THE COMPETITION QUESTION

1. THE COMPETITION QUESTION • These slides are examples of how ‘The Competition Question’ can be adapted to look at performance responsibilities from a ‘whole organisation’ perspective’ right down to specific roles and areas of work. They can be adapted easily by changing the focus and the examples of competitors. • The final few supplementary slides help pull the conclusions back into practical ideas for moving forward. • Please do not attempt to use these slides as part of a presentation until you have read and fully understood the relevant sections of ‘Managing by Design’, you know how the slide works, and you are clear on the points you wish to draw out with it.

2. THE COMPETITION • Imagine your group has been called upon to judge a competition to identify the best manufacturing company in the world. The competition has six competitors: Motorola, IBM, Morgan, Komatsu, Lego and Siemens (Our organisation is an independent judge). • You are allowed to see whatever you want, and to talk to whoever you want in selecting the winner. • On what criteria do you base your decision? • You have 30 minutes to agree a limited number of criteria which comprehensively determine “Best”

3. THE COMPETITION • Imagine your group has been called upon to judge a competition to identify the best publishing company in the world. The competition has six competitors: Kogan-Page, McGraw-Hill, Blackwell, Penguin, Texere & J Wiley (Our organisation is an independent judge). • You are allowed to see whatever you want, and to talk to whoever you want in selecting the winner. • On what criteria do you base your decision? • You have 30 minutes to agree a limited number of criteria which comprehensively determine “Best”

4. THE COMPETITION! • sales; • market makingwins; • integration with xxx strategy; • satisfied customers on the leading edge; • fame/predictability • Imagine our group has been called upon by xxx to judge a competition to identify the best partner in five categories: • The competition has applicants from a number of companies includingHP, Compaq, IBM.(We are an independent judge). We are allowed to see whatever we want, and to talk to whoever we want in selecting the winner. What specifically could we measure to base our decision? What would be the measures by which we would comprehensively determine “Best”?

5. EXPLORING THE CONTEXT OF ??? • There has been a competition to determine the most effective Professional Services Group in industry, the focus is on Theimpact the Group has had on its Parent Group’s Operating Companies. You didn’t apply because you have been asked to act as judges. • The remaining contenders are Boots, J&J, Glaxo, 3M, IBM, & Motorola, all of whom have proved very forward thinking in this respect. Your job is to select, objectively, which is the winner. • You can spend as much time as you wish, see what you want, talk to anyone, and do anything you need to reach a fair conclusion. • What criteria will you use to determine the winner?

6. THE COMPETITION! • Imagine we have been called upon by New Scientist to judge a competition to identify the best NPD Group in the Medical Industry regarding… • Impact on, and support of, their organisation • (Sustainable) standing in the medical NPD industry • Anticipating and meeting customer needs • The competition has applicants from six companies: Convatec, Coloplast, 3M, J&J, GSK, Boots. (We are an independent judge). • We are allowed to see whatever we want, and to talk to whoever we want in selecting the winner.On what criteria do we base our decision?

7. THE COMPETITION • Imagine your group has been called upon to judge a competition to identify the best “Business Computing Service”. The competition has three competitors: Tesco, Safeway and Waitrose (Our organisation is an independent judge). • You are allowed to see whatever you want, and to talk to whoever you want in selecting the winner. • On what criteria do you base your decision? • You have 30 minutes to agree a limited number of criteria which comprehensively determine “Best”

8. HYPOTHESIS • If these aspects are important enough to use in determining the “best”, then: • They must be important • They must be variable • They must be observable • And if the above is all true... • They must be a key measure of process health • They must require management • Change in them is an indicator of the quality of that management????

9. THE COMPETITION • You have been selected (due to your great wisdom on the subject) to judge a competition for the ‘Analyst of the Year’ award. • All the analysts entered in the competition work in environments similar to your own, using the same tools and technology. • You are required to make your decision based on objective data. You are able to gather what data you wish to support your decision, even if it requires simple system changes to collect and analyse it. • On what criteria will you base your decision?

10. THE COMPETITION • Imagine our group has been called upon by ‘Computer Weekly’ to judge a competition to identify the best “Departmental Manager”. Our focus is to be on IT development in the Retail Industry and the competition has applicants from three companies: Tesco, Safeway and Waitrose (JS is an independent judge). • We are allowed to see whatever we want, and to talk to whoever we want in selecting the winner.On what criteria do we base our decision? • We have 30 minutes to agree a limited number of criteria which comprehensively determine “Best”

11. THE COMPETITION • How would we feel if we were judged against these criteria? Are they a fair assessment of our performance as managers? • Imagine that the managers from Tesco were unsuccessful in the competition, and that Tesco appointed us to work with their managers so that they could win the competition next year. How would we undertake this role in a manner that would ensure that they did? • What implications does this have for your role and your manager’s?

12. THE COMPETITION • In your syndicate groups: • Imagine you have been appointed as a panel to judge a competition to identify the best written & thought-out project plan/proposal from some 200 submissions • What would be the (5 to 10) clear and objective criteria that you would use to identify the winner? • Be prepared to present your list (briefly) back to the rest of the group • You have fifteen minutes to reach your conclusions

13. CAN WE IMPROVE ON OUR ANSWERS? • In your syndicates, and using the checklist provided: • Review the proposals made by the other syndicate against the checklist • Consider how you might improve upon their proposal • Add to or modify their proposal in any way you see fit, until you are comfortable that it represents the best approach • Be prepared to present your conclusions back to the other syndicate group

14. CHECKLIST FOR THE COMPETITION • To what extent do the proposed criteria reflect: • How they understand and build partnership with the customers, and really add value to their customers’ business • How well they develop inspiring goals, and build a real and shared commitment from their people to pursuing those goals • How good they are at attracting and retaining the right people, developing them to their full potential, and using that potential • Their ability to continuously improve and control their processes to ensure they are increasingly effective and efficient • The quality of their internal information systems, and the accuracy and timeliness of their decisions • Their plans for future improvement, and the extent of appropriate creativity and innovation in that

15. SO HOW DOES THIS COMPARE WITH REALITY? • In your original syndicate groups, and using the list refined by the other team: • Consider how well each of these things take place in your organisation at this present time • Think through the reasons why this might be the case • Be prepared to present your conclusions back to the group

16. SO, WHAT HOLDS US BACK? • What stops us from doing the things we know need to be done? • Is it our job? • Will it all turn out OK anyway? • Do we feel comfortable/confident doing it? • Is it a priority? • ….