Daily Standup meetings, also known as daily “Huddles,” are a tool for focusing a team on their work for the day. Standups, whether held in person or virtually, are designed to be short – hence the standing format. Typically, there are three questions, and they can be used for any team working for any desired result. These three questions align the team in three distinct and important ways (and yes, Daily Standups can be performed virtually - see the end of the article for tips).

Great vision, great strategy, great project ideas – all areas on which business leaders spend countless hours and dollars annually. The real question is, whose job is it to organize the team and maintain accountability for execution?

AJC loves facilitating Process Mapping sessions with cross-functional teams! There are distinct roles involved in Process Mapping which are not always intuitive. This article describes the roles involved in a team Mapping exercise, as well the responsibilities each role plays. These R&Rs can be applied to Value Stream Mapping and many other types of facilitated session.

Sally Thomsen is a versatile consultant providing services in Project Management, Process Improvement, and Change Management. Here she offers advice on process, including how Change can be thought of as a process.

Ready to start a new project? Do you have someone internally who you can assign as the Project Manager? Like anything else, there are pros and cons to “doing it yourself” (DIY) when it comes to Project Management. Here are somethings/areas for consideration when deciding whether this approach is right for you.

Why is it liberating to recognize that Change Management is a process? To know that we don’t have to be “born” with something, that we can “learn” it, allows us to use our growth mindset and frees us to try, assess, and improve on things. Understanding Change Management as a process to be learned can then follow the Focus on Improvement Virtuous Cycle.

There is a lot of talk around being an “agile” organization these days – since COVID began so abruptly, many organizations are reconsidering how they adapt to change, and being “agile” sounds appealing. Learn as Alex Jones discusses the fundamentals of Agile, its birthplace from Lean, how to use the Agile frameworks of Scrum and Kanban to make knowledge work visible, and what the role is of leaders in an Agile organization.

The Tuckman Model, coined by psychologist Bruce Tuckman in his 1965 article entitled “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups” describes “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing,” as a typical path that most teams follow as they work together. As would be expected, the “Storming” part of team interaction is not always sunshine and rainbows. The take away is to be aware that teams do go through these phases. It is normal, and that in and of itself can bring confidence that you WILL get through it!

We have all heard a variation on the justification to *not* undertake certain tasks that runs something like: “but we don’t have anyone who has time to do that.” Many organizations prioritize their work based on who is capable and available to do it. Using a resource-based prioritization model, however, is a dis-service to your organization. We recommend an Economic-Based Prioritization Model.

It can be difficult to dedicate time to process improvement when there are day-to-day tasks to be completed, but it is very beneficial. Process improvement doesn't only result in increased efficiency in a work place, but can also improve employee morale and job satisfaction.

There is a lot of talk around being an “agile” organization these days. Since COVID began so abruptly last spring, many organizations are reconsidering how they adapt to change, and being “agile” sounds appealing. Leaders are asking their teams to be more agile, but what should teams count on those in a leadership role to do in an Agile organization?

It should be noted that the first step in Improvement is to admit that you have things to improve! Once you think you can improve, in order to actually improve, you have to do something. After you do something, you can assess the results and realize you can improve again! In other words, focusing on improvement is a beautiful virtuous cycle.

Change is going to happen – we all know that intellectually. However, when we have built up a comfortable life, or a comfortable belief – we do not necessarily “know” this emotionally. We are afraid of what could be on the other side of change. And the longer we resist the change, the stronger our fear becomes as we conjure up further negative permutations of the change.

It is too easy for Leaders to work on strategy, execution plans, tactical implementation, and even on vision and values, and forget to intentionally, proactively, consistently, and articulately COMMUNICATE about these things to their greater teams who need to know.

What are the factors during an ERP implementation that would cause a company to believe that their project may be going “off-track,” rather than just taking a long time like they “all” do? Watch this video to learn more!

As companies grow, they always have some system they use, whether they are moving past true startup with spreadsheets and basic accounting (i.e. Excel and Quickbooks), have a legacy system that they have outgrown, or may not be in the cloud. Similarly, leaders in these companies often recognize that they need to upgrade their systems, but are unsure about the leading indicators for doing so, knowing when to start, and how best to go about selecting the right system for them.