OODA loop. Now compare this business to a competitor that completes a single cycle through the OODA loop in 6 units of time, spending 1.5 units of time at each stage. After 6 units of time elapsed, the competitor is beginning to “O”bserve the new competitive environment, having just finished acting on their initial observations. Meanwhile, the business that needs 3 units of time for each stage is “D”eciding what action to take. The slower competitor will be basing their decision on an environment that no longer exists, since the faster competitor has already “A”cted, impacting, shaping, and changing the environment. As the slower business starts to act (9 units of time have elapsed), the competitor is deciding what “A”ction to take, having just finished “O”rienting to the new environment and a particular issues area of concern. The faster competitor will decide what action to take and actually complete the action. The faster competitor has now completed the loop for a second time as the slower competitor completes the loop for the first time. The slower business requiring 12 units of time to complete the loop will always be basing its action on an environment that no longer exists, so its actions will always be suboptimal. It will never catch the faster competitor. This is how the fast eat the slow. This is why velocity matters.
CEOs need to increase the velocity and agility of their business because, if they do not, faster companies will adapt to the competitive environment and evolve more quickly, which puts the slower competitor at a competitive disadvantage that they cannot recover from. In order to increase the velocity of their business, CEOs must increase the velocity of their business processes. It is business processes that shape, determine, and produce the outputs that clients pay for. If business processes are lethargic, the business will be too.
CEOs must ask: How do I increase the velocity of a business process? There is only one way. CEOs must automate and improve their business processes. By doing so costs will reduce as labor is withdrawn and better business outcomes will result as processes execute at great velocity with more certainty and consistency. Bright Water has the knowledge, experience, and skill sets needed to help companies achieve Velocity through intelligent business processes.
Similar to the OODA loop, Business Process Management (BPM) efforts are dynamic rather than static. As companies cycle through the OODA loop they change the environment which forces the competition to be more efficient, remove friction and constantly improve business processes.
Business processes do not operate in a vacuum. Therefore, it is helpful to think about business processes as a set of discrete, but connected, activities often involving a range of related stakeholders such as the business and the IT group. Therefore, business processes must be specific to the stakeholder mission, tied to the larger organizational context, and current. To effectively achieve this within an organization, BPM efforts will vary in size, scope, and complexity.
At Bright Water we typically engage with clients leveraging the following basic phases:
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- MODEL: Identity, define, and create a representation of the complete process so it can be easily understood and communicated.
- EXECUTE: Based on the model, develop, and implement the process so that it can be repeatably performed. Apply automation when it makes sense and delivers good value to the organization.
- CONTROL: To ensure the process is consistently followed we help the client to set up proper control systems.
- MONITOR: Collect meaningful and measurable data to determine the effectiveness of the process in delivering the expected value and benefits.
- OPTIMIZE: Use the data collected through monitoring, and feedback into the modeling, to determine if further process improvements can be made.
Contact us directly at Bright Water for a discussion regarding improving your business velocity and agility, continuous improvement, and business resilience – info@brightwaterconsulting.com.
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Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
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