“The future is not so much what I will do, but what I am being from the understanding of my power to be.”. Paulo Freire.
These words from one of the most influential thinkers that Brazil had, express concisely what we try to convey every day to each of the managers that we accompany from ActionGroup, both in the processes of Planning and Organizational Development as well as in the programs of Continuous Improvement and Human Resources development.
Our mission is to help companies change, and we've trained ourselves to do just that. Our primary focus is on eliminating Large Losses. It's difficult to generalize, but they typically range from 10% to 30% of Sales. Another way to think about it is that at least 30% of Cost is Losses. So, even if we're not used to discovering them, we must seek them out until we complete this 30% of Sales.
Businesses are riddled with losses. Without acknowledging this reality, progress cannot be made. You have to have the courage to loudly announce that you're experiencing losses and then set concrete and challenging goals for eliminating them.
Now, in order to move forward, you must first know what the Ideal Condition and then unmask the Current Situation.
The Ideal Condition is a function of the dream and the demands of current reality. We can call it the Required Organization.
We understand a Required Organization as one that responds both to the business vision (the dream of what it wants to be) and to the market's demands for survival. It's the type of company that reality (customers, the market, competitors, etc.) demands.
The fundamental task of management is to ensure the consistent and effective creation of structures, processes and systems that respond to that ideal condition or Required Organization.
Ultimately, the Required Organization will be one comprised of structures, processes, and systems capable of achieving organizational objectives and goals, thereby responding to the needs and expectations of the five stakeholders directly interested in the organization's success.
Let's briefly look at each of them:
Customer Satisfaction
The company exists because of them. Without consistently satisfied customers, the company is doomed.
To do this, you must continually check what customers value so you know which current practices you should abandon, which practices you should maintain, and which practices you should start.
Employee Satisfaction
If employees aren't satisfied, the company won't be successful. It's hard to swallow, but employees ultimately behave like volunteers. And a volunteer will only give their best if they feel they're working on a worthwhile project, in a worthwhile environment, and with worthwhile wages.
Almost everyone agrees that companies will not survive unless they maximize their human capital, which is currently the main competitive advantage of almost every business sector. The problem is that the rhetoric often doesn't match the practice.
If one of the company's main objectives is not to satisfy its employees, it is mortgaging its own future.
Shareholder Satisfaction
Shareholders must remain committed to maintaining their investment. Achieving adequate returns is essential to achieving this.
Expected profitability cannot and should not be a taboo subject, since the more employees are aware of this objective, the more commitment it will generate.
Community Satisfaction
The local community surrounding the company must experience environmental communication and respect. This requires, for example, the efficient use of natural resources and a contribution to the growth of that same community beyond simply "providing jobs."
A serious and successful company maintains win-win relationships with its social environment.
Overall Satisfaction
Think Globally and Act Locally.
Argentina, driven by successive crises, is realizing that its success depends on competing globally. This requires a new level of maturity in its organizations to be able to meet the demands of a global market that isn't satisfied with the typical "we'll tie it up with wire" approach.
This means that a company wishing to compete in the international market must strive to meet ever-increasing quality standards and develop continuous improvement programs that ensure a permanent reduction in internal costs.
All that remains is to get to work: encourage the search for losses, clarify expected profitability, make the discourse about the importance of people a reality, take social responsibility, and communicate, communicate, communicate.
