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We do not change what you do - We change how you do it.
"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." Dr. W. Edwards Deming
The need for speed: Business strategy in a "fast-paced culture." Today's world is changing rapidly. Businesses and employees who excel in their industry, keep pace with the changing economy - However, this requires sound change management, solid strategic plans and leadership.
Today customers increasingly expect speedy delivery: pizza delivered in a half-hour; film developed in an hour, eyeglasses made in an hour, car lubrication in 15 minutes. Clearly, in a “fast-paced culture”, companies that can innovate faster, manufacture faster, and supply faster are going to be the winners. “Ready, Fire, Aim.”
Most conventional projects adhere quite closely to a planning cycle composed of these steps "Ready, Aim, Fire" approach: Ready corresponds to the planning phase of a project; What is the purpose of the project? Who will do it? What resources will be needed; people, money, and space? Aim corresponds to the design phase; What will we do? When will we do it? In what order will we do it? Who will do each part? Fire is the execution phase of the project and is the actual performance of the actions that were initiated and designed in the ready and the aim phases.
Peters and Waterman ...made famous the "Ready, Fire, Aim." Business Planning strategy. FRS CONSULTANTS Fire the missile with a Guided Missile System. FRS CONSULTANTS ARE NOT "hip-shooters."
A planning cycle that works best, particularly in attempting to hit a moving target (“fast paced culture”) has been called Ready, Fire, Aim. An example of this is how artillery works. When an artillery unit sets up, they fire shells in the general direction the enemy is expected. Spotters on the ground or in the air then locate where the shell has actually landed, feed back the information to the gunners and locations are re-calculated and additional shells are fired to verify that targeting is now accurate. The key component of this cycle is the counter- intuitive idea that one can fire without having aimed precisely. It is obvious to even the most casual observer that this can only work, if there is an evaluation of the outcome feed back, whether the shell is getting closer or further away from the target.
The strengths of the Ready Fire Aim model are that it does not depend on long elaborate planning phases, encourages small pilot projects to test validity of key components of designed solutions and since the time, money or labor commitment is kept small, it allows multiple solutions to be examined and mistakes to be made with less disastrous consequences. Frequent reality checks make it much less likely that the solutions will be ineffective or unwanted. In its reliance on the process of feeding back the result of trying small experiments and listening carefully not just to what the customer wants but what they in fact need, the Ready, Fire, Aim model has proved very useful in a rapidly changing environment and a “fast paced culture.”
Ready, Fire, Aim. Do not wait until you are sure. Do not wait until you have it right. Though waiting till we have it right works for some decisions, mostly little ones, often our most important decisions, our most important actions, are so filled with danger that we will never surely get them right. If we don't fire before we aim we may never take action at all.
Ready, Fire, Aim. Do not get caught in 'Analysis Paralysis' syndrome. Plan what you want to do, and then take Action and GO. You can always adjust after you have started. REMEMBER: “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over by your competition if you just sit there!”
Measure Twice, Cut Once. This old carpentry adage applies equally well to business. Take the time to plan and check your plan so when you do act, the work is done right.
I learned this from a former teacher before it became a popular business strategy. Simply spoken, take a shot at new important ideas in a small way. See if you hit the target and then aim accordingly. Many businesses spend half their time, resources, money and energy aiming. They aim, and aim, and aim some more. They go to Seminars or Conferences and learn new ideas and aim some more. They read books and aim some more. Then when they finally fire (take action), they fire at the point of no return. Money has been spent, project teams have spent time on developing a plan, and 13 business meetings later, the strategy is unveiled; and the majority of time they missed the target - LOSE FOCUS - MONEY – TIME – RESOURCES – have been wasted.
FRS Consultants will implement the business strategy for your business to succeed.
SUCCESS IS DETERMINED BY THE WILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE CHANGE, DEVELOP GOALS AND MANAGE WITH BOTH EYES FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE.
We will be the last Management Consulting group you will ever need.
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