A way to think about optimization is focusing on waste. If you concentrate on how and where you are wasteful, you naturally optimize your process. In services, waste is anything you do that does not ultimately bring value to your clients. You can’t simply tell your team “don’t waste!” because some is inevitable (or even […]
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Find the Bottleneck
When your team isn’t making enough progress, it’s tempting to push everyone to work harder. But that’s a mistake. Instead, “find the bottleneck” – where the work getting stuck in the process. Let’s put this into action. Look at something your team regularly delivers that you wish you could deliver faster or more smoothly. Next, list […]
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Questions to Truth
David Sandler said “the problem the patient brings to their therapist is never the real problem.” They may say “I’m not sleeping well” or “I’m fighting with my wife” – but that’s not the real problem, not the root cause. It’s the therapist’s job to dig deeper until they get to the bottom of what […]
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Find the Real Reason Why People Buy
In order to have a successful business, you need to know the real reason why your customers buy your products or services. To illustrate this, ask yourself… Do people buy things for the same as the reasons they say they buy things? For example, why do people buy Starbucks? What are some of the things […]
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Services to Products: How to Increase Quality
It’s critical to maintain quality and give your customers consistent results that are in line with what’s expected in their world. This is pretty overwhelming and difficult when everything is custom. So how do you maintain quality when everything is custom? How do you find out the standards in your customers’ worlds and manage that? […]
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