Consumer Products
Decision Making to Clarify Expectations for R&D Team
The toiletries and marketing teams of this worldwide manufacturer of consumer products could not agree on the key attributes for a new experimental deodorant. Management's ambiguity caused confusion and delays for the R&D team of chemists who were responsible for formulating the various deodorant options.
Using MMi's decision-making process, we helped management and marketing identify and agree on the "required" and "desired" attributes and their priority ranking. This common understanding enabled management to communicate clearly and unambiguously to the chemists about what was needed for the deodorant. The chemists then used these criteria as the basis for formulating the deodorants and for reporting progress on each of the options.
Aerospace & Electronic Materials
Problem Analysis to Uncover Causes of Recurring Warehouse Problem
Two warehouses of a Fortune 100 aerospace and electronic materials manufacturer were experiencing a nagging problem. The formal biweekly inventory count of stock items on the floor was inaccurate and becoming increasingly more inaccurate over time. Although there were many opinions as to the cause of these inconsistencies, the company never conducted an objective analysis to uncover the cause. Management had tolerated these inaccuracies for years, but concern began to mount and they wanted to finally resolve the problem.
Using our problem solving methodology, MMi consultants helped the team separate the complex problem into more manageable pieces. Once the issue was separated, the team was able to focus on key details about the identity, locations, timing and magnitude of the stock inaccuracies. Based on this analysis, the team was able to establish several probable causes. After the team tested each cause, it presented its analysis to management and recommended a series of immediate and longer-term solutions. As a result, the accuracy of the inventory count problem was resolved and has consistently remained above the 99.9% level.
Financial Services and Insurance Provider
Potential Problem Analysis to Anticipate and Plan for Potential Disasters
Although this Boston-based provider of financial services and insurance had been planning for major disasters for some time, a new "Disaster Planning Team" was commissioned to ensure that the company could be prepared to deal with all future potential problems effectively.
The company asked MMi to facilitate the initial meetings to help the team identify and ensure readiness for potential disasters. Using the Potential Problem Analysis Process, the team first brainstormed all potential problems that could possibly occur. This long list was then reduced to the "critical few" by assessing the "probability" of a problem occurring and the "impact" if the problem did occur. For each potential problem, the team began to formulate both "preventive" plans and "contingency" plans. This process has since become a standard, ongoing practice at this company.
Financial Services
Problem Solving Workshops and Team Building to Align IT Teams
Global Technology Division (GTD) is the IT group for a major Boston-based mutual funds processor. Senior management observed that the teams and technical staff within GTD did not have a common, reliable process for identifying and analyzing problems, and for recommending solutions to users, clients and management. This lack of team alignment resulted in "wheel spinning," hastily analyzed problems and a lack of management confidence in the teams' ability to address complex technical problems in a disciplined manner.
MMi consultants designed and conducted a series of Systematic Problem Solving Workshops for all 350 technical and professional staff within GTD. A special "executive briefing" was conducted for the senior management team. Our goal was to provide a common problem solving approach and language so that all teams and individuals could use a common methodology to analyze problems and make decisions and recommendations. As a result, all teams and individuals now use this approach to address problems and decisions in a more disciplined way.
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Publishing and Newspapers
Problem Solving Training to Improve Teams' Effectiveness
The management of a large Boston-based publisher lacked confidence that its agency-based "delivery teams" could analyze problems systematically and recommend appropriate solutions. This often forced management to intervene in the teams' process and "second guess" many of the teams' recommendations.
MMi consultants conducted special team-based problem solving workshops for all agency and management teams. Once trained in the approach, MMi facilitated the teams' process and worked with management to restore its confidence in the teams' ability to function in an independent, self-directed manner. As a result, management became more confident in the teams' analysis and ability to make sound recommendations. This allowed for more autonomous and self-directed functioning of the teams.
Professional Services/Consulting
Problem Solving Workshops to Develop Skills of Consultants and Administrative Staff on a World-Wide Basis
The Learning & Development Group of a global professional services consulting firm needed to formally develop problem-solving skills among its junior consultants and administrative staff on an organization-wide basis. The goal was to enable these skills to be applied both internally and externally with clients.
MMi was retained to custom-tailor the problem solving workshops to this consulting firm's specialized needs. Since 1998, a series of yearly workshops are conducted regularly throughout the U.S., Canada, and UK. Formal feedback from participants indicates that this session continues to be one of the firm's highest rated training sessions.
Telecommunications
Problem Solving Workshops for Managers and Individual Contributors
The New England and New York learning centers of a major telecommunications firm needed to conduct in-house workshops to teach problem solving skills to managers and technical contributors. Each learning center location had its own staff of trainers.
MMi collaborated with the in-house trainers to custom-tailor the session process and materials to the company's needs. We licensed and certified eight in-house instructors to conduct our Systematic Problem Solving workshops at the company's Boston and New York learning centers. MMi consultants conducted pilot sessions to test the workshop, provided train-the-trainer sessions, and regularly attended in-house sessions to ensure instructor quality.