Successful Workplace

My esteemed colleague here at SuccessfulWorkplace wrote a piece about using frameworks to help build business processes for startups when they begin to scale up operations. In the post Tom states that; To make the successful transition to the next stage of growth, companies need to formalize management, communications and processes. To a certain extent […]

We all know them. The people who always find their way through transformation, disruption, and chaos while making it seem easy; just like another day. They are usually the person that you, your family, or your organization go to when things go crazy. They are able to stay calm, cool, collected, and have an uncanny […]

I work in frameworks every day. I know their power in business, but for me, an idea is truly proven when it works everywhere. There’s real proof in successful, diverse use cases. Last weekend my family attended the MCAS Miramar Air Show in San Diego. The show is stunning visually. The world famous Blue Angels […]

It doesn’t matter what drives it, organizations will want to try and leverage organizational structure for productivity gain. There is no doubt that the workforce is more mobile today and they are using mobile technologies to get work done. This opens the door to infinitely more organizational structure options. This can, in turn, lead to […]

The following is a preview of a soon to be released article on Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and business process.  To receive a copy, contact me at: tom@successfulworkplace.com. The move to electronic medical records (EMRs) is underway in the US.  This critical component of health information systems is already yielding benefits for an inefficient system. […]

I recently came across an article co-authored by someone I respect a great deal, Don Berwick, in which the authors address the current estimated annual US healthcare waste by category. I strongly recommend reading the article. What struck me the most was how many of the estimated waste categories can be significantly impacted by using […]

Social without structure is chaos. The most popular social tool in history, Facebook, appealed to a large audience and decisively crushed MySpace by giving people what they wanted: A familiar framework for expressing who they are, what they like, and viral games and apps that involved their friends, all without paralyzing them with choices. The […]

OK, my healthcare process improvement folks, I gave you a hard time a few weeks ago about always feeling you are different and I heard your responses. Now, let’s get down to business. Healthcare Rosetta Stone I want to build a common process framework for healthcare, but, I need guidance from both the healthcare folks […]

My career in healthcare started in the early 90s, and it was a crazy time for the industry. The Clinton version of healthcare reform had just hit and the industry was trying to react quickly to the change in reimbursement levels for inpatient and outpatient services. It was a great time for a consultant seeking […]

The Houstonian Hotel was an excellent venue for the 2011 APQC Process Conference and Members Meeting. The weather was excellent, the food outstanding, and the attendance represented a broad cross section of international business. Over the course of the two-day meeting, a few things became clear that I’d love to share: Software use is rising […]

If you saw the financial news yesterday, Tibco announced the acquisition of Nimbus Partners. Did you pause and wonder why? Myself…I paused just a few seconds (and very few, at that) before it hit me, “It’s the infrastructure, stupid.” The value of this acquisition is very well supported by the arguments made by Forrester’s Clay […]

For the cynics I’ll admit that I’m a cynic when it comes to conferences. I’m sure you’ve been to the events where most people are there to network and that the sessions and workshops lend an air of legitimacy to what might otherwise a boondoggle in San Diego, or Las Vegas. I’ve been to plenty […]

Just finished recording a webinar with APQC’s John Tesmer on the acceleration that companies achieve through the use of process frameworks. The full webinar will be available in early September 2011 on the Process Excellence Network, and you can sign up through this link: Process Excellence Network webinar “Getting Started with BPM Using Process Frameworks” The […]

Just this week, BP Trends published a case study that is well-worth taking in. ThyssenKrupp Steel USA spent US$6B to create a seamless system for producing rolled steel primarily for the automotive industry.  They made very early decisions to make sure their enormous capital investment broke from traditional industry by focusing on business process rather […]

The following is a guest blog by APQC’s Manager of Open Standards Research, John Tesmer. I’m pretty sure that conversations about process have been happening in some form since caveman times.  Back then, social BPM was something like grunts about the most effective ways to sneak up on a herd of buffalo.  Professionals of recent times standing […]

I hosted a seminar this morning along with Northrop Grumman’s Dennis Pikop on the topic of how to implement and mature business process and other frameworks.  We used examples that highlighted three circumstances; withing ‘legacy’ businesses that merge or acquire (Northrop Grumman), from the top downward (UPS) and from the bottom up (ThyssenKrupp Steel USA).  […]