Business Advocate: September 2011

Monday, September 19, 2011

For Monday, September 19th, 2011: Business Advocate Blog: Managed Print Services (2).

For Monday, September 19^th, 2011: Business Advocate Blog: Managed Print Services (2).

Summary

In this YouTube video: http://youtu.be/uDBMgAEf33g, Brian S Ryan eloquently visualizes a quick snapshot overview of what an unmanaged print office environment looks like. This video questions the viewer on key concepts that within the MPS (Managed Print Services) community initiates every solution discussion. Once an issue is first realized and understood, the plan to resolve it can be initiated.

Breakdown

· Document Workflow

Though necessity has been said to be the mother of invention, it is very easy for an organization to rest on one’s laurels. To not ‘sharpen the saw’, as Stephen R. Covey author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People reviews, is to as I describe remaining stagnant. The goal of document workflow management is to reduce the amount of steps it takes to go from A to Z.

· Cost Management

o Output Devices

When users are not monitored, and costs are not analyzed, it is akin to allowing money to slip through an organizations finger like sand in an hour glass. Bit by bit, those added pieces of loss amount to more than missed opportunity or financial leverage, those pieces represent a piece of one’s organization that cannot be gotten back. By knowing how much paper is used, how much is spent on consumables (typically ink and toner), and how much is being spent on hardware devices, an organization can quickly figure out if it is cost effective to restructure how they print.

o Paper Reduction

If it is widely known that reducing paper costs is not only good for the environment and an organizations bottom line, then one can extrapolate that every page not printed is a penny saved and earned.

· Security

What would happen if secure information is compromised? In healthcare, HIPAA violations can mean fines, penalties and loss in community trust. In the DOD (Department of Defense) knowing who has access to information and regulating that access, can be a matter of national security. Knowing what is being shared, when and where is something that everyone should have access to, and it is.

Closing Comments

Having analytics to make the best decisions is just a conversation away. Call me to discuss what the first couple of steps towards having a plan looks like and feel no obligation for anything except an engaging conversation.

Community Response Question

Does your organization have areas for workflow improvement, and if you have a current go to consultant, what is your favorite thing about them?

Click this link to answer with Survey Monkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KLR6GM8

Comments

I look forward to your comments and will address and specific questions as well.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Business Advocate Blog: Unknown Unknowns (1)

For Monday, September 5^th, 2011: Business Advocate Blog: Unknown Unknowns (1).

Summary

In this YouTube video: http://youtu.be/GiPe1OiKQuk, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld eloquently presents three levels of knowledge and awareness that are often times never thought about until a problem arises. By remembering a concept central to human understanding, we give focus to the holistic question of… Where are you now? ...and …Where do you want to be?

Breakdown

· Known Knowns

Come feast or famine, you are aware of what works for you organization and what doesn’t. At this primary level of knowledge and awareness you know what can be done to improve a process and how to execute it, but you may not have the resources or time to devote to the project. Here one finds that having reviews planned every so often helps to address what is controllable and what is not.

· Known Unknowns

Within one’s sphere of influence, actions result from the choices we make with the best knowledge we have access to at that time. With missing information, the proper choice not only becomes harder to see and make, but can have unforeseen consequences for future decisions. With a planned approach towards optimizing what you think and want to work on, you will start to utilize the value and benefits gained from the pursuit of perfection.

· Unknown Unknowns

The worst of these three levels of knowledge and awareness, Unknown Unknowns are what consistently subdues any process or approach. If being lucky happens at the corner of preparation road and opportunity place, not addressing ones Unknown Unknowns is a car on a downward steeping dead end street without breaks. By the time you figure what is happening to you and your organization, the damage is done and rebuilding, if you can, begins.

Closing Comments

In understanding how each level of knowledge and awareness plays a role in your business, together we can create a Business Optimization Plan that addresses these three levels and how you can manage their risks and rewards?