Author: Bryan E Wilson

I am a student, steward, servant.

Can 80/20 thinking impact IT decisions?

October 2, 2013

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Atlanta- While attending a NetApp executive briefing today in Atlanta, I caught myself daydreaming about how senior leaders can apply the Pareto Principle, or 80/20 Rule to make important organization decisions.

Using these 5 questions as guidelines, what key decisions can help your organization become more agile?

1. Improve employee productivity by eliminating or at least reducing activities that do not touch the customer.
2. Seek ways to reduce time to market bottlenecks in the supply chain. Study your “from Quote to Cash” decision tree to reduce complexity.
3. Be relentless to improve quality. Remember to focus on speed and simplicity.
4. Be able to quickly recover from unforeseen events. Don’t wait for a disaster, predict it.
5. Apply risk management and leverage proven architectures instead of implementing “cutting edge” technology that has not had time for the production bugs to be worked out yet.

How you apply 80/20 thinking? List the activities to be addressed, stack rank them and focus on a laser on the top 20%. Knock those activities out and then re-sort the remaining items on the list.

Let me know how it goes.

Remember to encourage excellence in everyone that you interact.

For a more detailed video segment on the 80/20 principle, click here:

Click below for Forbes.com’s approach to the 80/20 concept in the business realm:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/piyankajain/2013/05/26/the-8020-rule-of-analytics-every-cmo-should-know/

LEADERSHIP defined

February 4, 2013

leadership
My best friend, Jim Schimpf, struck up a conversation with a gentleman on a plane from Dallas (I think the gentleman’s name was Tom Sloan), who gave an acrostic on what Leadership is. Take a moment and think through what leadership means to you:

  • Listens – a leader listens intently and asks good questions
  • Ethical – a leader is ethical in all his/her activities and actions in personal and professional environments.
  • Analytical – a leader analyzes details to better understand the situation
  • Driven – a leader is driven to be excellent
  • Energy – a leader has energy and enthusiasm, sometimes known as charisma
  • Responsibility – a leader doesn’t hide behind others but takes responsibility
  • Shares – a leader will share success with others and deflect accolades to the team while serving the needs of his teammates.

Here is quick 2 min video that helps explain leadership and I hope that you continue to reach for your dreams.

Encourage Excellence,

Bryan

Does it work?

February 4, 2013

Have you ever hear of the Law of Attraction? Can it be the “secret” that people say that it is? Here is a short video that might awake your curiosity and make you think about how our minds do have an affect on our outlook and maybe even our outcome.

“You create your own universe as you go along.” Winston Churchill

Mr. 80/20

January 7, 2013

Happy New Year!

I received a note last week from one of my favorite authors who has had a huge influence on my business career. His name is Richard Koch and I’ve recommended his books to every team I have led and you will absolutely take away a ton of ideas from his several books.

Here is his site and a couple of interviews on his work with Pareto’s 80/20 Principle

http://www.richardkoch.net

http://leadersin.com/gurus/richard-koch

Until next time, Encourage Excellence!

Bryan

Where is your life going?

January 1, 2013

reflection

Where is your life going?

Galveston, TX – “If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed” – Anonymous

Everything we do either brings us closer to our goals or further away. When we think about the direction we are taking in our lives, are we moving “toward” our desired result? Or “away” from it?

There is a popular website that anyone can use to help them move toward their goals and dreams. http://www.simpleology.com is a great start when mapping your dreams, goals and accomplishments. Give it a try for 30 days and see what happens.

– Bryan

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” Da Vinci

January 1, 2013

mona lisa

Kennesaw – A huge shout out to my friend, Butch Adams, who encouraged me to continue writing more regularly on my blog and to share thoughts and experiences with my friends and Twitter followers. I read this morning the quote above from Leonardo Da Vinci that rings truer today than ever. Simplicity is needed in every facit of our lives. From work, school, and home…. living more simply reduces stress and encourages calm. It shortens the line between tasks to be quicker and less complex. It allows quicker review and analysis. I could go on and on but simplicity is so “money” as Vince Vaughan would say in “Swingers”.

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, gave an interview with The Harvard Business Review in 1989 where he listed Speed, Simplicity and Self Confidence as three key drivers in business.

http://hbr.org/1989/09/speed-simplicity-self-confidence-an-interview-with-jack-welch/ar/1

ImageWhen I arrived at GE in 1990, these 3 words were posted above the wall on the way into the office. We worked hard everyday living these ideas and I challenge you to read this HBR article and apply these concepts to your business career and your life.

I would love to hear from you sometime. My address is bryanewilson@gmail.com and I promise to get back to you with “speed, simplicity and self-confidence”!

#bryanewilson

2013 Happy New Year!

January 1, 2013

My desire for each of you is a happy and prosperous 2013. Live large, live intentionally and become the person that you want to be remembered for.

When I received my final 2012 analysis on who read and forwarded thoughts from this site, there were 7 countries represented and hundreds of readers who followed my posts. To my 5k+ Twitter followers, and my few close friends, thank you from the bottom of my heart for a wonderful life and I wish you all a happy 2013 and terrific future that you design and implement.

All my best,
Bryan

America’s True 1%

August 21, 2012

Kennesaw- Stephen Birmingham is a great author and researcher.  In his book, America’s Secret Aristocracy he pulls back the covers and gives his readers a glimpse of how America’s blue blood families really live.  He tells how the families interact, inter-marry, and socialize. 

“Thrift was an important Puritan concept, and out of this grew the Boston notion that the best way to conserve a family fortune was to live only on the income from one’s income.” – Stephen Birmingham

 

Simplicity

June 27, 2012

Kennesaw – A quick shout out to my friend, Butch Adams, who gave me some great insight on simplicity last week.  When I started work at GE in Cincinnati, there was a sign over the door that simply said,

“Speed, Simplicity, Self-confidence”.

http://hbr.org/1989/09/speed-simplicity-self-confidence-an-interview-with-jack-welch/ar/1

Our environment today benefits those who can quickly act, react and be decisive.  Not only in business but in most areas of our lives.  Take a minute and click on the link above and read the Harvard Business Review article with Jack Welch, former CEO of GE and see why he was such a visionary leader.  Oh, and by way, this concept is not exactly a new one.  Leonardo da Vinci  who died in 1519, penned, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.  It’s truer now than ever.

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#bryanewilson