Process Innovation

In a short teleconference or webconference with a executive sponsor, we explore what “operational capabilities” they already have place and works as well as the need for new or improved operational capabilities.

We define an operational capability as simply an integrated and socialized set of systems, processes, and accountabilities that produce consistent, good business results or economic value. An operational capability becomes how knowledge factories in a post-information society earn and keep their trust of customers.

To us, service innovation constitutes a new operational capability comprised of new or improved systems, new or improved processes, and new or improved accountabilities.

We define an accountability as an agreement by and between an employee and his or her employer to produce of specified number and type knowledge-work outputs: clear, crisp, and cogent answers that other knowledge workers have requested of that individual, or well-framed requests for answers from other knowledge workers.

A clean, crisp, and cogent set of accountabilities not only defines an individual’s job, an accountability specifies the individual’s requirements for a daily report and the five to seven business facts of a weekly report — and the baseline data for measuring performance of that worker.

We have found that most needed future-state operational capabilities fail or falter due to fuzzy or non-existent accountabilities.

Ultimately, the job of management entails building and maintaining operational capabilities as integrated and socialized set of systems, processes, and accountabilities. The hard work of management involves getting individuals to define and accept a new or expanded set of accountabilities.

Once we have gotten an idea of a future-state operational capability, we work with our executive sponsor and define a theme, agenda, and roles of desired participants, including how to invite them and engage their self-interests in the workshop.

So, for example, one of our executive sponsors started with, “We want to extend our market reach AND we want to extend individualized relationships with the customers, especially those customers with the greatest profit and opportunity for growth in spending.” Another client started with, “We want to transition 15 million customers away from paper-based invoices and payment to online and mobile bill presentment and payment.”

Both provide an excellent staring point.

However, effective service innovation usually requires a breakthrough insight, such as identifying the share-determining market sector comprised of college kids or first-time parents - whoever represent unbranded, first-time customers, or who will help us transition 15 million customers to online bill presentment and payment.

We works backwards from that breakthrough insight, answering the question, “To attract, serve, and satisfy those customers of our share-determining market sector, what would comprise the needed four or five enabling operational capabilities within this firm?”

You know, in order to get there from here, we need to have this fully developed and integrated operational capability that consist of these smaller, more tactical systems, processes and accountabilities — with a little bit of technology.