EFQM Forum 2007 - some key learnings from the speakers
The following notes are just a few of the comments that Derek picked up from the speakers in Athens. The selection is entirely personal and just shows some views we think are particularly interesting.
In the opening plenary session, Luis Alvarez spoke of the experiences in BT Global Services.
- A competitor can copy or buy your technology, but it cannot buy or copy your people - who make the difference to your organisation.
- You must communicate with people, and he mentioned his regular breakfast meetings with groups of 15 employees - missing out intervening layers of management so that he can hear direct from the people.
- In similar vein he suggested - where possible - asking customers direct about their needs and plans, rather than going via consultants/researchers.
- He believes in explaining to everyone the basics behind the financials and how they contribute to them.
- And do not forget that you must consider 'how' things are done, not just 'what'.
Derek's first parallel session featured the subject of personal and corporate integrity discussed in a relaxed environment by Andrew Weissmann, one of the prosecutors in the Enron case, and Revd Dr John Strain of Surrey University. This was fascinating stuff from both presenters. Some messages that hit home were:
- An experiment in the 1960s showed that 50% of people will carry out unethical or illegal acts if instructed to do so by an apparently 'legal' authority.
- In a 1960s murder case in New York, over 30 witnesses heard the screams of the victim being stabbed, but did not call the police.
- Research (post-Enron) in the US showed the people to whom employees 'would feel comfortable reporting misconduct':
- supervisors - 77%
- HR - 56%
- Senior management - 43% (this group had the biggest negative vote)
- Legal Dept - 40%
- Helpline - 40%
- Some characteristics of high performing organisations in ethics matters include:
- they recognise the dangers (we should all be honest about our own vulnerability to doing wrong)
- they emphasise personal responsibility and challenges to authority are encouraged
- training is for future events, not just past ones
- they persistently learn from what goes wrong
- there is clear commitment from the top
- Corporations don't have ethics - people do. Corporations might have a code of ethics but only people's ethics make it more than a charade.
- It's not difficult to agree the grand statements; the difficulty is putting the details into practice. There are benefits in having someone from the outside to test the organisation in practice.
- In response to a question, John said that 'ethics' is already in the Excellence Model, eg, in the CSR concept, in people, in processes.
In a parallel session about Management by Process, Andrew Wendt of BMW Chassis and Engines said that he sees the Excellence Model as an 'engine for sustainability'. The Results part is about the rear-view mirror, and the use of results to refine the Enablers creates sustainability of the organisation. It doesn't give answers, but "a whole bundle of questions, and I prefer that". But he did say that the Model is not a substitute for entrepreneurial 'gut feeling'.
- He once had a colleague stand for 12 hours inside a circle chalked on the floor in the engineering area to study what was actually happening. His observations led to changes giving 10% efficiency savings.
In the same session, Stephen Mathews of The Cedar Foundation, a charity in Northern Ireland, said that they found the main resistance to process management was often from people outside the organisation. He also didn't see an inherent contradiction between process management and agility: he believes that agility is the ability to manage the process of change as soon as possible.
Professor Chan Kim's plenary presentation looked at creativity and innovation.
- Research usually shows that executives most admire other organisations for creativity. Conversely, strategies usually concentrate on competitiveness and beating the competition.
- The main areas in which management adds value are the management of productivity, creativity and stakeholders. More senior managers should concentrate on creativity management.
- Few organisations carry out research/surveys into non-customers. Non-customers may tell you why they don't use you, leading to new ideas.
- Organisations should try to develop a new product in the market and make (for a while at least) the competition irrelevant
For Derek, listening to Dr Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grammeen Bank in Bangladesh and successful implementer of microcredit, was a high point of the event. Trying to summarise his session is a bit crazy, but Derek outlines here a few key messages.
- Poverty comes from the systems we have all created: institutions, policies, concepts and decisions.
- His personal awakening came in Bangladesh when he lent US$27 to 42 poor women to help them escape from usurious moneylenders. "If you can make so many people happy with such a small amount, you should do more."
- Today Grameen Bank has 7.5 million customers, 97% of whom are women; it is owned by its customers, it makes profits and pays dividends.
- He believes that all human beings have an entrepreneurial spirit, they just need the right conditions to unleash the capacity. He opposes 'safety net' programmes, and outlined a successful initiative with beggars showing how even the poorest people can help themselves and use their creativity given the chance.
- He stressed that it is not the amount of money that you spend, it is about what you are trying to achieve.
One of Rene Carayol's key themes was that culture is more powerful than strategy. He also said that for whatever problem an organisation has, 'the answer is leadership'.
- Leadership is about the whole organisation, not just the very top people. It's the attitude and state of mind. And it influences ...
- Culture, which is the personality of the organisation, the values, behaviours, 'the way we do things'. Some organisations can move their culture, others can only watch it.
- Whilst companies are fixated with strategy, he believes culture is
more important.
- Quality starts as a strategy, but if successful becomes the culture.
- Two key traits of great leaders are self-belief, and humility. He suggested Nelson Mandela as an exemplar.
- If you want to know about an organisation, he said you should sit in its reception area for 30 minutes and observe what happens and how.
