August 13, 2024 • 19 mins
Ever wondered how to supercharge your company's operations without expanding your team? In this episode of Lean by Design, host Oscar Gonzalez reveals innovative strategies from a recent project with a dynamic 100-person company. Discover how you can enhance workflow efficiency by reimagining and optimizing your existing data and documentation.
Explore actionable tips for transforming digital assets like PowerPoint slides and governance documents into powerful tools that drive operational excellence. Learn how a human-centered design approach can break down departmental silos and create processes that benefit the entire organization. By engaging stakeholders across various departments, we show you how to streamline and implement impactful changes.
Additionally, get introduced to our new assessments tailored for R&D, clinical operations, facility readiness, and manufacturing excellence. These assessments are crafted to elevate efficiency within the biopharma sector. Tune in for these valuable insights in the first part of our essential two-episode series!
Learn more about us by visiting: https://sigmalabconsulting.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back everyone to another episode of Lean by
Design podcast.
I'm your host, oscar Gonzalez,and alongside me is nobody.
We're trying something a littlebit new this go-round.
It's been a little bit of timesince we have had our last
episode, a couple things thathave updated from there.
My family grew so I welcomed ason back in May my second son
(00:25):
and we're just over the moon andreally excited for this chapter
of our family and excited towatch them and help them grow.
So that's where we've been alittle bit of time, taking some
time off there and finishing upbuttoning up some clients that
we had previously in Q1 and Q2.
(00:48):
So what we're going to talkabout today are a number of
insights that we can glean frommy last project that I had.
This will be part one.
We have part two coming up nexttime, but I wanted to make sure
that these are a little bitshorter, a little bit more
concise up next time.
But I wanted to make sure thatthese are a little bit shorter,
a little bit more concise, moreaction-driven, really just to
help inform you guys and giveyou guys some tips and tricks on
(01:10):
where you should be looking atwhen you're doing your process,
improvement and other insightssuch as that.
So, to set the stage, this is ayoung, roughly 100-person
company that is actually withina larger ecosystem of
(01:32):
organizations and there are anumber of partnerships that have
begun to arise.
Into the view of thisparticular client, now the
challenges are really centeredaround the ability to scale
their operations withoutnecessarily taking on additional
resources and additionalheadcount.
(01:54):
Now what we've started to seein other organizations is the
complete void of certainprocesses or certain departments
within their organization wherenow they look to really shift
focus and shift gears todifferent projects and programs
and, in a way, to increase theirresources by decreasing their
(02:15):
headcount.
What we're dealing with here isnow we need to seeing this
portfolio of projects that is onthe way.
How are we going to manage ourprojects in a way that gives us
the control from management of aproject while being able to
(02:37):
really provide data and insights?
This is operational data, datesand times and meetings and your
goals and your rosters and thetotal health of the project.
So we're going to go over 10insights and I'm giving you the
first five insights in thisepisode.
You'll have to chime into thenext episode to get insights six
(03:01):
through 10.
So we engaged in this initiativeover the course of two months
where we wanted to essentiallyidentify and plan those next
stages.
So this is something that Iwould consider moderate
complexity with our standardpackage.
(03:23):
So there was a report.
At the end of it, there weresome process maps and flow maps
that were generated as a resultof this.
So essentially, what I went into do was gather intel through
interviews, various interviews,various stakeholders.
That spans not only thefunction or department that I
(03:43):
was working with, but also someof the external, some of the
internal leadership that weresort of external to other
projects, getting their insighton how processes are flowing
into their spaces, theirthoughts on where, on the
direction of this particularfunction and department, and how
(04:04):
they're being trained, movingforward.
So let's get started.
So let's get started.
Insight number one leverageyour existing assets.
So, as we start inorganizations and as we continue
to be a part of an organization, there is a myriad of data, of
(04:28):
PowerPoint slides, of Excel, ofWord documentation, pdfs, images
you name it and the biggestchallenge seems to be that their
structure is all over the place.
We don't really have anappropriate nomenclature.
We don't really have anappropriate nomenclature.
We don't really have astructure to our folders.
We sort of let people createwhatever folder space they need
(04:50):
to store their information andwe call it a day.
Well, there's a problem there.
(05:12):
Now you're spending countlesshours developing all of these
different viewpoints department,but it's structured in a way
that individuals cannot followit if they were not inherently
involved in the production ofthat content from the beginning.
So, by integrating thesecurrent resources with new
(05:33):
improvements, you're starting todelineate a clear path for
enhancing the workflowefficiency and operational
effectiveness.
Don't forget all of that stuffthat you had created before.
Bring it along with you,whether it's a guidebook,
whether it's a trainingPowerPoint of sorts or a
portfolio level view or anexplanation of certain things.
(05:55):
Start to pull those things backout, start to file them in a
certain way, and I willguarantee you that the
likelihood is going to be verylow that you need to pull all
the documentation that you havein your filing system and many
of us are using SharePoint atthis time because, let's be
honest, microsoft pretty muchowns that space with deregulated
(06:18):
content.
So what I'm going to action youall to do is to go back into
your spaces, find out what'simportant, clean up that
PowerPoint slide that might be atraining that for some reason
existed in the middle of agovernance deck because you
wanted to show them something.
Pull that out, change the name,change the flow of the content,
(06:39):
so that now you have a new data, a new digital asset as part of
your new structure, as part ofyour process improvement.
There's a reference materialattached to it, et cetera.
So this is going to reallypower the beginning of the work
that you have, because to findthe gaps, you really need to see
what you actually own, and inthis particular scenario, there
(07:02):
were a number I would say justover 5,500 files in a given
SharePoint site.
We uncovered 44 to be of use,of necessity.
So going back and taking those44 assets are allowing us to get
(07:23):
a head start into operationaleffectiveness and efficiency.
Where are the assets that weneed to have in front of us?
The guidebook, the governancestructure, the flow map, how to
onboard a client all thesethings are really important, and
so you should have themorganized in a way that really
(07:45):
supports structure andconsistency with your
organization.
We also had the opportunity todevelop assets and enhance this
workflow with that Insight.
Number two create new assets,diagrams, refined workflows.
The idea here is that a pictureis worth a thousand words.
(08:06):
While we love to enter processand new SOPs and procedures into
a PowerPoint deck with bulletedlists over, slide, over slide,
over slide and expect people toactually read it, I challenge
you to show me a text that saysmore than an image.
(08:27):
Take that time, develop thatworkflow, develop that diagram
so that when somebody takes alook at it, they can see a flow
of activities in a particularorder over a span of time, with
the resources that are needed toconduct them and the
stakeholders that are involved.
Also, what is that input andwhat is the output of that
(08:49):
process and who else does itaffect?
These simple things are reallykey to really establishing a
culture of being able to reviewdiagrams and workflows in a more
visually friendly environment.
The objective here is tounderstand that current state
and then, once you have an ideaof what that current state, that
(09:11):
new workflow, looks like, thenyou can mold it into a more form
without overhauling theexisting process.
We're very quick to say, well,this process doesn't work, I
need to start something fresh.
Start with that one that exists, understand where the pinch
points are and create a newprocess going forward.
Insight number three, how do youget beyond workflow efficiency?
(09:36):
Effective communication andtransparency are going to be
critical in responding to change.
Developing efficient workflowsis essential, but the
transparency of these changesand the commitment to a unified
vision are key to successfulprocess improvement.
So what I mean to say is bringpeople.
(09:58):
If you find yourself in acloset in a room in an office
and you're designing all ofthese efficient workflows
because from your perspectivethey are going to bring
efficiency, from yourunderstanding of the workflows
and you neglect to bring in theactual party or stakeholders
that are involved, it is notgoing to pan out.
(10:18):
The way that processimprovement becomes effective is
when you include your client asa partner in the development.
It gives them ownership overthat process and it gives them
the knowledge of thearchitecture and the background
(10:41):
behind why this architecture haschanged.
I promise you this the morethat you involve your clients
(11:02):
into the solution, the more youinvolve your client into
building a solution, the morelikely they are to carry and
move that solution of processexcellence, which involves more
than just refining theoperations.
It's not enough to fix a systemto fix a process.
It requires rallying behind thecentral cause of operational
(11:26):
cohesion.
You need everyone else in thatorganization and everyone else
needs you Pursuing bothnear-term and long-term
objectives, embedding theculture.
Embedding this culture isconducive to continuous
improvement.
I can't tell you how manyindividuals, how many groups I
(11:47):
have worked with that are askingfor teams to put goals for
process improvement, putinitiatives together for
operational efficiency, to fix aprocess, to fix another, to fix
a workflow that deals withbringing on new consultants or
the financial aspect of it,budgeting, et cetera who's doing
(12:10):
what, who's costing what, who'sinvesting in what within a
given project.
Yet it's the fostering of thatculture, it's the championing of
a process improvement culturethat is ultimately going to
allow you to drive this in a waywhere you're not running uphill
anymore.
So start small, find a group ofpeople, find a collective where
(12:33):
this clicks.
It's not going to be foreverybody immediately and what I
think one of those you know,play to those fears, play to
those challenges that peoplehave where, well, I'm not really
good at these systems, well,I'm afraid that, because it's
continuous, things are alwaysgoing to be changing.
If things are constantlychanging, you are opening an
opportunity to your team, yourbusiness, your projects will
(12:58):
have additional opportunities.
Insight number five how do youcreate a workflow in a matrix
organization.
Strategic integration is key todeveloping operational
excellence at your organization.
Strategically linking key focusareas and creating streamlined
workflows as a means to unlocknew efficiencies and foster a
(13:23):
more agile organization or anorganizational structure is
gonna be key.
This approach is poised tocatalyze that organizational
growth and adaptability.
So how do you create thisstrategic interaction, this
strategic integration?
Well, look at all of theprocesses and systems that you
(13:43):
have available to you.
What are the ones that affectyou directly?
What are the ones that you'rein charge of versus other people
?
And those ones, those processes, those system workflows that
you are leading.
Where do they go?
Who do they touch?
Those things need to be inconsideration.
Take this If you take aoverfilled water balloon and you
(14:04):
decide to throw it in the air,what happens?
Does it go as one solid waterballoon and then come right back
down, or does it sort of bendand flex almost like a blob
flying through the air?
So this is how I look atorganizations that decide to run
innovation.
I'm sorry, this is how I vieworganizations that are looking
(14:25):
to initiate improvementinitiatives into their
organization without consideringoutside persons, outside
stakeholders from within theorganization.
So imagine this.
The budgeting team, the financeteam, decides that they're
going to update all of theirprocesses and they're going
through a process improvementinitiative, but they fail to
(14:48):
bring into perspective thepeople who are actually giving
the data to them, the inputs fortheir system, for their
workflows.
There's no training, there's nocommunication, simply an email
that goes out that says hey guys, we have a new workflow, here's
the workflow, let's do it.
How do you think that processis going to work out or not?
(15:10):
When we do these things withoutconsidering who our client is
in the organization, we are team, we are team members, we are
clients to each other In someway.
Each of these functions in eachof these departments performs
some level of a service tosupport other people, other
initiatives within that company.
(15:31):
So now what happens is that youhave a highly efficient way of
working within that particularspace.
Finance is the example that wehave here.
The challenge now is that noone else is an understanding of
what prompted this.
Who came up with the solution?
Is that the best solution?
(15:52):
It may be best for thatfunction or for that department,
but we're the ones that have todeal the brunt end of it
because now none of our systemsare adapted to support their new
workflow.
So it is key to really take ahuman-centered design lens to
(16:14):
optimize your process, bring instakeholders from various areas
to get all of those perspectives.
Once you acquire thoseperspectives, you could then
start to weed through somethingthat is bureaucratic, political,
versus something where therereally is a need to have a fix,
(16:39):
to have an update, to have anoptimization that affects more
than just your function.
Your goal as a team member inorganizations is not to make
your work as best as possible,it's to produce value to the
organization, and you can onlyproduce value to the
organization by doing it withyour teammates.
(17:02):
So next time we'll take a lookat insights six through 10 and
wrap up the initial project thatwe had with our recent client.
Thanks for coming along with usand, if you haven't had a
chance to take a look at it, wehave now developed four
assessments for R&D, clinicaloperations, facility readiness
and manufacturing excellence.
These assessments are designedto help guide you to the things
(17:27):
that are necessary in yoursector of biopharma.
Where do we need to start?
Fill out that assessment, youget a free report at the end of
it and if you decide to have aphone call with us.
We're going to also bring you amuch more detailed report that
will break down all of thedifferent sections and give you
(17:47):
tips on how you can improve inyour organization.
Welcome back everyone to another episode of Lean by
Design podcast.
I'm your host, oscar Gonzalez,and alongside me is nobody.
We're trying something a littlebit new this go-round.
It's been a little bit of timesince we have had our last
episode, a couple things thathave updated from there.
My family grew so I welcomed ason back in May my second son
(00:25):
and we're just over the moon andreally excited for this chapter
of our family and excited towatch them and help them grow.
So that's where we've been alittle bit of time, taking some
time off there and finishing upbuttoning up some clients that
we had previously in Q1 and Q2.
(00:48):
So what we're going to talkabout today are a number of
insights that we can glean frommy last project that I had.
This will be part one.
We have part two coming up nexttime, but I wanted to make sure
that these are a little bitshorter, a little bit more
concise up next time.
But I wanted to make sure thatthese are a little bit shorter,
a little bit more concise, moreaction-driven, really just to
help inform you guys and giveyou guys some tips and tricks on
(01:10):
where you should be looking atwhen you're doing your process,
improvement and other insightssuch as that.
So, to set the stage, this is ayoung, roughly 100-person
company that is actually withina larger ecosystem of
(01:32):
organizations and there are anumber of partnerships that have
begun to arise.
Into the view of thisparticular client, now the
challenges are really centeredaround the ability to scale
their operations withoutnecessarily taking on additional
resources and additionalheadcount.
(01:54):
Now what we've started to seein other organizations is the
complete void of certainprocesses or certain departments
within their organization wherenow they look to really shift
focus and shift gears todifferent projects and programs
and, in a way, to increase theirresources by decreasing their
(02:15):
headcount.
What we're dealing with here isnow we need to seeing this
portfolio of projects that is onthe way.
How are we going to manage ourprojects in a way that gives us
the control from management of aproject while being able to
(02:37):
really provide data and insights?
This is operational data, datesand times and meetings and your
goals and your rosters and thetotal health of the project.
So we're going to go over 10insights and I'm giving you the
first five insights in thisepisode.
You'll have to chime into thenext episode to get insights six
(03:01):
through 10.
So we engaged in this initiativeover the course of two months
where we wanted to essentiallyidentify and plan those next
stages.
So this is something that Iwould consider moderate
complexity with our standardpackage.
(03:23):
So there was a report.
At the end of it, there weresome process maps and flow maps
that were generated as a resultof this.
So essentially, what I went into do was gather intel through
interviews, various interviews,various stakeholders.
That spans not only thefunction or department that I
(03:43):
was working with, but also someof the external, some of the
internal leadership that weresort of external to other
projects, getting their insighton how processes are flowing
into their spaces, theirthoughts on where, on the
direction of this particularfunction and department, and how
(04:04):
they're being trained, movingforward.
So let's get started.
So let's get started.
Insight number one leverageyour existing assets.
So, as we start inorganizations and as we continue
to be a part of an organization, there is a myriad of data, of
(04:28):
PowerPoint slides, of Excel, ofWord documentation, pdfs, images
you name it and the biggestchallenge seems to be that their
structure is all over the place.
We don't really have anappropriate nomenclature.
We don't really have anappropriate nomenclature.
We don't really have astructure to our folders.
We sort of let people createwhatever folder space they need
(04:50):
to store their information andwe call it a day.
Well, there's a problem there.
(05:12):
Now you're spending countlesshours developing all of these
different viewpoints department,but it's structured in a way
that individuals cannot followit if they were not inherently
involved in the production ofthat content from the beginning.
So, by integrating thesecurrent resources with new
(05:33):
improvements, you're starting todelineate a clear path for
enhancing the workflowefficiency and operational
effectiveness.
Don't forget all of that stuffthat you had created before.
Bring it along with you,whether it's a guidebook,
whether it's a trainingPowerPoint of sorts or a
portfolio level view or anexplanation of certain things.
(05:55):
Start to pull those things backout, start to file them in a
certain way, and I willguarantee you that the
likelihood is going to be verylow that you need to pull all
the documentation that you havein your filing system and many
of us are using SharePoint atthis time because, let's be
honest, microsoft pretty muchowns that space with deregulated
(06:18):
content.
So what I'm going to action youall to do is to go back into
your spaces, find out what'simportant, clean up that
PowerPoint slide that might be atraining that for some reason
existed in the middle of agovernance deck because you
wanted to show them something.
Pull that out, change the name,change the flow of the content,
(06:39):
so that now you have a new data, a new digital asset as part of
your new structure, as part ofyour process improvement.
There's a reference materialattached to it, et cetera.
So this is going to reallypower the beginning of the work
that you have, because to findthe gaps, you really need to see
what you actually own, and inthis particular scenario, there
(07:02):
were a number I would say justover 5,500 files in a given
SharePoint site.
We uncovered 44 to be of use,of necessity.
So going back and taking those44 assets are allowing us to get
(07:23):
a head start into operationaleffectiveness and efficiency.
Where are the assets that weneed to have in front of us?
The guidebook, the governancestructure, the flow map, how to
onboard a client all thesethings are really important, and
so you should have themorganized in a way that really
(07:45):
supports structure andconsistency with your
organization.
We also had the opportunity todevelop assets and enhance this
workflow with that Insight.
Number two create new assets,diagrams, refined workflows.
The idea here is that a pictureis worth a thousand words.
(08:06):
While we love to enter processand new SOPs and procedures into
a PowerPoint deck with bulletedlists over, slide, over slide,
over slide and expect people toactually read it, I challenge
you to show me a text that saysmore than an image.
(08:27):
Take that time, develop thatworkflow, develop that diagram
so that when somebody takes alook at it, they can see a flow
of activities in a particularorder over a span of time, with
the resources that are needed toconduct them and the
stakeholders that are involved.
Also, what is that input andwhat is the output of that
(08:49):
process and who else does itaffect?
These simple things are reallykey to really establishing a
culture of being able to reviewdiagrams and workflows in a more
visually friendly environment.
The objective here is tounderstand that current state
and then, once you have an ideaof what that current state, that
(09:11):
new workflow, looks like, thenyou can mold it into a more form
without overhauling theexisting process.
We're very quick to say, well,this process doesn't work, I
need to start something fresh.
Start with that one that exists, understand where the pinch
points are and create a newprocess going forward.
Insight number three, how do youget beyond workflow efficiency?
(09:36):
Effective communication andtransparency are going to be
critical in responding to change.
Developing efficient workflowsis essential, but the
transparency of these changesand the commitment to a unified
vision are key to successfulprocess improvement.
So what I mean to say is bringpeople.
(09:58):
If you find yourself in acloset in a room in an office
and you're designing all ofthese efficient workflows
because from your perspectivethey are going to bring
efficiency, from yourunderstanding of the workflows
and you neglect to bring in theactual party or stakeholders
that are involved, it is notgoing to pan out.
(10:18):
The way that processimprovement becomes effective is
when you include your client asa partner in the development.
It gives them ownership overthat process and it gives them
the knowledge of thearchitecture and the background
(10:41):
behind why this architecture haschanged.
I promise you this the morethat you involve your clients
(11:02):
into the solution, the more youinvolve your client into
building a solution, the morelikely they are to carry and
move that solution of processexcellence, which involves more
than just refining theoperations.
It's not enough to fix a systemto fix a process.
It requires rallying behind thecentral cause of operational
(11:26):
cohesion.
You need everyone else in thatorganization and everyone else
needs you Pursuing bothnear-term and long-term
objectives, embedding theculture.
Embedding this culture isconducive to continuous
improvement.
I can't tell you how manyindividuals, how many groups I
(11:47):
have worked with that are askingfor teams to put goals for
process improvement, putinitiatives together for
operational efficiency, to fix aprocess, to fix another, to fix
a workflow that deals withbringing on new consultants or
the financial aspect of it,budgeting, et cetera who's doing
(12:10):
what, who's costing what, who'sinvesting in what within a
given project.
Yet it's the fostering of thatculture, it's the championing of
a process improvement culturethat is ultimately going to
allow you to drive this in a waywhere you're not running uphill
anymore.
So start small, find a group ofpeople, find a collective where
(12:33):
this clicks.
It's not going to be foreverybody immediately and what I
think one of those you know,play to those fears, play to
those challenges that peoplehave where, well, I'm not really
good at these systems, well,I'm afraid that, because it's
continuous, things are alwaysgoing to be changing.
If things are constantlychanging, you are opening an
opportunity to your team, yourbusiness, your projects will
(12:58):
have additional opportunities.
Insight number five how do youcreate a workflow in a matrix
organization.
Strategic integration is key todeveloping operational
excellence at your organization.
Strategically linking key focusareas and creating streamlined
workflows as a means to unlocknew efficiencies and foster a
(13:23):
more agile organization or anorganizational structure is
gonna be key.
This approach is poised tocatalyze that organizational
growth and adaptability.
So how do you create thisstrategic interaction, this
strategic integration?
Well, look at all of theprocesses and systems that you
(13:43):
have available to you.
What are the ones that affectyou directly?
What are the ones that you'rein charge of versus other people
?
And those ones, those processes, those system workflows that
you are leading.
Where do they go?
Who do they touch?
Those things need to be inconsideration.
Take this If you take aoverfilled water balloon and you
(14:04):
decide to throw it in the air,what happens?
Does it go as one solid waterballoon and then come right back
down, or does it sort of bendand flex almost like a blob
flying through the air?
So this is how I look atorganizations that decide to run
innovation.
I'm sorry, this is how I vieworganizations that are looking
(14:25):
to initiate improvementinitiatives into their
organization without consideringoutside persons, outside
stakeholders from within theorganization.
So imagine this.
The budgeting team, the financeteam, decides that they're
going to update all of theirprocesses and they're going
through a process improvementinitiative, but they fail to
(14:48):
bring into perspective thepeople who are actually giving
the data to them, the inputs fortheir system, for their
workflows.
There's no training, there's nocommunication, simply an email
that goes out that says hey guys, we have a new workflow, here's
the workflow, let's do it.
How do you think that processis going to work out or not?
(15:10):
When we do these things withoutconsidering who our client is
in the organization, we are team, we are team members, we are
clients to each other In someway.
Each of these functions in eachof these departments performs
some level of a service tosupport other people, other
initiatives within that company.
(15:31):
So now what happens is that youhave a highly efficient way of
working within that particularspace.
Finance is the example that wehave here.
The challenge now is that noone else is an understanding of
what prompted this.
Who came up with the solution?
Is that the best solution?
(15:52):
It may be best for thatfunction or for that department,
but we're the ones that have todeal the brunt end of it
because now none of our systemsare adapted to support their new
workflow.
So it is key to really take ahuman-centered design lens to
(16:14):
optimize your process, bring instakeholders from various areas
to get all of those perspectives.
Once you acquire thoseperspectives, you could then
start to weed through somethingthat is bureaucratic, political,
versus something where therereally is a need to have a fix,
(16:39):
to have an update, to have anoptimization that affects more
than just your function.
Your goal as a team member inorganizations is not to make
your work as best as possible,it's to produce value to the
organization, and you can onlyproduce value to the
organization by doing it withyour teammates.
(17:02):
So next time we'll take a lookat insights six through 10 and
wrap up the initial project thatwe had with our recent client.
Thanks for coming along with usand, if you haven't had a
chance to take a look at it, wehave now developed four
assessments for R&D, clinicaloperations, facility readiness
and manufacturing excellence.
These assessments are designedto help guide you to the things
(17:27):
that are necessary in yoursector of biopharma.
Where do we need to start?
Fill out that assessment, youget a free report at the end of
it and if you decide to have aphone call with us.
We're going to also bring you amuch more detailed report that
will break down all of thedifferent sections and give you
(17:47):
tips on how you can improve inyour organization.
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