OPERATIONS AUDITING

The Auditor General of Canada recently exposed System Weaknesses in the intent to buy F35 jets. It reminds me that any company or organization should seek to have an Operations Audit done from time to time.

This is not a financial audit. An Operational Audit examines the organization and it's practices.
We need to identify our weaknesses as an organization before getting stronger - and - certainly Getting Stronger is our organizational aim.

So we examine those systems, those systemic weaknesses, and decide on repairs.
Repairs can be found from best practices and benchmarks like "The Toyota Way" and others.

Use good audit methodology and someone with plenty of experience.
Let your Managing Director, CEO, CFO or Corporate Planner lead this activity.

I can help you achieve this by training, advising and auditing.
mike@mma.ca
www.mma.ca

Vision - - - visually !

Leaders often write Vision, Mission and Values statements and post them up on their employee notice boards, cafeteria walls, web sites and introductions to Strategic Planning.

Good stuff !

Now, this Toyota guru today is promoting that we create 3 visions (1- industry, 2- company, 3- myself) that shall be visually stimulating. I.e. images become communication.

1- Vision One - - the entire Industry in which we work.

Here are a couple of Industry Vision examples, just to illustrate the visualisation - imagery. A real case would have more content than these here.

Example - The Rescue industry = saving lives AND PLUS providing nourishment "as the injured lie on their cots", ...

Example - The Disaster Recovery industry = repairs on site AND PLUS we transform the old into a new more functional facility, ...

So, in Vision One, the highly visual image of transformation is expressed using imagery such as firetrucks arriving on the scene - - you can virtually ''see it''; see the vision.

Write this from a high level up, even higher than a helicopter view, in order to put you in the high place of seeing over the entire industry's purpose, methods and actions.

By doing this "visualizing" of the Industry Vision-One, we may actually be able to improve or transform our entire industry; ... especially if we are active industry-association board members.

2- Vision Two is the image of Our Company working in a distinctive way within our industry.

Here are a couple of Company Vision examples just to illustrate the visualisation - imagery. A real case would have more content than these here.

Example - in the Rescue industry = we deliver to the injured our "care kits" which include food, chocolate bars, hot towelettes, cell phones to call home, .... etc

Example - in the Fire recovery industry = our "complete build teams" rush over in big blue trucks to transform the old premises into a whole new and better living/working facility thusly helping our client transform his pain into a new stimulating beginning.

Plus, in Vision-Two, we also add that our company will become known via spots on the National News. We will transform our entire industry and become the leader with branches in every (city, state, province, ...) etc. Can you ''see'' it?

By doing this "visualizing" of the Company Vision-Two, we will actually transform our company into a more powerful and stimulating one.

3- Vision Three is the image of ourself (and/or a specific team) going forward in our career (long term vision).

Here are a few Self Vision examples just for visually illustrative purposes only. A real case would have more content than these.

Examples - - to become like a "Mike Holmes" of TV fame; ... to become a panelist on "The Dragon's Den"; ... and / or ... I'll write a blog or book like "xyz" ; ... I'll create a model company like Sam Walton did (i.e. Wal*Mart); ...

So in Vision Three we ''see'' a picture of ourself going forward to a desired place and being that described individual with those described energies, networks, activities, hobbies, family, etc etc etc.

4- Of course our visualized company needs to garner the very best of The Toyota Way. Such as I've described earlier in this A3-Hoshin-TPS-Leanblog and on my web site at http://www.mma.ca/

Thank you for reading today. I hope that I've managed to leave a picture in your mind of my 'visualizing the vision'.

Mike Davis mike@mma.ca