Author: Tim Akerman
Boost & Co Partner
I am delighted to have been accepted as a Boost & Co partner.
I set out 18 months ago to help businesses learn and apply process improvement techniques to enable profitability and growth. Like everyone else I have bills to pay, but I wanted a way to help small business owners learn about continuous improvement. The Boost growth mentoring programme enabled me to do just that.
It has been a pleasure and a privilege to help small business owners understand the most effective ways for them to grow their businesses, whilst managing the amount of time they must devote to working in the business. Along the way I have helped business owners to do the following;
- Reduce their working hours whilst increasing capacity through a 30% increase in productivity
- Identify the vital few actions required for their business to grow and thrive
- Implement world class manufacturing techniques normally found in large multinationals into a small engineering company
- Identify the right investment questions to ask when looking at growing through acquisition
In each case the business owner really knew the answers, what they needed from me was structure and a ‘sounding board’ to enable them to sense check their plans.
I believe the key to successful mentoring lies within each mentor. If you are focused on how to directly gain from the mentoring programme and transition the mentee to a paying customer you will not deliver their needs. The key is to focus on delivering value to that mentee as if they were a paying customer. Be generous, give freely of your skills and knowledge with the aim of truly helping. The return may not happen for many years, but I believe that every mentee I help in the right way is another link in forging a reputation for capability and reliability. With each session you get to know each other better and develop a relationship that leads to trust.
When you have established trust, you set the foundation for future recommendations. It is those recommendations that will deliver the return on investment. Mentoring is about ensuring that manufacturing businesses thrive so that there are consulting opportunities in the future. Delivering today’s mentoring at high quality with added value builds tomorrows reputation and income streams.
So with that in mind, I am ‘paying it forward’ delivering high added value mentoring that has a positive impact on quality, cost, and lead time in my customers businesses.
If that sounds like something you need, get in touch, let’s have a conversation.
What I have learned since starting my own business?
I started my business, Tamarind Tree Consulting in June 2017.The last 16 months have been the most rewarding, and uncertain adventure of my life. Starting a new business as a sole trader is a huge change, particularly when you have worked for someone else for thirty years.
What have I learned in this time?
The first thing I have learned is that I can do far more than I would have believed. I have designed a website, written a business plan, worked on marketing plans, developed a social media presence, become familiar with finance requirements, the list goes on and on. I had believed that I was incapable of many of these things.
A trusted advisor is vital, in my case it quickly became clear this role would be filled by my accountant. Getting the right accountant will result in clear guidance, good advice and a solid grasp on the numbers. It is vital that you don’t confuse turnover with profit, and have a clear picture of what return you need to make it worthwhile to be your own boss.
You will be tempted to use spreadsheets for your accounts – I was! What I learned quickly is that a professional accounts package, such as Xero is a massive timesaver – other packages are available! It is critical to select the most suitable package for your business. It appears to be a cost you can do without, however it is worth the expense.
A clear brand image is really important. Understand your “why”and hone a pitch that can be delivered in under 30 seconds. It is easy to fill time, it is very hard to shorten your pitch. Clear branding with a clear value adding proposition will help you win business.
The most surprising thing I have learned is how easy it is to set up a limited company. I had a perception that it was a significant legal undertaking. In truth, it was almost trivial.
The most important thing I have learned is to enjoy what you have. When you are busy, enjoy your good fortune, and deliver quality products and services. When you are quiet, enjoy the free time and don’t feel guilty. Neither extreme is likely to be prolonged, so enjoy each time for its own merits.
If you are thinking of starting a business, I think the best advice comes in the form of a quote from Henry Ford;
“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
What do I gain from mentoring?
I was recently asked, as a mentor what do I get from mentoring. The answers are quite basic and rooted in the reason I set up my business.
I set up my own business because I repeatedly saw small and medium businesses struggling with quality issues, high stock levels and long lead times caused by ineffective processes. I wanted to help businesses that are struggling to improve and grow, so I became a consultant specifically to help and support these businesses.
What I gain from mentoring small businesses is
· The satisfaction of helping businesses learn to use world class techniques.
· The opportunity to make a difference for small business owners
· Networking with small businesses demonstrating the value I can add
· Opportunities to actively practice coaching and mentoring skills
· Exposure for my business and my brand
The most important reward by far is the difference I have been allowed to make in peoples lives through removing obstacles to growth, both now and in the future.
What does quality mean and why should everyone be involved?
Everyone knows what quality is don’t they?
Or do we? I suspect there are a few words missing from that statement.
Everyone knows what quality means to them.
So why do we run into quality issues in business? In my experience it is usually because the person making promises (specifications) doesn’t have to deliver against them (product or service provision). The meaning of quality is variable, depending on the purpose of the product or service, and the customers need. For example, if I want a quality car, my criteria are very different if I am a lottery winner, or earning minimum wage.
It goes hand in hand with the idea of “fit for purpose”. Often when judging if something is fit for purpose we are making a commercial judgement of risk to our business of receiving a complaint, when a product is outside of the agreed specification. If his commercial question becomes a technical question the standards drift. By the time our customer complains we are a long way from what was agreed and often don’t understand how we got here, and more importantly how to fix it. I believe the question we should really be asking is this
“If I was the customer receiving this product or service, with the customers standards, would I accept it?” . If the answer is yes, check you are right. Respect your customer enough to ask them.
We must always remember that decisions about fitness for purpose and quality will always belong to the customer.
It is vital to ensure everyone is involved. If our employees understand why the specification is important to our customer, and the impact of being out of specification, they are more likely to ensure the specifications are met.
Why?
Simple. Tell me I forget, show me I remember, involve me I understand. It is only through open communication and transparent understanding that we can engage all of employees in delivering excellence for the customer.
Let’s engage all of our employees in delivering the customer’s vision of excellence within the cost constraints agreed.
Why Employee Engagement is important
I see many articles about engagement linked to skills shortages recently. There is an abundance of advice of how to attract and retain suitably skilled staff. This got me thinking what is wrong with this picture?
The problem that I see is one of development. If every business wants to avoid spending money on training, development, apprenticeships, where exactly will those trained individuals come from? Someone, somewhere must create the pool of trained labour. There is talk of apprenticeships, but companies want apprentices trained more quickly, with less depth, then complain that their in house trained employees lack skills. The government receive much criticism for not funding training and apprenticeships, but is that really a government responsibility? I would argue that it is not. If you look at the latest version of ISO9001, there is a specific clause about ‘knowledge’. The standard talks about the responsibilities of senior management to ensure that the knowledge and skills required now, and for the future are identified and planned for.
I would ask when did educating employees and providing proper training for them become a burden? Is it not in the best interests of an organisation to ensure that every employee has the relevant skills for their role fully developed, to the highest standard possible? If employees are properly trained, they add value by ensuring their process is effective and efficient, eliminating non-value added steps. There is an odd by-product of investing in your employees and ensuring they have the best available skills. When you invest in them through training, they are more engaged with the business and believe in what they do. They also start to identify with the aims and objectives of the business.
If you want more engaged staff, who will make your business more effective, take the time to invest in their skills and develop their capabilities. You won’t be disappointed!
New Ltd company in Lancashire
I am delighted to announce that Tamarind Tree Consulting has become a Ltd company. My aim remains to help and support profitable and sustainable growth in the north through process excellence. Tamarind Tree Consulting Ltd will continue to provide the same high standards of quality, process improvement, and management mentoring consultancy that my customers have enjoyed from Tamarind Tree Consulting.
These are exciting times for Tamarind Tree Consulting Ltd, if you want someone to support and guide you to improved business performance through outstanding customer service, please get in touch for a coffee and a chat, with no obligation.
Why it is important to be authentic in your business
I recently gave an interview to Marketing aspects magazine looking at the importance of authenticity in business. If you are genuine and authentic in your business, you are more likely to be clear and succeed.
Read the full article here: https://marketingaspects.co.uk/marketing-business-originality/
Good to get feedback
Asking for feedback is important for any business, as it helps us to improve what we do and eliminate any negative effects of our activities. What we don’t always recognise is the positive feedback, and the impact we can have on someone’s business when we give great service.
I have started working as a growth mentor in Lancashire, and I have just received my first feedback from that work. It has been interesting and really touches the heart of why I started Tamarind Tree Consulting, it is an opportunity to help people improve their businesses. So getting that first feedback from this sort of mentoring is significant for me. As always, I have set out to do the best job possible for the client. Hearing that the client values the support and has seen practical benefits is brilliant. You can read his testimonial here.
So why this post?
The feedback got me thinking about what is important and why did this work well. It seems to me that focusing on the customer and their needs was key. My role is not to tell them what to do, but to advise and support them through decisions, and activities they are finding difficult. The key factor here is practical application of process improvement, applied with respect for my customer. We haven’t deployed huge amounts of training and tools, there has been no big bang effort. Instead we used the time to focus on the vital few actions, and ensure that we focus on understanding why. This approach leads naturally to collaboration. It has been brilliant to see not only my mentee growing, but also to see this positive impact on his team. You can read his testimonial here
For me, process improvement consultancy is not simply about the hours charged, although more hours is always nice! It is about making a practical, positive difference to the lives of the people I help. Focusing on customers with love may not always result in more hours of work, but it will always help people learn good habits that hopefully stay with them as they, and their businesses grow. People remember those who really help them, and if the opportunity to support them arises, well, I believe you reap what you sow.
Marketing and statistics
I had a really good day yesterday. I was fortunate enough to have a project proposal selected for use by Lancaster University’s Business School for an MSc final year project in Marketing.
Getting a project selected is both a support and a responsibility. I didn’t realise that the project accounted for a fun third of their final year marks. Although they have nothing left to do for the remainder of this year, it is a serious responsibility for both the students and for me to ensure that two things happen. We must ensure that the project runs smoothly and yields a successful result. In this case, a successful result means a market study that helps my business. Of equal importance is ensuring the students achieve the highest possible marks in their final dissertation.
One interesting discussion centered around co-operation compared to collaboration. I have long held the belief that whilst most organisations work hard at co-operation, it isn’t really what they need to do.You see co-operation is what happens when all parties set out to give the minimum away and achieve the maximum personal and functional gain, regardless of the impact on the overall organisation. Collaboration is a different matter altogether. Collaboration requires all parties to be open about their wants and needs, then work out how to deliver the maximum possible benefit for all parties, whilst ensuring the needs of the business are protected.
Collaboration creates trust and bonds teams together within functions and across functions. This bonding, and trust creation makes collaboration a key aspect of process improvement, and project work.
So how did this apply to a marketing degree project?
The students and I are inextricably linked for the next few months. If I have not explained the project brief clearly enough, they will be unable to achieve a high degree mark .That is why I must ensure that I answer their questions fully and act on the tasks we agree. For their part, the students must work through the brief diligently and ensure they answer the questions thoroughly. It will be interesting to see what results come from the project.
The students now have a few weeks to create their marketing proposal, once that is agreed, they will conduct the market research over the summer and present it back to me in August. I seem to have two very smart young ladies taking care of my project, I look forward to the insights and strategies that come from their analysis.
Lean? Six sigma? TPS? How about just improving the customer experience.
There are so many models out there for process improvement that I fear the reason for having the models gets lost. You can’t see the wood for the trees. How do we get back to seeing what is in front of us?
What lies at the heart of all of the improvement methodologies?
I would argue that the reason for doing any of this is the same; a basic desire to improve the business. The next question is to improve what? Why improve at all? All businesses are there to service the needs of their customers, whether that need is for doughnuts, cars, phones, accountancy services, medical aid, it doesn’t matter. If we can find a way to service the customer’s needs better, then perhaps we can find a way to make everyone’s job more secure and grow the business. If we can make more money along the way even better.
So why do we obsess about all these different methods?
Everyone tries to understand how someone else, who we perceive is better at something, does it. We all study someone, we are taught subjects in school, how to answer questions, how to solve problems, how to make things better. Unfortunately, our education systems teach us to copy, imitate rather than innovate, so we look for models and systems to copy since that is our conditioning.
Therein lie the seeds of ruin for many improvement projects. We go, we study, we focus on what, but we fail to understand why. The real question for improvement is, why do it? Many companies who engage in process improvement, lean or six sigma projects do so to reduce costs. That cost reduction is often accompanied by job losses, which works in the short terms, but destroys trust between workers and management, and makes future improvement projects almost impossible. This is because there is an internal, short term focus for the business. Management are changing every 3 to 5 years, every new set of management focus on the perceived deficiencies of their predecessor, then proceed to change the direction to make things better. W Edwards Deming identified these factors in his seven deadly diseases. Short term goals, lack of constancy of purpose, job hopping by management, performance reviews, focus on visible figures, excessive medical costs, excessive legal costs.
American Management thinks that they can just copy from Japan. But they don’t know what to copy
W Edwards Deming
How do we succeed?
As Simon Sinek observes, we must start with why. Why do we want to improve? Is it to better serve our customers or to make more money? As United Airlines have recently shown, just saying that your customers are a priority isn’t enough. If customer service was at the heart of their principles, that video of security guards dragging a paying passenger from a flight would not have been possible. To truly succeed, a business must focus on improving the aspects of their product or service their customers value most. It must not be done to simply improve margin, but to reduce the level of defects, improve customer satisfaction, eliminate the opportunity for defects, reduce lead time, reduce waste.
This focus will lead the business to look at the process for creating customer value; reducing defects, eliminating the opportunity for defects, reducing waste all deliver lower costs for the business and better service for the customer. Reducing waste and defects means that less time is wasted on defect correction and replacement, this gives a shorter lead time and lower costs. Determining a long-term strategy, and setting in place a review process to ensure the strategy is sustained will ensure constancy of purpose. Focusing on these factors and ensuring that all the changes are sustainable for the long term may be harder, but is ultimately much better for the business.
In summary, focus on your customer needs, plan for long term success, and make changes that are consistent with your long-term goals. Don’t copy what others have done, understand the link between their long-term goals and improvement activities. Once this is understood for their business, focus on your own business and use only the tools and techniques that support your own long-term goals AND your customer’s needs. If you ever find a conflict between these demands, always choose your customer’s needs; long-term success can only come from repeat business, and repeat business only comes from satisfied customers.
Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.
W. Edwards Deming