Adam Deane has very kindly included me in his list of who's who in BPM.
It includes a number of the most prominent BPM figures, including a video of each.
Unfortunately my video doesn't work so I have included a link to it.
Thanks Adam!
- TPN
Fellow BPM blogger Adam Deane has just posted two articles on his blog discussing outside-in. Whilst I appreciate Adam's attempts to share new knowledge and keep an open mind to new ideas (something that the BP Trends process academic brigade could learn from him) there are some fallacies in his post that need some serious debunking.
Whilst I agree that outside-in is a philosophy, it is more than that and I understand Adam's frustration in not being able to get a hold of "a methodology". The simple fact of the matter is that there are methodologies to outside-in approaches. Most notably the CEM Method. However the CEM method is not entirely open - you have to attend a course to learn it rather than pick up a book and teach yourself - however I believe that this will change over time.
The other myth that needs to be debunked is that outside-in is about improving customer service. Whilst I'm not saying that in certain situations it can't improve customer service, the focus is on successful customer outcomes - delivering what customers really need.
The example that keeps being discussed is that of outside-in organisation Ryanair. Ryanair are regularly pounded in the UK media for their approach to customer service e.g. For recently attempting to charge customers to use toilets. Saying that, Ryanair remain remarkably successful - why is that? Ryanair look at the customer experience and they understand what their customer really needs - and very importantly, what type of customer they actually want flying in their planes - working class man with two kids who likes to drink and gamble. As such Ryanair makes a substantial amount of their revenue by selling booze and by supplying gambling facilities on planes. These revenue streams offset the price of airfares to give others a cheap means of flying. Did you ever imagine that you would receive a flight for free? Well that may happen if airlines such as Ryanair can make enough revenue from other parts of the customer experience.
Adam goes on to say:
"Not all of the organisation’s business processes are customer related. Some are internal processes, some are required by law, and some are interactions with internal systems".
I found this statement to be astonishing. So if an organisation lost all it's customers would those purely internal or "system" processes continue to function? - of course not! A classic example is the employee payroll process. Does it touch the customer? If you think inside-out you'd say no. But the fact of the matter is that the reason that the payroll process is in place is so employees get paid - if they don't get paid they won't work as they'll leave to go elsewhere, and without employees their roles can't be performed and the company cannot function, and if the company cannot function, it cannot serve it's customers with products or services.
If you want to destroy any credibility that you have as a process professional, just keep saying that there are processes that exist in organisations that are not customer related - because it's complete and utter nonsense. I do have to agree, though with Adam's comment regarding regulatory processes - to an extent. Sometimes organizations have to meet regulatory requirements, but I'd also add that these regulatory requirements are often in place to protect customers. With greater customer centricity organizations would be better placed to "do the right thing" and avoid the regulatory overlords - but I do admit that it is something where outside-in is somewhat restricted.
If you are ever in doubt as to why a particular process exists in your organization I'd recommend that you listen to the wise words of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who once said:
"A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so."
I rest my case.
Cheers, TPN
I'm all for supporting BPM Bloggers and I try to be involved with other BPM blogs as much as I can, so I'm happy to share a list of some of the other BPM bloggers out there. I can't promise they'll be as good as mine, but there you go!
Adam Deane has put together a very handy little list of BPM bloggers from all over the world (yours truly is in there).
Gary Comerford has also put together a list of "Ten BPM Blogs You Should be Following" and I'm pleased to say I made it onto that list.
Cheers,
TPN
It's been almost a year since I started this blog, so I thought now is a timely moment to talk about why I write this blog and who I actually am. The blogs subscription base has grown considerably over the last year and I expect it to grow considerably over the next year.
The world BPM community may be a relatively small place, but it has huge power to effect change on organisations - and one of my aims is to get in touch with as many of that community as I can. In the words of Seth Godin, I am reaching out to my tribe. Having this blog has given me the vehicle to meet a lot of process people - some I can help, some help me - but I always have a good time meeting them. Note: if you are ever in Sydney and you invite me for a coffee or a beer, I will ALWAYS accept (particularly if its beer).
So, I suppose I write this blog to achieve that, but also because I like to write, and it's easiest to write about something you know. It's also easier to write about something you enjoy. I do enjoy my occupation - I'm lucky in that respect (although I continually moved toward doing the things that I enjoy throughout my career). I started this blog because I felt I could bring something a bit different to the table - something practical that people could immediately relate to.
I also write this blog because (to be brutally honest) it's a good way for me to promote myself, my business (www.Ninjaconsulting.com.au) and to get a foot in the door. I always tell people that having a blog about what you do for a career is like having the opportunity to get an interview without having to go to the interview - it's a poster for your expertise and your passion. I am always looking to make connections and get consulting work, so if you need me, drop me a line.
So that's why I write, but who is The Process Ninja?
I'm a 35 year old guy - married with 3 kids under 3 (work that one out!) - I live in the fabulous city of Sydney, Australia. I was born in Knutsford, England but my parents are Scottish and I grew up in the town of Barrhead near Glasgow in Scotland. I did relatively well at school, went on to study Marketing at The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow before I studied a postgraduate diploma in Hospitality Management. I moved to Sydney in 1997 where I met my wife. We returned to the UK for a couple of years where I worked in IT before moving back to Sydney in 1999. I worked in BA and IT related roles until 2002 when I bought a cafe, almost killed myself running it (and turning it into a process centric business) before I plunged back into the corporate world in 2004. I have worked in Business Process Roles since then.
Whilst I work full-time in process I'm also the Marketing Director of my parents underfloor heating company in the UK. I'm also writing a book about buying a cafe as well as starting a hospitality consulting business (The Cafe Ninja). I'm also currently renovating an investment property. I like to keep multiple fingers in multiple pies! Adding all that to three young kids you can see why I don't get much free time...
But when I do there are a few things I love doing: watching my beloved Glasgow Rangers, drinking wine, eating good food, cooking (good food), listening to good British rock music. I'm also totally obsessed with researching my family tree.
So that's a summary of my aims for the blog and who I am. I'd love to find out more about you all and (where possible) to meet you. So why not drop me a line or give me a call to say hello - it will be most welcome.
- TPN
Gary over at the Process Cafe has continued the discussion about my concept of "dead time" - he takes the concept a bit further than I did and it's a welcome extension to my thinking! (I like it when others do the thinking for me!) Check it out his article "Dead Time...How Do You Treat Yours?"
What are your favorites? Apart from this one, of course.
Craig Reid is known throughout the business world as "The Process Ninja". He is a passionate advocate of business process management.
