The book is a primer for the workshop and available at www.amazon.com; click on books; click on Business Management - author is Christopher Richard Hassold.   

The book and workshop is intended for you to understand how external (Paying) customers determine internal customer's needs, based on indirect customers needs for information and results.  Their needs are the W's which drives everything and the important metrics; which drives what to change and which tools to use.  Importantly, no change is complete without a culture change.  Each of these concepts are called 'Focuses'.

FIRST FOCUS Customer Focus - The "W's"

• Who is your customer - (External, Internal, Indirect)
• What does your customer need - (Design, Product, Cost, Quality)
• When the Customer Wants it - (Velocity and Delivery)
• hoW the Customer Wants it - (Receiving, Packaging and Installation)
• Where the Customer Wants it - (Location and Logistics)
• in the Way the Customer Wants it - (Ordering, Confirming and Invoicing)

SECOND FOCUS Customer Focused Metrics – Leading Indicators (Driving Metrics)

• The "W's" Drive what the metrics are and which metrics to measure
• Leading Indicators (Metrics) Drive Lagging Indicators (Metrics) - Downstream processes define upstream process' metrics.  Lagging Indicators define Leading Indicators
• These metrics Drive which process to work on AND WHY CHANGE
• A business' processes can be defined by the "D's" - Define/Design, Deal, Do, Done

THIRD FOCUS Customer Focused Process Change – Data, Root Cause, Mistake Proofing

• Data Data Data - Perception is not everything
• Root Cause - Design characteristic of the product or process that Caused start of the chain of events
• Mistake Proofing - Change the design of the product or process
• Selecting members of a change team and concepts of Change

MOST IMPORTANTLY Culture Change not Just Process Change

• Environment – Organized and Visual
• Attitude - Positive
• Virtual – It occurs everyday without a major iniative
• Change not Just Correct - Change design of the product or process, not correct problems
• Promote Improvements - Celebrate WINS
• Buy In – Management AND employees
• Customer Driven Metrics - Don’t measure apples by counting oranges

Background - The book and workshop provides support to facilitate understanding that external, internal and indirect customers drive everything.  The external customer drives your selling price, but your speed of execution and improvement as well!  The internal customer drives satisfaction of the external and indirect customer.  The indirect customer drives acceptable costs and financial performance.  How these customers drive all aspects of your business, is depicted by the characteristics of their "W's".  For example the what "W" involves what the customer wants. We all know the external customer wants the product of your business.  Most of you know the internal customer wants the results of the process that supplies the internal customer.  The indirect customer wants information and financial results as a result of your efforts.  These customers also need the other "W's" when, the customer wants the product, how the customer wants the product, where the customer wants the product, and in the way the customer wants to do business.  Therefore, the customer's "W's" drives everything.  The "W's" become your metrics.  Performance as depicted by the metrics drives what to change, when!  Now, do you apply the tools of change? No! 

How you depict your customer's "W's" must be visual! Visuality is quickly and virtually understanding what is happening, where it is happening and what needs to be changed!   Without visual status of what is happening to satisfy the customer, you may be fixing (band aiding) situations and not changing the business model, design of the process or the design of the product. 

How you react to your customer's needs, dictates the longevity of your business!  You must be agile to adjust to your customer's needs.  Everything changes!  Therefore, your business needs to change.  If your customer's "W's" change and you do not change, you are quickly behind.  Therefore, you must virtually change.  There is no time for a special analysis, team, or project.  If a change is needed, it must be immediate.  By the time you do a special analysis or organize a team or project, your competitors may have already taken away your customer.  In order to be agile to virtually change based on visuality of customer satisfaction, you need a virtual (continuous) understanding of the tools.  Think of up front training and continuous understanding of the tools is like 'You may not need it now, but you can't afford to not have it when you need it'!  

What makes all this come together?  The business' culture!  A business' culture must understand, accept, and triumph in being agile to virtually improve, based on the visuality of customer satisfaction.  The culture must use the entire set of concepts.  Just having visual bulletin boards, does not mean you are improving.  Just having training DVD's of the tools does not let you improve rapidly.  Successful changes need to be cloned to similar situations.  Success must be acknowledged and rewarded.  Success must be based on customer satisfaction, and not internal competition.  Always remember your major competitor is the other business who wants your customer.  There are more examples of the characteristics of a businesses culture in the last focus (chapter) of the book.

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