“Winners change their business mix year after year; while laggards sit still” is a popular adage. So, why must you put your portfolio on the move?

Portfolio management has always been key to business growth across all industry verticals. It is more so now in the pandemic induced new normal, where organizations face daily challenges, be it running operations, cash flow, disrupted supply chain, employee engagement or customer care.
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An analysis of financial results of several hundreds of companies from 2008 to 2018 through a long cycle of downturn, recovery and growth indicate that, those businesses that put its portfolio on the move tend to outperform. The reverse is true as well. Businesses with a static portfolio serially underperform. Why? Because the market moves on and the company doesn’t. 

Let’s take them one by one.

Portfolio Management:
Here are seven main takeaways from my review of the aforementioned finance study-

1. Keep the portfolio moving:
There is an optimal rate to rotate the industry you operate in. Leading companies tend to rotate their portfolios steadily, not widely. Also, do not keep them fixed in a place.

2. Move with the market:
Headwinds and tailwinds matter a lot. Best companies identify where the winds are shifting and deploy resources aggressively where they predict the value creation to be. Work to create value. Anything that is not ‘value’ is ‘waste’; and wastes lead to high operational costs.

3. Manage innovations:
Organizations that wisely invested in innovation be it product or process innovations created profitable portfolios. Like all aspects of business, innovation too must be well-managed for it to be strategic, customer-centric and profitable. Innovation management becomes more critical in todays times where economy is battered, and organizations face heavy budget crunch. (Tip- Remember innovation is not R&D. I have a separate post explaining the difference).

4. Use M&A to speed up your way:
Mergers and acquisitions are generally essential to realize value creation. There are different approaches to M&A and they tend to produce different outcomes. I shall write a separate post on tips and tools for M&A during crisis/ challenging business environment. The central message though is that, high performers conduct programmatic M&A. The next logical question is- How far from your core should you aim M&A? 

5. Focus on acquisitions at the perimeter of your portfolio: 
The acquisition radius study is vital before each M&A deal and this acquisition radius is based on the type of acquisition. Broadly, there are four main categories of acquisitions-   
   

• Adding to portfolio’s primary, including segment.
• Adding to an existing secondary industry segment.
• Buying into a segment adjacent to an existing business.
• Stepping out into an unrelated industry.         

The odds are best when companies use M&A to accelerate a move towards new opportunities in existing but secondary businesses that is outside, but not too far outside of their core sectors.

6. Go harder when you are in a tough spot:
How you stack up against your competitors affects how hard you need to pull-on these levers. Make aggressive portfolio moves when you are fallen behind. When you have a declining business focusing on performance improvement alone and ignoring your portfolio does little for your odds of sharply turning things around.

7. Top performers are relentless capital reallocators:
They assign their current businesses to the categories 'grow’, ‘maintain’, ‘dispose’ and keep clearly differentiated rules for how much capital goes into each.

​How to conduct portfolio management strategically to thrive in the new normal is a vast topic. I shall be writing several blog posts on this in the coming days, so do stay tuned-in. For now, let’s move on to the second winning tool- Continuous Improvement.

Continuous Improvement:
A dynamic portfolio demands strategic Continuous Improvement of products and business process alike. In most organizations, Continuous Improvement on product usually happens as a part of business development group's product life cycle management agenda via market research and financial models, though it is not the ideal way to do it. 

Business processes on the other hand, even in profit making organizations usually are antiquated. And this is the starting point of the corporate's downfall, which generally begins with either customer complaints or high running costs, then unmet quarterly financial goals and if not checked in time, can have a free fall leading to the company's close down. ​

​There are over eighteen scientific and time-tested Business Process Improvement methodologies to choose from depending on the size and nature of your business; though Lean, Kaizen, Kanban, Hoshin and TRIZ give maximum benefits rapidly. Checkout more on Continuous Improvement here.
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Effective Portfolio Management and strategic Continuous Improvement have proved themselves in good times and bad, and they are also harder to apply than they seem on the face of it. But how much derives comes from taking steps to get there…

If you feel like the call to enrich your company's portfolio, manage innovations and implement strategic continuous improvement needs best expertise reach out to us.

​Covid-19 pandemic has left business leaders to deal with unprecedented challenges such as- poor cash flow, fluctuating customer demands, social distancing affecting both business operations as well as product sales etc., the list can get exhaustive … And we do not yet have any sight of ‘Corona- The End’. 

So how do business leaders get their organizations back in shape and thriving? My short and crisp answer to this question is- Innovation and Continuous Improvement.

But both need funds. In today’s times most businesses are hand-to-mouth with cash flow. Research budgets of most industry sectors (except pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and software) have taken huge cuts. Fund allocation for Continuous Improvement projects have also taken a back seat.

So how come I’m recommending Continuous Improvement for businesses at such a turbulent time? Because Continuous Improvement initiates changes in the way companies operate, thus leading to increased cash flow. Once cash flow problem is sorted out, everything else can be put in place quickly.

There are over eighteen time-tested scientific Continuous Improvement methodologies to choose from. Select a methodology that will bring-in best returns for your business. For example, IT companies can go in for CMMI, pharmaceutical companies can choose Lean etc. While companies from all industry verticals can opt for Kaizen. Note that, Kaizen methodology is also best suited for start-ups.

But it is important to understand status of your business before beginning with Continuous Improvement initiatives. For example- Is your business going through difficult times because of a pandemic, recession, or natural disasters such as cyclone, earthquake etc.

Secondly find out- Is it just your business going through difficult times while your competitor(s) and other industries by and large are unaffected? Answers to those questions will pave way to solutions to wade through the crisis successfully.

A question I often get is when to start with Continuous Improvement initiative? And I often rephrase the question- It is not Continuous Improvement that’s a technical term. What you are doing is Business Improvement. As improving your business’s operations and performance is the lifeline for its survival, so begin with it ASAP!

Therefore, earlier you begin Continuous Improvement campaigns in your organization, quicker will be the rewards and it will also be smooth sailing … because turning around a sick business is definitely more challenging than transforming an otherwise working business.
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Usually Innovation and Continuous Improvement either singly or in combination bring about business improvement; but its is vital to know when to ‘innovate’ and when to ‘improve’...

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Covid-19 pandemic has rattled businesses all over the globe. Bigger businesses with stronger financial ability are perhaps few notches better-off than others who are struggling. ​

But all businesses must deal with today’s battered economy, disrupted supply chain, and changed buying habits of shoppers.

This necessitates that businesses today become more malleable to deal with long-standing turbulence. And that can only happen with continuous improvement of business processes and implementation of solid risk management strategies. I shall discuss Continuous Improvement aspect here … ​

​​For many organizations, Continuous Improvement means something we do when our business is doing good and now, we are looking for a tool to sustain it. But that’s not true. Continuous Improvement campaign on the contrary, must be initiated the moment you are in business.

For organizations which didn’t begin Continuous Improvement while they were start-ups, must begin ASAP. And for all businesses which are struggling to survive either because of the pandemic or otherwise, must initiate Continuous Improvement campaign immediately.

It is not always essential for organizations to undergo a complete make-over since continuous improvement can also be done in increments.

If your organization is small or low on budget front, no worries, simply start with Kaizen.

I’ve separate posts on Kaizen which you may want to check out here. However, I shall briefly introduce Kaizen here-

Kaizen is a Japanese technique of continual improvement. Kaizen involves making small incremental changes to business processes to improve them continually, to bring about exponential rewards. And the best part is that Kaizen can be applied to all industry sectors including manufacturing, service etc. Also, Kaizen can be applied effectively in both non-regulated and regulated industries.

In fact, Kaizen-ing had got most of Japanese companies out of a messed-up economy post world war II. Therefore, Kaizen is a proven business improvement methodology. Having said that, do make sure you’re tweaking Kaizen to suit today’s business environment, especially your organizational culture.

Industry 4.0 involves digitization, automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, remote working etc. Kaizen can be superbly adapted to present day’s work and working norms. Know more about how Kaizen can help your company here.

Combining Kaizen with yet another Continuous Improvement methodology- Lean, has been found to bring-in larger and faster returns. 
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Overall there are more than eighteen scientific, structured, and time-tested Continuous Improvement methodologies. Pick any one or a combination of methodologies that can bring best rewards for your organization.

Once you have decided on which Continuous Improvement methodology to take-on, the next question is- How to initiate the Continuous Improvement campaign (in your organization)? 

It’s said, “Every journey begins with the first step”… and the first step in the Continuous Improvement journey is to acknowledge whether your business processes are or aren’t Effective … since, if the problem isn’t identified, all solutions are bad! 

Lack of business process effectiveness is usually exhibited by low employee motivation, high employee turnover, defective products/ services, product recalls/ returns and customer-complaints. While poor business process efficiency is exhibited by high overheads as well as wastage of time, money and other resources.

The first step of initiating Continuous Improvement in an organization is to build a robust Process Improvement strategy and execution plan. This strategy must be broad and encompass all aspects of the organization’s operations, products, finance, competitors, employees and customers that impact the company’s survival and growth.
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This broad strategy must then be sub-divided into sub-strategies with an aim to modify or re-design each underlying business process to make them Efficient and Effective.

After strategy design, the next step to initiating Continuous Improvement campaign is to conduct a Value Stream Map and Swimlanes to identify all underlying business processes that must be either improved or re-designed. Then map out and detail various stages in each process, analyze each process step and investigate to find out root cause of the problem.

Once root cause(s) of the problem(s) are known, then go ahead with modification or re-design of the process(es) to get rid of the problem(s). Once the problems are ridden, the new process must be backed up by appropriate resources.

Another vital point while improving business process effectiveness and efficiency is to find out- What the customer wants and whether the company has its focus on those wants.

Note that implementing new business processes can be a large step and may require special change management models to facilitate bringing-on change. In addition, employees must be educated on the reasons behind new (modified) business processes that are being implemented to ensure that the process effectiveness rises high.

Therefore, create an environment which fosters employee-engagement. Employees in all departments need to be able to communicate freely and to be heard on various topics, such as their ideas regarding inadequacies or areas that are lacking within the organization. It is vital to take employee suggestions, especially from those most close to the process.

Alongside Continuous Improvement campaign, a successful way to increase business process effectiveness and efficiency is to add greater focus on daily business activities and figure out how they can be made more profitable.

After all steps of Continuous Improvement installation are complete, it is vital to review the changes and continue to use the modified business process to sustain both process effectiveness and efficiency.

Note that, even if a good Continuous Improvement strategy is developed, it does not mean much unless it is applied effectively. 

​In most organizations big and small, business processes such as those underlying Communication, Employee engagement, Training and re-skilling, Product life cycle, Infrastructure, Voice of customer are some of the critical ones to first look at for modification or re-design to thrive-in thru the new normal.

In conclusion, note that, all Continuous Improvement methodologies must be tweaked to include evolutionary customer demands, organization's culture and workplace changes such as- digitization, automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, remote working etc. and adapted to present day’s work and working norms.

​Planning on initiating Continuous Improvement campaign at your workplace?

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I get this question all the time- What are the top technical and people skills we should look for while hiring a Continuous Improvement / Business Process Management Consultant or a Consulting Firm?

As the response is broad, I will take them point wise. But, before heading to the skills of the consultant, let me begin with what are the success factors for achieving Continuous Improvement? There are three success factors namely- Choice of the Continuous Improvement methodology, its strategy design and flawless execution.
 
I won’t be exaggerating if I say, “Choosing the right Continuous Improvement methodology is the lifeline of your business- be it a small firm or a large multi-national corporation”.
 
As the consulting expert or the consulting firm usually recommends the best Continuous Improvement methodology for a company, selecting a right consulting expert therefore becomes key.
 
A Continuous Improvement consultant plays dual roles. Firstly, she /he advises the Continuous Improvement methodology a company must go in for. And secondly, she / he may be become the change leader for that campaign.
 
It is up to the company to select one individual who can wear dual hats, or they can get two separate individuals. Although, in my experience of two decades in this field, I believe that it is better to get one individual on board who will play dual roles, that is, advise on the methodology to be used as well as lead to bring-on the change.
 
When the Continuous Improvement project is large, a group of consultants may be needed to handle it well. But this consultant group must be led by one individual, who is the Principal Continuous Improvement Expert.
 
Usually I witness that Continuous Improvement projects in companies are ill-coordinated. The result of which is that several projects either fail or sometimes do not lift- off the ground. Too many cooks spoil the pudding is an old adage and this is very apt for projects too.
 
Another vital point to note is that companies run Continuous Improvement projects department wise. For example, Facility maintenance  may run a Continuous Improvement campaign in their department. Another campaign may be going in Manufacturing division or, yet another campaign may be happening in Supply Chain division etc. Each of these campaigns are led by individual consultants who are assigned for the project. And these consultants report-in to the Manager or Head of the respective department. In my view, this is wrong, because costs rise while rewards generated are few.
 
Also, many a times Continuous Improvement function is clubbed with Quality Management department. This is again wrong, because quality improvement or quality management is only a small part of Continuous Improvement campaign.
 
If a company is indeed serious with its Continuous Improvement initiative, then they must create a full-fledged Continuous Improvement department. Small companies can perhaps have it as a department of one individual, while larger companies can have bigger teams.
 
This Continuous Improvement department must identify improvement projects that will bring-in maximum rewards for the company. If pains in business operations are already known, then surely, they can be picked up as Continuous Improvement projects, but this selection must be done strategically and with a flawless execution road-map. The success of the Continuous Improvement project therefore lies with its Leader.

There are several criteria of a successful Continuous Improvement Leader. But here I have mentioned nine crucial skills of a highly effective Continuous Improvement consulting expert-

1. The consulting expert must have the ability to understand client’s business and be efficient at stakeholder management.
2. The consulting expert or firm should have an integrated and overall understanding of the industry sector, its verticals, peculiarities, regulations & legislation, product types, customer avenues and marketing geographies. Most importantly for companies, it is imperative to match ‘chemistry’ with the Expert rather than looking at ‘geometry’ of the Consulting firm.
3. The consulting expert must have an up-to-date knowledge of different continuous improvement or business process management methodologies. She/ he must be hands-on with applying those methodologies successfully.
4. The consulting expert must have a passion for creating a culture of Continuous Improvement  in your organization, to bring-forth the desired positive change within prescribed time, scope and budget.
5. The consulting expert must have the ability to speak up whenever top management is wrong.
6. The consulting expert must have the ability to explain complex ideas in simple words.
7. The consulting expert must have the ability to listen and must show openness to continuous learning.
8. The consulting expert must have high emotional quotient (EQ). She/ he must be patient, persistent and persuasive while bringing on and/or managing change.
9. Amnesia- This is the most vital criteria.The Continuous Improvement expert should forget all the good work she/he did with previous organizations- What worked there may not work at your workplace, as each company has its own set of business processes, people, organizational culture, office politics and associated problems as a result thereof. The continuous improvement expert should have a mindset of always ‘starting with a clean slate’.

Want to invite Shruti to speak at your organization or evaluate Continuous Improvement prospects for your business?

​In this battered economy (as a result of Covid-19 pandemic) when every penny counts even the smallest increase in revenue or reduction in expenses can have an impact on cost and ultimately on your company’s profitability.

The good news is that, a large-scale company overhaul is not necessary. By and large, in most cases, it has been observed that it is short, often done, and simple improvement steps improve the bottom-line.
 
However, to calculate, manage or reduce cost, a critical understanding of all the tasks or activities that generate such costs is essential.
 
Cost, in accounting language are of various types- fixed cost, variable cost, controllable cost, uncontrollable cost etc. But in Kaizen parlance, costs are basically of 2 types-

1. Obvious cost.
2. Hidden cost.

​Obvious cost as the name suggests are ‘obvious’ and cannot be eliminated, as they are incurred to run the business. For example- wages, rent, purchasing raw materials, payment made to others in the course of running the business, etc. Although ‘obvious’ cost cannot be eliminated, it can be controlled to a significantly large extent.
 
Hidden cost on the other hand are like a leaking faucet that drains out water from a storage tank. I would say that a ‘hidden’ cost situation is grave and should be a huge area of concern in any company- be it big or small.
 
‘Hidden’ costs if not eliminated can actually toss out a company’s balance sheet out of the window. ‘Hidden’ cost therefore must be completely eliminated- just fix it! 

​There are three primary categories of ‘hidden’ cost- 

1. Cost due to ‘Variability’
2. Cost due to ‘Waste’ and
3. Cost due to ‘Inflexibility’

 
Addressing these three categories will open-up numerous areas of opportunities for cost reduction.

And Kaizen methodology can be used to identify areas of opportunity for cost reduction that would ‘control’ the obvious cost and ‘fix’ hidden cost, find favorable solutions to sort out the cost-problems and sustain results.
 
But most businesses do cost-reduction ad-hoc. What do I mean by that? Let me narrate you an incident-
 
Imagine Quarter 1 results have come-in and you notice that profit figures are not as targeted, they have dipped. The reasons for this could be many, for example- the new product scheduled launch didn’t happen on time or a critical raw material’s procurement cost had suddenly risen due to a shortage or the manufacturing over heads became higher than what was budgeted, or sales didn’t happen as planned …

The cause factor(s) may be one or many, but the first or most-likely comment by decision-makers is- "We must contain costs” and then there's a hiring freeze!

​In my view this is an ad-hoc cost-reduction decision. 

In Lean Kaizen, Lean defines various types of wastes which create costs, while Kaizen provides the mechanism to address those wastes. By Kaizen-ing, one can reduce the ‘obvious’ costs and eliminate the ‘hidden’ cost.
 
However, to apply Lean Kaizen methodology accurately, it is vital to understand its underlying principles, advantages and implementation challenges. You may read more on Lean Kaizen here.
 
Is your organization cutting costs correctly?  To know more on how you can strategically cut costs at your workplace contact us for a free preliminary online consultation.

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