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Leadership

9 Important Security Issues CIOs Should Consider

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
Security CIO Concerns
The mutually agreed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on May 25, 2018, and was designed to modernize laws that protect the personal information of individuals. … It also boosts the rights of individuals and gives them more control over their information and provides for sizeable fines for companies who are not in compliance. Recently, hacking has taken center stage not only for the big political arena but also for almost all enterprises connected to the web. Newsweek cited that hacking in the USA cost corporate America over $445 billion, and a recent similar study posted $575 billion in estimated losses.  Each year, the Information Security Forum, a nonprofit association that researches and analyzes security and risk management issues, releases its ‘Threat Horizon’ report to provide a forward-looking view of the biggest security threats over a two-year period. Here are the top nine threats to watch for in the next year.…
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Key Traits of Effective Persuaders

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
Negotiation Effective Leaders
 People with higher EQ are more likely to induce positive mood states in their negotiation counterparts. Many studies and reports have been done on what personality traits are found in expert salespeople and negotiators. The advice those studies offers is often difficult to apply, for 3 reasons. First, there are just too many contextual specificities underpinning each negotiation, such that one size does not fit all. Second, the effectiveness of each strategy is partly dependent on the personal background of the persuaders (i.e., sales or negotiation) — who they are, what they want, and how they connect. Third, many of the factors determining the outcome of negotiations are more emotional than rational, which requires a deep psychological understanding of the people involved. It’s All About Personality Personality research provides valuable lessons in predicting an individual’s ability to negotiate effectively. One very important measurable trait that correlates with improving an individual’s negotiation abilities is emotional intelligence…
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RFP Response From the Reviewer Perspective

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
RFP Response From the Reviewer Perspective
Chaz Ross-Munro made some important observations in her article on things to avoid when responding to an RFP. Ms. Ross-Munro starts out by placing the RFP in the context of the review process. “Imagine reviewing 20 technical Request for Proposal (RFP) responses that are more than 50 pages each. You’ve now stepped into the shoes of the average selection committee member reviewing more than 1,000 pages of material from various firms.” The implication of this context is to make it easier for reviewers to easily review your offering and quickly assess why your response makes your case.  To help others shape their RFP response to the realities of the receiving end of the process, Ms. Ross-Munro offers up the following suggestions: 1. Avoid Unnecessarily long responses Don’t: give a wordy response or narrative that drags on. Be as succinct as possible. Keep in mind that you should try to meet the needs of the reviewers…
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Industry 4.0 Factors That Will Contribute to Increasing ROI

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
Industry 4.0 Factors That Will Contribute to Increasing ROI
According to a study done by the World Economic Forum in May 2018, ROI on Industry 4.0 projects can vary widely. For example, industry leaders (which tend to be larger by revenue) can achieve productivity gains of about 70%. Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are more likely to see gains of approximately 30%. Regardless of your organization’s standing in the industry, certain factors can help maximize the ROI of Industry 4.0 projects. Strong Executive Leadership. A successful journey to Industry 4.0 requires strategic vision and alignment across all parts of the organization. This is what makes having a comprehensive Business analysis of the entire company an important first step in the transition to I-4.0 This study must originate at the top of the organization. Leaders should frequently and authentically voice their support for achieving Industry 4.0, not only through organization-wide communication but also through the allocation of resources and the…
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Automotive Giant Back on Top with MetaExpert Help

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
Automotive Giant Back on Top with MetaExpert Help
Situation A multi-billion-dollar tier 1 company became involved with a customer regarding a safety issue in which the customer was accusing the supplier to be at fault, thus revoking all 3 supplier manufacturing site locations for Q1.  This put the tier one supplier on new business hold and at risk of losing additional business they had plus additional quoting of new business opportunities. The company reached out to MetaExpert Jack for his APQP Process understanding, Advanced Critical Chain / Critical Path Methods knowledge, 5S and Standard Work expertise.  Actions Jack guided the organization to meet the challenge and improved productivity and facilitation of quality training and awareness. A collaborative cross-functional team of production, purchasing, engineering, and management was formed and led through a decisive 1-year plan, which involved the customer. This allowed for all key milestones to be met such that Q1 customer endorsement letters and Q1 site certifications were…
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MetaExpert Ron Slashed Excess Freight

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
Excess Freight
Situation Our MetaExpert, Ron, had a client who was a $15 billion global power leader that designs, manufactures, sells, and distributes its product and related technology around the world. The client had a major issue with unexpected air freight costs into several of its offshore plants. They brought Ron on board to analyze the situation and recommend and implement solutions. He felt the air freight was symptomatic of the actual root cause and suggested utilizing a seven-step problem-solving process to get to the root cause.  Ron’s goals for this client were to: Get to Root Cause investigation and action.Implementation of Key Performance Indicators so that he could measure improvement.Improve forecast calculating and provide for the maintenance of systems.Improve inventory accuracy and material flow processes.Improve supplier communication and relationship management internally within the organization.Achieve budgeted expense control through process control. Actions To get to the root cause, Ron dove into the…
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John Helps the US Air Force Reduce Waste

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
The Situation John, a MetaExpert was hired by the U.S. Air Force to help tackle the lack of concrete processes for conducting medical physicals which were causing inconsistent patient care. Prior to John’s arrival, the Air Force was providing inconsistent patient care resulting in long wait times for patients to be seen by providers. In addition, key information was being missed during appointments which caused the need for additional appointments. Outcome John led the Air Force project team through mapping their current “AS IS” processes in several functional areas and developed standardized processes where none existed. He implemented the Lean methodology to reduce excess waste in the existing processes. John made recommendations for future projects and the team was able to see immediate results with some of the “quick wins” John implemented. John’s expertise in Lean, Six Sigma, leadership, process mapping (Visio), waste reduction, and ability to implement quick wins…
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Is Lean Six Sigma Just for Large Companies?

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
Lean Six Sigma for Companies
What is Lean Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a set of methods and tools for process improvement with the goal of improving efficiencies and profitability. Developed in 1986, Six Sigma has become a global phenomenon with companies around the world adopting the paradigm as the core of their business operations. The “Lean” methodology is similar to Six Sigma. It stresses achieving the greatest efficiency in all characteristics of operations. Six Sigma emphasizes more on eliminating errors within processes. The lean strategy focuses on identifying needless steps that consume effort and resources. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has proven to be so successful that it is estimated that over 69% of the medium and large manufacturers in the world use it. I mean, who doesn’t want to be efficient and well organized? In fact, as businesses grow, the tendency is to become more inefficient and less organized. These two methodologies have spawned…
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Increase Profits with Operational Excellence Training

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
“In just 30 days, profits increased by $50,000.” Management articles are almost always about problems. But, this real-life event showcases how problems can be turned into opportunities. Owners and top-level management can sometimes be held captive by their limited experiences and training. However, there are many enlightened leaders who understand there is always something to learn. Indeed, learning from the mistakes of others is a wise strategy, but too often ego gets in the way. Until there is acceptance of a problem and a resolution to fix the problem can real learning take place. The following is a true story that demonstrates how education can quickly turn a problem into a long-term tool for success. The Business Problem A Chicago, Illinois-based steel fabricator, supplying a global market with wire product displays,  store fixtures, point-of-purchase (POP) displays, and custom wire frameworks, realized their profits were trending negatively. They had tried a…
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Improve the Decision-Making Process for Industry 4.0

Posted By: 
Cara Chatellier
Decision-Making Process for Industry 4.0
“Decision-makers must learn to leave egos at the door” In the era of Industry 4.0, technology will play a greater part in optimizing solutions. But do decision-makers have the expertise needed to fully understand the rapidly evolving tech world? If leaders can’t stand up and say: “I don’t understand how that tech solution works” and have the humility to learn new things, then optimal decision making in the era of Industry 4.0 may be in jeopardy. Making a good decision is only validated by the results. However, in an age of constantly growing complexity and the push to be innovative and “out-of-the-box”, there may be too many unexpected variables that can bring about unexpected results. This logical fear plagues decision making. In fact, decision making has become more challenging due to the exponential growth and access to information. Validating information is becoming a serious issue in the Corporate C-suite. Misleading…
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