John Pyecha Speaks Today at 2010 Lean Six Sigma Conference in Orlando

John Pyecha, Principal for Competitive Solutions, Inc. (CSI), will speak today at the Lean & Six Sigma Conference in Orlando. The title of his presentation is "Business Scorecards: How to Educate, Facilitate & Motivate."

John is a popular and energetic public speaker. He offers several public accountability workshops, leadership workshops, a scorecard workshops each year. Visit the CSI website at www.competitive-solutions.net for more information on upcoming workshops, events and webinars.

CSI's consultants have been chosen to speak at many conferences around North America in 2010. You can see the calendar of upcoming speaking engagements and download selected slides shows at www.competitive-solutions.net.

Social Media really works!

This year I have been putting more daily effort into social media solutions, such as Twitter and LinkedIn. It's going well and I've got to admit that I did not envision it being so effective when I first got started. I'm glad to announce that I am "tweeting" more, getting more followers, connecting with more people on LinkedIn, and finding new and creative ways to announce what's happening at CSI and with our PBL ScoreCard software.

Other than Twitter and LinkedIn, what do you find effective for keeping in contact with all your friends, co-workers, and other professional contacts?

Measuring Your Training Effectiveness

One of the most crucial components of a training program is often overlooked - a method to audit training implementation. All too frequently, organizations implement a training plan without a clear definition of the results they require from the training, or the appropriate means to achieve the results.

Without a plan, training efforts often yield no results or unintended results leadership was not expecting. By knowing what is expected of the training and the appropriate measures to gauge effectiveness, leadership has the ability to objectively analyze all results and modify their training plan as necessary.

To circumvent this difficulty, leadership must first determine their current state and their desired future state. Leadership must then define the specific skills that are necessary to achieve their desired state. Finally, leadership must determine the outcomes they expect to see as a result of training. While this may seem like a great deal to accomplish before the training actually begins, it is in fact these steps that will go the farthest in ensuring the highest possible return on training investment.

Based on the training 'pre-work' information, leadership has the tools to develop and implement an effective training plan. Some components of an effective training plan include: training outcomes, standard operating procedures, and an audit process to create an environment of continuous improvement and accountability for training implementation. When establishing an audit process, leadership must develop a schedule that determines the frequency of training process audits, a corrective action plan development for skill deficiencies, as well as recognition system for skill proficiency. By employing a process of audit, follow-up, and re-audit, the skill acquisition and implementation become a part of the culture, rather than a typical 'program of the month' initiative.

-article from "Living Your Leadership Legacy" Newsletter
by Competitive Solutions, Inc.

Competitive Solutions, Inc.(CSI) is a leadership training and consulting company that specializes in helping organizations improve communication, develop meaningful business scorecards, create accountability at all levels and set behavioral expectations using a business alignment system called Process Based Leadership.®

Competitive Solutions, Inc. Works with Red River Army Depot to Get Bradley Tanks Back to Iraq

The Army will repair over 1,000 Bradley Tanks this year at a cost of $1.2 million each. An additional 400 will be upgraded with the latest electronics at an average cost of $3.5 million.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Speakes, who oversees the Army’s re-equipping effort, says the Bradley's protection and firepower make it ideal for soldiers in a tough fight. "The Bradley is a remarkable platform," he says. "It can hold a squad of infantrymen and provide direct-fire support. The 25mm gun is a wonderful cannon. It gives you enormous flexibility. It's amazingly agile, very reliable and responsive. This vehicle will flat kick a--."

Competitive Solutions, Inc. began working with the Red River Army Depot (RRAD) two years ago. The Army Depot is responsible for repairing the Bradley Tanks to get them back to the war fighters in Iraq. The last new Bradley rolled off the assembly line in 1995, and the Army plans to use the armored vehicles for decades. This makes the work done by the Depot all the more important.

RRAD realized that they needed to implement a process to get the tanks delivered in less time with more reliability. They turned to Competitive Solutions, Inc. CSI assisted RRAD in improving communications, developing meaningful business scorecards, creating accountability at all levels and setting behavioral expectations using a business alignment system called Process Based Leadership®. In addition to working with the Red River Army Depot; CSI works with Corpus Christi Army Depot, Rock Island Arsenal, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Sierra Army Depot, Blue Grass Army Depot and Letterkenny Army Depot. Regardless of the industry, organizations search for a competitive means to maximize workforce potential, reduce cost and overhead, and increase quality.

Because no new Bradleys are being built, the Pentagon must rely on an extensive network to keep the Army’s 4,700 Bradleys rolling. "There is no dealership to take these vehicles to,” states Col. Paul Lepine, Program Manager for the Army’s heavy brigade combat teams. "When we service them, we need to take them through this extensive process that costs a lot because of the extensive touch labor and cost of materials. It took a year or more to repair Bradleys at the start of the war. But most vehicles can now be returned to service in five months. The quicker we can get these Bradleys back to the war fighters in Iraq the better. They’re lifesavers!"

(Segments of this article were taken from USA Today, June 26, 2008)

Competitive Solutions, Inc.(CSI) is a leadership training and consulting company that specializes in helping organizations improve communication, develop meaningful business scorecards, create accountability at all levels and set behavioral expectations using a business alignment system called Process Based Leadership.®