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233 Really Good Questions Leaders Should Ask
San Diego, CA
Monday, November 20, 2006
Business author Tom Hinton
NEWS…. NEWS…. NEWS…. NEWS…. NEWS…. NEWS…..
Release Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2006
Point-of-Contact: Jean Greer, CRI Global, LLC
Telephone: 760-787-0414
Article Description: Creating a culture of excellence is hard work which, according to CRI Global's CEO Tom Hinton, is why very few companies ever reach their full potential. According to Hinton, while the process is simple, it requires leadership with a steadfast commitment to being the best in your industry. The fastest way to create a culture of excellence is for CEOs to ask their organization 233 questions. Then, persist in getting honest, fact-based answers.
"233 Really Good Questions Leaders Should Ask to Create a Culture of Excellence"
By Tom Hinton
San Diego, CA) -- When you consider how many companies and organizations are in business today, it is surprising that very few of them achieve a reputation for being excellent. Mediocrity abounds in all sectors. But why? Management experts believe there are fewer than 1,000 companies and organizations deemed "excellent" out of more than two million worldwide. If the experts are accurate, that is a very disappointing percentage by any measure.
For the past fourteen years, I have been researching and teaching organizations how to create a culture of excellence. I have studied the cultures, values, and profiles of several thousand companies and organizations representing the private, public, non-profit, and government sectors. While many of the organizations and companies I have studied are good companies, very few of these companies and organizations meet my definition of excellence. That definition is this: Excellence is a level of performance which is attained by maximizing the full talents and resources of the organization; and, that level of performance is validated by an external process using generally accepted objective criteria. This definition can also be applied to an athlete, student, or anyone who undertakes a major goal in life and achieves world class results. The sprinter's proof of excellence is not just winning the race, but perhaps, setting a new world record for fastest time.
Why is it that so few companies and organizations ever achieve excellence? I think the answer to this perplexing question can best be explained by looking at the processes leaders use to take their organizations to that ultimate level of performance that results in achieving excellence. While every leader is different and unique, most organizations and companies are not. In fact, they are boringly similar. They copy each other. They have a mission, vision, values, products and/or services, employees, technology, strategic plans, brick and mortar, and key success factors by which they gauge their performance and measure their success. So, if most organizations utilize these management tools and techniques, why is there so much mediocrity in our world?
I think the top reason mediocrity abounds in most industries is due to the fact that leaders don't ask the right questions. When leaders fail to ask the right questions, it takes them longer to identify their organizational strengths and opportunities for improvement. By not asking the right questions, most managers spend their day majoring in the minors instead of getting down to the root causes of the problems that inhibit customer satisfaction, attainment of desired financial results, and improvement of organizational and employee performance.
So, what are the right questions to ask? In researching this article, I talked with United States Army Colonel Doug Serrano, the Commanding Officer of the Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin (DDJC) located in Tracy, California about his process of asking "the right questions" DDJC is in the business of ensuring America's warriors get the right equipment at the right place, at the right time. When that doesn't happen, warfighters can't fight, or worse, they must fight without the full resources necessary to win. Under Colonel Serrano's command, DDJC has been formally recognized by the president of the United States and independent award programs for their commitment to excellence and best-in-class performance.
Over the past two years, Colonel Serrano has used a list of 233 really good questions that any leader can use to take their organizations from good to great. In the course of asking, considering, and honestly answering these questions, an organization cannot help but identify its strengths and opportunities for improvement. This is what Colonel Serrano has done. At DDJC, he has taken a good organization and transformed it into a world-class operation that is now benchmarked by other military commands as well as private sector entities. Colonel Serrano will be the first to tell you that DDJC is far from perfect. However, as an organization, DDJC is operating at a level of excellence that is unmatched by most organizations in the private and public sector.
How does Colonel Serrano know how well DDJC is doing? Well, first, he has been asking those 233 questions of his organization for the past three years. This is part of the process that Colonel Serrano uses, similar to that which the Army requires for all its commands, to conduct organizational self-assessments. Secondly, DDJC seeks an independent, external validation of its performance though the California Council for Excellence (CCE), a non-profit organization which administers the California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE program and recognizes applicants for their commitment to excellence at various levels. CAPE's program is based on the Baldrige National Quality Program and its Criteria for Performance Excellence. Finally, DDJC's leadership takes the feedback it receives from CCE's external assessment process and prioritizes the actions it will take to improve performance.
Like any organization, DDJC has limits – of time, money, people, and other resources. Colonel Serrano realizes that improvements must be made one day at a time and within these constraints. However, Colonel Serrano also knows that unless he champions continuous improvement every day, the process will likely not happen - certainly not as effectively and efficiently. "This is the role of the leader; to champion excellence and demand some measure of improvement every day from your organization," says Colonel Serrano. He adds, "But it is also the leader's job to ensure that people have the tools and resources necessary to make those changes that will help their organization improve and thrive"
By asking the right questions, a leader can ensure that his/her organization is focused on the 'vital few' – those processes and measures that propel the organization from good to great The leader can also ensure his/her organization has confidence in the continuous improvement process. "Giving people hope and confidence that you have a winning process goes a long way to ensuring that you will get great results," says Colonel Serrano.
So, what are those 233 really good questions leaders should be asking their organizations and then demanding honest, fact-based answers? I've listed them below. Their origins are from the language of the Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria for Performance Excellence. With Colonel Serrano's help, I've made them first-person plural to personalize them for any organization. According to Colonel Serrano, "If you just ask one question a day, and insist that your organization develop an honest and well-defined response, within a year you will have moved your organization much closer to excellence!"
1. What are our organization's main products and services?
2. What are the delivery mechanisms used to provide our products and services to our customers?
3. What is our organizational culture?
4. What are our stated purpose, vision, mission, and values?
5. What is our employee profile?
6. What are our categories and types of employees?
7. What are their educational levels?
8. What are our organization's workforce and job diversity, organized bargaining units, use of contract employees, and special health and safety requirements?
9. What are our major technologies, equipment, and facilities?
10. What is the regulatory environment under which our organization operates?
11. What are the applicable occupational health and safety regulations; accreditation, certification, or registration requirements; relevant industry standards; and environmental, financial, and product regulations?
12. What are our organizational structure and governance system?
13. What are the reporting relationships among our governance board, senior leaders, and parent organization, as appropriate?
14. What are our key customer and stakeholder groups and market segments, as appropriate?
15. What are their key requirements and expectations for our products, services, and operations?
16. What are the differences in these requirements and expectations among customer and stakeholder groups and market segments?
17. What role do suppliers and distributors play in our value creation and key support processes?
18. What role, if any, do they play in our organizational innovation processes?
19. What are our most important types of suppliers and distributors?
20. What are our most important supply chain requirements?
21. What are our key supplier and customer partnering relationships and communication mechanisms?
22. What is our competitive position?
23. What is our relative size and growth in our industry or markets served?
24. What are the numbers and types of competitors for our organization?
25. What are the principal factors that determine our success relative to our competitors?
26. What are any key changes taking place that affect our competitive situation?
27. What are our key available sources of comparative and competitive data from within our industry?
28. What are our key available sources of comparative data for analogous processes outside our industry?
29. What limitations, if any, are there in our ability to obtain these data?
30. What are our key business, operational, and human resource strategic challenges?
31. What are our key strategic challenges associated with organizational sustainability?
32. How do we maintain an overall organizational focus on performance improvement, including organizational learning?
33. How do we achieve systematic evaluation and improvement of key processes?
34. How do senior leaders set organizational vision and values?
35. How do senior leaders deploy our organization's vision and values through our leadership system, to all employees, to key suppliers and partners, and to customers, as appropriate?
36. How do their personal actions reflect a commitment to the organization's values?
37. How do senior leaders promote an environment that fosters and requires legal and ethical behavior?
38. How do senior leaders create a sustainable organization?
39. How do senior leaders create an environment for performance improvement, accomplishment of strategic objectives, innovation, and organizational agility?
40. How do they create an environment for organizational and employee learning?
41. How do they personally participate in succession planning and the development of future organizational leaders?
42. How do senior leaders communicate with, empower, and motivate all employees throughout the organization?
43. How do senior leaders encourage frank, two-way communication throughout the organization?
44. How do senior leaders take an active role in employee reward and recognition to reinforce high performance and a customer and business focus?
45. How do senior leaders create a focus on action to accomplish the organization's objectives, improve performance, and attain our vision?
46. How do senior leaders include a focus on creating and balancing value for customers and other stakeholders in their organizational performance expectations?
47. How does our organization address the following key factors in our governance system: accountability for management's actions; fiscal accountability; transparency in operations and selection and disclosure policies for governance board members, as appropriate; independence in internal and external audits; protection of stakeholder and stockholder interests, as appropriate?
48. How do we evaluate the performance of our senior leaders, including the chief executive?
49. How do we evaluate the performance of members of the governance board, as appropriate?
50. How do senior leaders and the governance board use these performance reviews to improve both their personal leadership effectiveness and that of our board and leadership system, as appropriate?
51. How do we address any adverse impacts on society of our products, services, and operations?
52. How do we anticipate public concerns with current and future products, services, and operations?
53. How do we prepare for these concerns in a proactive manner, including using resource-sustaining processes, as appropriate?
54. What are our key compliance processes, measures, and goals for achieving and surpassing regulatory and legal requirements, as appropriate?
55. What are our key processes, measures and goals for addressing risks associated with our products, services, and operations?
56. How does our organization promote and ensure ethical behavior in all our interactions?
57. What are our key processes and measures or indicators for enabling and monitoring ethical behavior in our governance structure, throughout our organization, and in interactions with customers and partners?
58. How do we monitor and respond to breaches of ethical behavior?
59. How does our organization actively support and strengthen our key communities?
60. How do we identify key communities and determine areas of emphasis for organizational involvement and support?
61. What are our key communities?
62. How do our senior leaders and our employees contribute to improving these communities?
63. How does our organization conduct its strategic planning?
64. What are the key process steps?
65. Who are the key participants?
66. How does our process identify potential blind spots?
67. What are our short- and longer-term planning time horizons?
68. How are these time horizons set?
69. How does our strategic planning process address these time horizons?
70. How do we ensure that strategic planning addresses the key factors listed below?
71. How do we collect and analyze relevant data and information pertaining to these factors as part of our strategic planning process: our organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; early indications of major shifts in technology, markets, competition, or the regulatory environment; long-term organizational sustainability and business continuity in emergencies; our ability to execute the strategic plan?
72. What are our key strategic objectives and our timetable for accomplishing them?
73. What are our most important goals for these strategic objectives?
74. How do our strategic objectives address the challenges identified in response to question numbers 30 and 31 above?
75. How do we ensure that our strategic objectives balance short- and longer-term challenges and opportunities?
76. How do we ensure that our strategic objectives balance the needs of all key stakeholders?
77. How do we develop and deploy action plans to achieve our key strategic objectives?
78. How do we allocate resources to ensure accomplishment of our action plans?
79. How do we ensure that the key changes resulting from our action plans can be sustained?
80. How do we establish and deploy modified action plans if circumstances require a shift in plans and rapid execution of new plans?
81. What are our key short- and longer-term action plans?
82. What are the key changes, if any, in our products and services and our customers and markets, and how we will operate?
83. What are our key human resource plans that derive from our short- and longer-term strategic objectives and action plans?
84. What are our key performance measures or indicators for tracking progress on our action plans?
85. How do we ensure that our overall action plan measurement system reinforces organizational alignment?
86. How do we ensure that the measurement system covers all key deployment areas and stakeholders?
87. For the key performance measures or indicators identified above, what are our performance projections for both our short- and longer-term planning time horizons?
88. How does our projected performance compare with the projected performance of our competitors or comparable organizations?
89. How does it compare with key benchmarks, goals, and past performance, as appropriate?
90. If there are current or projected gaps in performance against our competitors, how will we address them?
91. How do we identify customers, customer groups, and market segments?
92. How do we determine which customers, customer groups, and market segments to pursue for current and future products and services?
93. How do we include customers of competitors and other potential customers and markets in this determination?
94. How do we listen and learn to determine key customer requirements and changing expectations (including product and service features) and their relative importance to customers' purchasing decisions?
95. How do our determination methods vary for different customers or customer groups?
96. How do we use relevant information and feedback from current and former customers, including marketing and sales information, customer loyalty and retention data, win/loss analysis, and complaint data for purposes of product and service planning, marketing, process improvements, and other business development?
97. How do we use this information and feedback to become more customer focused and to better satisfy customer needs?
98. How do we keep our listening and learning methods current with business needs and directions, including changes in our marketplace?
99. How do we build relationships to acquire customers, to meet and exceed their expectations, to increase loyalty and repeat business, and to gain positive referrals?
100. How do our key access mechanisms enable customers to seek information, conduct business, and make complaints?
101. What are our key access mechanisms?
102. How do we determine key customer contact requirements for each mode of customer access?
103. How do we ensure that these contact requirements are deployed to all people and processes involved in the customer response chain?
104. How do we manage customer complaints?
105. How do we ensure that complaints are resolved effectively and promptly?
106. How do we minimize customer dissatisfaction and loss of repeat business?
107. How are complaints aggregated and analyzed for use in improvement throughout our organization and by our partners?
108. How do we keep our approaches to building relationships and providing customer access current with business needs and directions?
109. How do we determine customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction?
110. How do these determination methods differ among customer groups?
111. How do we ensure that our measurements capture actionable information for use in exceeding our customers' expectations, securing their future business, and gaining positive referrals?
112. How do we use customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction information for improvement?
113. How do we follow up with customers on products, services, and transaction quality to receive prompt and actionable feedback?
114. How do we obtain and use information on our customers' satisfaction relative to their satisfaction with our competitors and/or industry benchmarks?
115. How do we keep our approaches to determining satisfaction current with business needs and directions?
116. How do we select, collect, align, and integrate data and information for tracking daily operations and for tracking overall organizational performance, including progress relative to strategic objectives and action plans?
117. What are our key organizational performance measures?
118. How do we use these data and information to support organizational decision making and innovation?
119. How do we select and ensure the effective use of key comparative data and information to support operational and strategic decision making and innovation?
120. How do we keep our performance measurement system current with business needs and directions?
121. How do we ensure that our performance measurement system is sensitive to rapid or unexpected organizational or external changes?
122. How do we review organizational performance and capabilities?
123. How do our senior leaders participate in these reviews?
124. What analysis do we perform to support these reviews and to ensure that conclusions are valid?
125. How do we use these reviews to assess organizational success, competitive performance, and progress relative to strategic objectives and action plans?
126. How do we use these reviews to assess our organization's ability to rapidly respond to changing organizational needs and challenges in our operating environment?
127. How do we translate organizational performance review findings into priorities for continuous and breakthrough improvement and into opportunities for innovation?
128. How are these priorities and opportunities deployed to work group- and functional-level operations throughout our organization to enable effective support for their decision-making?
129. When appropriate, how are the priorities and opportunities deployed to our suppliers and partners to ensure organizational alignment?
130. How do we make needed data and information available?
131. How do we make them accessible to employees, suppliers and partners, and customers, as appropriate?
132. How do we ensure that hardware and software are reliable, secure, and user friendly?
133. How do we ensure the continued availability of data and information, including the availability of hardware and software systems, in the event of an emergency?
134. How do we keep our data and information availability mechanisms, including our software and hardware systems, current with business needs and directions and with technological changes in our operating environment?
135. How do we manage organizational knowledge to accomplish the following: the collection and transfer of employee knowledge; the transfer of relevant knowledge from and to customers, suppliers, and partners; the rapid identification, sharing, and implementation of best practices?
136. How do we ensure the following properties of our data, information, and organizational knowledge: accuracy; integrity and reliability; timeliness; security and confidentiality?
137. How do we organize and manage work and jobs, including skills, to promote cooperation, initiative, empowerment, innovation, and our organizational culture?
138. How do we organize and manage work and jobs, including skills, to achieve the agility to keep current with business needs and to achieve our action plans?
139. How do our work systems capitalize on the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of our employees and the communities with which we interact (our employee hiring and our customer communities)?
140. How do we achieve effective communication and skill sharing across work units, jobs, and locations?
141. How does our employee performance management system, including feedback to employees, support high-performance work and contribute to the achievement of our action plans?
142. How does our employee performance management system support a customer and business focus?
143. How do our compensation, recognition, and related reward and incentive practices reinforce high-performance work and a customer and business focus?
144. How do we identify characteristics and skills needed by potential employees?
145. How do we recruit, hire, and retain new employees?
146. How do we ensure that the employees represent the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of our employee hiring community?
147. How do we accomplish effective succession planning for leadership and management positions?
148. How do we manage effective career progression for all employees throughout the organization?
149. How do employee education and training contribute to the achievement of our action plans?
150. How do our employee education, training, and development address our key needs associated with organizational performance measurement, performance improvement, and technological change?
151. How does our education and training approach balance short- and longer-term organizational objectives with employee needs for development, ongoing learning, and career progression?
152. How do employee education, training, and development address our key organizational needs associated with new employee orientation, diversity, ethical business practices, and management and leadership development?
153. How do employee education, training, and development address our key organizational needs associated with employee, workplace, and environmental safety?
154. How do we seek and use input from employees and their supervisors and managers on education, training, and development needs?
155. How do we incorporate our organizational learning and knowledge assets into our education and training?
156. How do we deliver education and training?
157. How do we seek and use input from employees and their supervisors and managers in determining our delivery approaches?
158. How do we use both formal and informal delivery approaches, including mentoring and other approaches, as appropriate?
159. How do we reinforce the use of new knowledge and skills on the job and retain this knowledge for long-term organizational use?
160. How do we systematically transfer knowledge from departing or retiring employees?
161. How do we evaluate the effectiveness of education and training, taking into account individual and organizational performance?
162. How do we motivate employees to develop and utilize their full potential?
163. How does our organization use formal and informal mechanisms to help employees attain job- and career-related development and learning objectives?
164. How do managers and supervisors help employees attain job- and career-related development and learning objectives?
165. How do we ensure and improve workplace health, safety, security, and ergonomics in a proactive manner?
166. How do employees take part in these improvement efforts?
167. What are our performance measures or improvement targets for each of these key workplace factors?
168. What are the significant differences in these workplace factors and performance measures or targets if different employee groups and work units have different work environments?
169. How do we ensure workplace preparedness for disasters or emergencies?
170. How do we determine the key factors that affect employee well-being, satisfaction, and motivation?
171. How are these factors segmented for a diverse workforce and for different categories and types of employees?
172. How do we support our employees via services, benefits, and policies?
173. How are these tailored to the needs of a diverse workforce and different categories and types of employees?
174. What formal and informal assessment methods and measures do we use to determine employee well-being, satisfaction, and motivation?
175. How do these methods and measures differ across a diverse workforce and different categories and types of employees?
176. How do we use other indicators, such as employee retention, absenteeism, grievances, safety, and productivity, to assess and improve employee well-being, satisfaction, and motivation?
177. How do we relate assessment findings to key business results to identify priorities for improving the work environment and employee support climate?
178. How does our organization determine its key value creation processes?
179. What are our organization's key product, service, and business processes for creating or adding value?
180. How do these processes contribute to profitability and business success?
181. How do we determine key value creation process requirements, incorporating input from customers, suppliers, and partners, as appropriate?
182. What are the key requirements for these processes?
183. How do we design these processes to meet all the key requirements?
184. How do we incorporate new technology, organizational knowledge, and the potential need for agility into the design of these processes?
185. How do we incorporate cycle time, productivity, cost control, and other efficiency and effectiveness factors into the design of these processes?
186. How do we implement these processes to ensure they meet design requirements?
187. What are our key performance measures or indicators used for the control and improvement of our value creation processes?
188. How does our day-to-day operation of these processes ensure meeting key process requirements?
189. How are in-process measures used in managing these processes?
190. How is customer, supplier, and partner input used in managing these processes, as appropriate?
191. How do we minimize overall costs associated with inspections, tests, and process or performance audits, as appropriate?
192. How do we prevent defects and rework, and minimize warranty costs, as appropriate?
193. How do we improve our value creation processes to achieve better performance, to reduce variability, to improve products and services, and to keep the processes current with business needs and directions?
194. How are improvements and lessons learned shared with other organizational units and processes to drive organizational learning and innovation?
195. How does our organization determine its key support processes?
196. What are our key processes for supporting our value creation processes?
197. How do we determine key support process requirements, incorporating input from internal and external customers, and suppliers and partners, as appropriate?
198. What are the key requirements for these processes?
199. How do we design these processes to meet all the key requirements?
200. How do we incorporate new technology, organizational knowledge, and the potential need for agility into the design of these processes?
201. How do we incorporate cycle time, productivity, cost control, and other efficiency and effectiveness factors into the design of these processes?
202. How do we implement these processes to ensure they meet design requirements?
203. What are our key performance measures or indicators used for the control and improvement of our support processes?
204. How does our day-to-day operation of key support processes ensure meeting key performance requirements?
205. How are in-process measures used in managing these processes?
206. How is customer, supplier, and partner input used in managing these processes, as appropriate?
207. How do we minimize overall costs associated with inspections, tests, and process or performance audits, as appropriate?
208. How do we prevent defects and rework?
209. How do we improve our support processes to achieve better performance, to reduce variability, and to keep them current with business needs and directions?
210. How are improvements and lessons learned shared with other organizational units and processes to drive organizational learning and innovation?
211. How does our organization ensure adequate financial resources are available to support our operations?
212. How do we determine the resources needed to meet current financial obligations?
213. How do we ensure adequate resources are available to support major new business investments?
214. How do we assess the financial risks associated with our current business operations and major new business investments?
215. How do we ensure continuity of operations in the event of an emergency?
216. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of product and service performance that are important to our customers?
217. How do these results compare with our competitors' performance?
218. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction?
219. How do these compare with competitors' levels of customer satisfaction?
220. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of customer-perceived value, including customer loyalty and retention, positive referral, and other aspects of building relationships with customers, as appropriate?
221. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of financial performance, including aggregate measures of financial return and economic value, as appropriate?
222. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of marketplace performance, including market share or position, business growth, and new markets entered, as appropriate?
223. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of work system performance and effectiveness?
224. What are our current levels and trends in key measures of employee learning and development?
225. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of employee well-being, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction?
226. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of the operational performance of our key value creation processes? Include productivity, cycle time, supplier and partner performance, and other appropriate measures of effectiveness and efficiency.
227. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of the operational performance of our other key processes? Include productivity, cycle time, supplier and partner performance, and other appropriate measures of effectiveness and efficiency.
228. What are our results for key measures or indicators of accomplishment of our organizational strategy and action plans?
229. What are our results for key measures or indicators of ethical behavior and of stakeholder trust in the senior leaders and governance of our organization?
230. What are our results for key measures or indicators of breaches of ethical behavior?
231. What are our key current findings and trends in key measures or indicators of fiscal accountability, both internal and external, as appropriate?
232. What are our results for key measures or indicators of regulatory and legal compliance?
233. What are our results for key measures or indicators of organizational citizenship in support of our key communities?
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About the Author: Tom Hinton is America's Expert on Business Excellence. He is the president of CRI Global, LLC, an international training and consulting firm based in San Diego, California. Mr. Hinton is the author of three books and a frequent speaker at business meetings and association conferences. He can be reached at 1-800-544-0414 or via email at tom@tomhinton.com. His website is: www.tomhinton.com
Release Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2006
Point-of-Contact: Jean Greer, CRI Global, LLC
Telephone: 760-787-0414
Article Description: Creating a culture of excellence is hard work which, according to CRI Global's CEO Tom Hinton, is why very few companies ever reach their full potential. According to Hinton, while the process is simple, it requires leadership with a steadfast commitment to being the best in your industry. The fastest way to create a culture of excellence is for CEOs to ask their organization 233 questions. Then, persist in getting honest, fact-based answers.
"233 Really Good Questions Leaders Should Ask to Create a Culture of Excellence"
By Tom Hinton
San Diego, CA) -- When you consider how many companies and organizations are in business today, it is surprising that very few of them achieve a reputation for being excellent. Mediocrity abounds in all sectors. But why? Management experts believe there are fewer than 1,000 companies and organizations deemed "excellent" out of more than two million worldwide. If the experts are accurate, that is a very disappointing percentage by any measure.
For the past fourteen years, I have been researching and teaching organizations how to create a culture of excellence. I have studied the cultures, values, and profiles of several thousand companies and organizations representing the private, public, non-profit, and government sectors. While many of the organizations and companies I have studied are good companies, very few of these companies and organizations meet my definition of excellence. That definition is this: Excellence is a level of performance which is attained by maximizing the full talents and resources of the organization; and, that level of performance is validated by an external process using generally accepted objective criteria. This definition can also be applied to an athlete, student, or anyone who undertakes a major goal in life and achieves world class results. The sprinter's proof of excellence is not just winning the race, but perhaps, setting a new world record for fastest time.
Why is it that so few companies and organizations ever achieve excellence? I think the answer to this perplexing question can best be explained by looking at the processes leaders use to take their organizations to that ultimate level of performance that results in achieving excellence. While every leader is different and unique, most organizations and companies are not. In fact, they are boringly similar. They copy each other. They have a mission, vision, values, products and/or services, employees, technology, strategic plans, brick and mortar, and key success factors by which they gauge their performance and measure their success. So, if most organizations utilize these management tools and techniques, why is there so much mediocrity in our world?
I think the top reason mediocrity abounds in most industries is due to the fact that leaders don't ask the right questions. When leaders fail to ask the right questions, it takes them longer to identify their organizational strengths and opportunities for improvement. By not asking the right questions, most managers spend their day majoring in the minors instead of getting down to the root causes of the problems that inhibit customer satisfaction, attainment of desired financial results, and improvement of organizational and employee performance.
So, what are the right questions to ask? In researching this article, I talked with United States Army Colonel Doug Serrano, the Commanding Officer of the Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin (DDJC) located in Tracy, California about his process of asking "the right questions" DDJC is in the business of ensuring America's warriors get the right equipment at the right place, at the right time. When that doesn't happen, warfighters can't fight, or worse, they must fight without the full resources necessary to win. Under Colonel Serrano's command, DDJC has been formally recognized by the president of the United States and independent award programs for their commitment to excellence and best-in-class performance.
Over the past two years, Colonel Serrano has used a list of 233 really good questions that any leader can use to take their organizations from good to great. In the course of asking, considering, and honestly answering these questions, an organization cannot help but identify its strengths and opportunities for improvement. This is what Colonel Serrano has done. At DDJC, he has taken a good organization and transformed it into a world-class operation that is now benchmarked by other military commands as well as private sector entities. Colonel Serrano will be the first to tell you that DDJC is far from perfect. However, as an organization, DDJC is operating at a level of excellence that is unmatched by most organizations in the private and public sector.
How does Colonel Serrano know how well DDJC is doing? Well, first, he has been asking those 233 questions of his organization for the past three years. This is part of the process that Colonel Serrano uses, similar to that which the Army requires for all its commands, to conduct organizational self-assessments. Secondly, DDJC seeks an independent, external validation of its performance though the California Council for Excellence (CCE), a non-profit organization which administers the California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE program and recognizes applicants for their commitment to excellence at various levels. CAPE's program is based on the Baldrige National Quality Program and its Criteria for Performance Excellence. Finally, DDJC's leadership takes the feedback it receives from CCE's external assessment process and prioritizes the actions it will take to improve performance.
Like any organization, DDJC has limits – of time, money, people, and other resources. Colonel Serrano realizes that improvements must be made one day at a time and within these constraints. However, Colonel Serrano also knows that unless he champions continuous improvement every day, the process will likely not happen - certainly not as effectively and efficiently. "This is the role of the leader; to champion excellence and demand some measure of improvement every day from your organization," says Colonel Serrano. He adds, "But it is also the leader's job to ensure that people have the tools and resources necessary to make those changes that will help their organization improve and thrive"
By asking the right questions, a leader can ensure that his/her organization is focused on the 'vital few' – those processes and measures that propel the organization from good to great The leader can also ensure his/her organization has confidence in the continuous improvement process. "Giving people hope and confidence that you have a winning process goes a long way to ensuring that you will get great results," says Colonel Serrano.
So, what are those 233 really good questions leaders should be asking their organizations and then demanding honest, fact-based answers? I've listed them below. Their origins are from the language of the Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria for Performance Excellence. With Colonel Serrano's help, I've made them first-person plural to personalize them for any organization. According to Colonel Serrano, "If you just ask one question a day, and insist that your organization develop an honest and well-defined response, within a year you will have moved your organization much closer to excellence!"
1. What are our organization's main products and services?
2. What are the delivery mechanisms used to provide our products and services to our customers?
3. What is our organizational culture?
4. What are our stated purpose, vision, mission, and values?
5. What is our employee profile?
6. What are our categories and types of employees?
7. What are their educational levels?
8. What are our organization's workforce and job diversity, organized bargaining units, use of contract employees, and special health and safety requirements?
9. What are our major technologies, equipment, and facilities?
10. What is the regulatory environment under which our organization operates?
11. What are the applicable occupational health and safety regulations; accreditation, certification, or registration requirements; relevant industry standards; and environmental, financial, and product regulations?
12. What are our organizational structure and governance system?
13. What are the reporting relationships among our governance board, senior leaders, and parent organization, as appropriate?
14. What are our key customer and stakeholder groups and market segments, as appropriate?
15. What are their key requirements and expectations for our products, services, and operations?
16. What are the differences in these requirements and expectations among customer and stakeholder groups and market segments?
17. What role do suppliers and distributors play in our value creation and key support processes?
18. What role, if any, do they play in our organizational innovation processes?
19. What are our most important types of suppliers and distributors?
20. What are our most important supply chain requirements?
21. What are our key supplier and customer partnering relationships and communication mechanisms?
22. What is our competitive position?
23. What is our relative size and growth in our industry or markets served?
24. What are the numbers and types of competitors for our organization?
25. What are the principal factors that determine our success relative to our competitors?
26. What are any key changes taking place that affect our competitive situation?
27. What are our key available sources of comparative and competitive data from within our industry?
28. What are our key available sources of comparative data for analogous processes outside our industry?
29. What limitations, if any, are there in our ability to obtain these data?
30. What are our key business, operational, and human resource strategic challenges?
31. What are our key strategic challenges associated with organizational sustainability?
32. How do we maintain an overall organizational focus on performance improvement, including organizational learning?
33. How do we achieve systematic evaluation and improvement of key processes?
34. How do senior leaders set organizational vision and values?
35. How do senior leaders deploy our organization's vision and values through our leadership system, to all employees, to key suppliers and partners, and to customers, as appropriate?
36. How do their personal actions reflect a commitment to the organization's values?
37. How do senior leaders promote an environment that fosters and requires legal and ethical behavior?
38. How do senior leaders create a sustainable organization?
39. How do senior leaders create an environment for performance improvement, accomplishment of strategic objectives, innovation, and organizational agility?
40. How do they create an environment for organizational and employee learning?
41. How do they personally participate in succession planning and the development of future organizational leaders?
42. How do senior leaders communicate with, empower, and motivate all employees throughout the organization?
43. How do senior leaders encourage frank, two-way communication throughout the organization?
44. How do senior leaders take an active role in employee reward and recognition to reinforce high performance and a customer and business focus?
45. How do senior leaders create a focus on action to accomplish the organization's objectives, improve performance, and attain our vision?
46. How do senior leaders include a focus on creating and balancing value for customers and other stakeholders in their organizational performance expectations?
47. How does our organization address the following key factors in our governance system: accountability for management's actions; fiscal accountability; transparency in operations and selection and disclosure policies for governance board members, as appropriate; independence in internal and external audits; protection of stakeholder and stockholder interests, as appropriate?
48. How do we evaluate the performance of our senior leaders, including the chief executive?
49. How do we evaluate the performance of members of the governance board, as appropriate?
50. How do senior leaders and the governance board use these performance reviews to improve both their personal leadership effectiveness and that of our board and leadership system, as appropriate?
51. How do we address any adverse impacts on society of our products, services, and operations?
52. How do we anticipate public concerns with current and future products, services, and operations?
53. How do we prepare for these concerns in a proactive manner, including using resource-sustaining processes, as appropriate?
54. What are our key compliance processes, measures, and goals for achieving and surpassing regulatory and legal requirements, as appropriate?
55. What are our key processes, measures and goals for addressing risks associated with our products, services, and operations?
56. How does our organization promote and ensure ethical behavior in all our interactions?
57. What are our key processes and measures or indicators for enabling and monitoring ethical behavior in our governance structure, throughout our organization, and in interactions with customers and partners?
58. How do we monitor and respond to breaches of ethical behavior?
59. How does our organization actively support and strengthen our key communities?
60. How do we identify key communities and determine areas of emphasis for organizational involvement and support?
61. What are our key communities?
62. How do our senior leaders and our employees contribute to improving these communities?
63. How does our organization conduct its strategic planning?
64. What are the key process steps?
65. Who are the key participants?
66. How does our process identify potential blind spots?
67. What are our short- and longer-term planning time horizons?
68. How are these time horizons set?
69. How does our strategic planning process address these time horizons?
70. How do we ensure that strategic planning addresses the key factors listed below?
71. How do we collect and analyze relevant data and information pertaining to these factors as part of our strategic planning process: our organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; early indications of major shifts in technology, markets, competition, or the regulatory environment; long-term organizational sustainability and business continuity in emergencies; our ability to execute the strategic plan?
72. What are our key strategic objectives and our timetable for accomplishing them?
73. What are our most important goals for these strategic objectives?
74. How do our strategic objectives address the challenges identified in response to question numbers 30 and 31 above?
75. How do we ensure that our strategic objectives balance short- and longer-term challenges and opportunities?
76. How do we ensure that our strategic objectives balance the needs of all key stakeholders?
77. How do we develop and deploy action plans to achieve our key strategic objectives?
78. How do we allocate resources to ensure accomplishment of our action plans?
79. How do we ensure that the key changes resulting from our action plans can be sustained?
80. How do we establish and deploy modified action plans if circumstances require a shift in plans and rapid execution of new plans?
81. What are our key short- and longer-term action plans?
82. What are the key changes, if any, in our products and services and our customers and markets, and how we will operate?
83. What are our key human resource plans that derive from our short- and longer-term strategic objectives and action plans?
84. What are our key performance measures or indicators for tracking progress on our action plans?
85. How do we ensure that our overall action plan measurement system reinforces organizational alignment?
86. How do we ensure that the measurement system covers all key deployment areas and stakeholders?
87. For the key performance measures or indicators identified above, what are our performance projections for both our short- and longer-term planning time horizons?
88. How does our projected performance compare with the projected performance of our competitors or comparable organizations?
89. How does it compare with key benchmarks, goals, and past performance, as appropriate?
90. If there are current or projected gaps in performance against our competitors, how will we address them?
91. How do we identify customers, customer groups, and market segments?
92. How do we determine which customers, customer groups, and market segments to pursue for current and future products and services?
93. How do we include customers of competitors and other potential customers and markets in this determination?
94. How do we listen and learn to determine key customer requirements and changing expectations (including product and service features) and their relative importance to customers' purchasing decisions?
95. How do our determination methods vary for different customers or customer groups?
96. How do we use relevant information and feedback from current and former customers, including marketing and sales information, customer loyalty and retention data, win/loss analysis, and complaint data for purposes of product and service planning, marketing, process improvements, and other business development?
97. How do we use this information and feedback to become more customer focused and to better satisfy customer needs?
98. How do we keep our listening and learning methods current with business needs and directions, including changes in our marketplace?
99. How do we build relationships to acquire customers, to meet and exceed their expectations, to increase loyalty and repeat business, and to gain positive referrals?
100. How do our key access mechanisms enable customers to seek information, conduct business, and make complaints?
101. What are our key access mechanisms?
102. How do we determine key customer contact requirements for each mode of customer access?
103. How do we ensure that these contact requirements are deployed to all people and processes involved in the customer response chain?
104. How do we manage customer complaints?
105. How do we ensure that complaints are resolved effectively and promptly?
106. How do we minimize customer dissatisfaction and loss of repeat business?
107. How are complaints aggregated and analyzed for use in improvement throughout our organization and by our partners?
108. How do we keep our approaches to building relationships and providing customer access current with business needs and directions?
109. How do we determine customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction?
110. How do these determination methods differ among customer groups?
111. How do we ensure that our measurements capture actionable information for use in exceeding our customers' expectations, securing their future business, and gaining positive referrals?
112. How do we use customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction information for improvement?
113. How do we follow up with customers on products, services, and transaction quality to receive prompt and actionable feedback?
114. How do we obtain and use information on our customers' satisfaction relative to their satisfaction with our competitors and/or industry benchmarks?
115. How do we keep our approaches to determining satisfaction current with business needs and directions?
116. How do we select, collect, align, and integrate data and information for tracking daily operations and for tracking overall organizational performance, including progress relative to strategic objectives and action plans?
117. What are our key organizational performance measures?
118. How do we use these data and information to support organizational decision making and innovation?
119. How do we select and ensure the effective use of key comparative data and information to support operational and strategic decision making and innovation?
120. How do we keep our performance measurement system current with business needs and directions?
121. How do we ensure that our performance measurement system is sensitive to rapid or unexpected organizational or external changes?
122. How do we review organizational performance and capabilities?
123. How do our senior leaders participate in these reviews?
124. What analysis do we perform to support these reviews and to ensure that conclusions are valid?
125. How do we use these reviews to assess organizational success, competitive performance, and progress relative to strategic objectives and action plans?
126. How do we use these reviews to assess our organization's ability to rapidly respond to changing organizational needs and challenges in our operating environment?
127. How do we translate organizational performance review findings into priorities for continuous and breakthrough improvement and into opportunities for innovation?
128. How are these priorities and opportunities deployed to work group- and functional-level operations throughout our organization to enable effective support for their decision-making?
129. When appropriate, how are the priorities and opportunities deployed to our suppliers and partners to ensure organizational alignment?
130. How do we make needed data and information available?
131. How do we make them accessible to employees, suppliers and partners, and customers, as appropriate?
132. How do we ensure that hardware and software are reliable, secure, and user friendly?
133. How do we ensure the continued availability of data and information, including the availability of hardware and software systems, in the event of an emergency?
134. How do we keep our data and information availability mechanisms, including our software and hardware systems, current with business needs and directions and with technological changes in our operating environment?
135. How do we manage organizational knowledge to accomplish the following: the collection and transfer of employee knowledge; the transfer of relevant knowledge from and to customers, suppliers, and partners; the rapid identification, sharing, and implementation of best practices?
136. How do we ensure the following properties of our data, information, and organizational knowledge: accuracy; integrity and reliability; timeliness; security and confidentiality?
137. How do we organize and manage work and jobs, including skills, to promote cooperation, initiative, empowerment, innovation, and our organizational culture?
138. How do we organize and manage work and jobs, including skills, to achieve the agility to keep current with business needs and to achieve our action plans?
139. How do our work systems capitalize on the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of our employees and the communities with which we interact (our employee hiring and our customer communities)?
140. How do we achieve effective communication and skill sharing across work units, jobs, and locations?
141. How does our employee performance management system, including feedback to employees, support high-performance work and contribute to the achievement of our action plans?
142. How does our employee performance management system support a customer and business focus?
143. How do our compensation, recognition, and related reward and incentive practices reinforce high-performance work and a customer and business focus?
144. How do we identify characteristics and skills needed by potential employees?
145. How do we recruit, hire, and retain new employees?
146. How do we ensure that the employees represent the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of our employee hiring community?
147. How do we accomplish effective succession planning for leadership and management positions?
148. How do we manage effective career progression for all employees throughout the organization?
149. How do employee education and training contribute to the achievement of our action plans?
150. How do our employee education, training, and development address our key needs associated with organizational performance measurement, performance improvement, and technological change?
151. How does our education and training approach balance short- and longer-term organizational objectives with employee needs for development, ongoing learning, and career progression?
152. How do employee education, training, and development address our key organizational needs associated with new employee orientation, diversity, ethical business practices, and management and leadership development?
153. How do employee education, training, and development address our key organizational needs associated with employee, workplace, and environmental safety?
154. How do we seek and use input from employees and their supervisors and managers on education, training, and development needs?
155. How do we incorporate our organizational learning and knowledge assets into our education and training?
156. How do we deliver education and training?
157. How do we seek and use input from employees and their supervisors and managers in determining our delivery approaches?
158. How do we use both formal and informal delivery approaches, including mentoring and other approaches, as appropriate?
159. How do we reinforce the use of new knowledge and skills on the job and retain this knowledge for long-term organizational use?
160. How do we systematically transfer knowledge from departing or retiring employees?
161. How do we evaluate the effectiveness of education and training, taking into account individual and organizational performance?
162. How do we motivate employees to develop and utilize their full potential?
163. How does our organization use formal and informal mechanisms to help employees attain job- and career-related development and learning objectives?
164. How do managers and supervisors help employees attain job- and career-related development and learning objectives?
165. How do we ensure and improve workplace health, safety, security, and ergonomics in a proactive manner?
166. How do employees take part in these improvement efforts?
167. What are our performance measures or improvement targets for each of these key workplace factors?
168. What are the significant differences in these workplace factors and performance measures or targets if different employee groups and work units have different work environments?
169. How do we ensure workplace preparedness for disasters or emergencies?
170. How do we determine the key factors that affect employee well-being, satisfaction, and motivation?
171. How are these factors segmented for a diverse workforce and for different categories and types of employees?
172. How do we support our employees via services, benefits, and policies?
173. How are these tailored to the needs of a diverse workforce and different categories and types of employees?
174. What formal and informal assessment methods and measures do we use to determine employee well-being, satisfaction, and motivation?
175. How do these methods and measures differ across a diverse workforce and different categories and types of employees?
176. How do we use other indicators, such as employee retention, absenteeism, grievances, safety, and productivity, to assess and improve employee well-being, satisfaction, and motivation?
177. How do we relate assessment findings to key business results to identify priorities for improving the work environment and employee support climate?
178. How does our organization determine its key value creation processes?
179. What are our organization's key product, service, and business processes for creating or adding value?
180. How do these processes contribute to profitability and business success?
181. How do we determine key value creation process requirements, incorporating input from customers, suppliers, and partners, as appropriate?
182. What are the key requirements for these processes?
183. How do we design these processes to meet all the key requirements?
184. How do we incorporate new technology, organizational knowledge, and the potential need for agility into the design of these processes?
185. How do we incorporate cycle time, productivity, cost control, and other efficiency and effectiveness factors into the design of these processes?
186. How do we implement these processes to ensure they meet design requirements?
187. What are our key performance measures or indicators used for the control and improvement of our value creation processes?
188. How does our day-to-day operation of these processes ensure meeting key process requirements?
189. How are in-process measures used in managing these processes?
190. How is customer, supplier, and partner input used in managing these processes, as appropriate?
191. How do we minimize overall costs associated with inspections, tests, and process or performance audits, as appropriate?
192. How do we prevent defects and rework, and minimize warranty costs, as appropriate?
193. How do we improve our value creation processes to achieve better performance, to reduce variability, to improve products and services, and to keep the processes current with business needs and directions?
194. How are improvements and lessons learned shared with other organizational units and processes to drive organizational learning and innovation?
195. How does our organization determine its key support processes?
196. What are our key processes for supporting our value creation processes?
197. How do we determine key support process requirements, incorporating input from internal and external customers, and suppliers and partners, as appropriate?
198. What are the key requirements for these processes?
199. How do we design these processes to meet all the key requirements?
200. How do we incorporate new technology, organizational knowledge, and the potential need for agility into the design of these processes?
201. How do we incorporate cycle time, productivity, cost control, and other efficiency and effectiveness factors into the design of these processes?
202. How do we implement these processes to ensure they meet design requirements?
203. What are our key performance measures or indicators used for the control and improvement of our support processes?
204. How does our day-to-day operation of key support processes ensure meeting key performance requirements?
205. How are in-process measures used in managing these processes?
206. How is customer, supplier, and partner input used in managing these processes, as appropriate?
207. How do we minimize overall costs associated with inspections, tests, and process or performance audits, as appropriate?
208. How do we prevent defects and rework?
209. How do we improve our support processes to achieve better performance, to reduce variability, and to keep them current with business needs and directions?
210. How are improvements and lessons learned shared with other organizational units and processes to drive organizational learning and innovation?
211. How does our organization ensure adequate financial resources are available to support our operations?
212. How do we determine the resources needed to meet current financial obligations?
213. How do we ensure adequate resources are available to support major new business investments?
214. How do we assess the financial risks associated with our current business operations and major new business investments?
215. How do we ensure continuity of operations in the event of an emergency?
216. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of product and service performance that are important to our customers?
217. How do these results compare with our competitors' performance?
218. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction?
219. How do these compare with competitors' levels of customer satisfaction?
220. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of customer-perceived value, including customer loyalty and retention, positive referral, and other aspects of building relationships with customers, as appropriate?
221. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of financial performance, including aggregate measures of financial return and economic value, as appropriate?
222. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of marketplace performance, including market share or position, business growth, and new markets entered, as appropriate?
223. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of work system performance and effectiveness?
224. What are our current levels and trends in key measures of employee learning and development?
225. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of employee well-being, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction?
226. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of the operational performance of our key value creation processes? Include productivity, cycle time, supplier and partner performance, and other appropriate measures of effectiveness and efficiency.
227. What are our current levels and trends in key measures or indicators of the operational performance of our other key processes? Include productivity, cycle time, supplier and partner performance, and other appropriate measures of effectiveness and efficiency.
228. What are our results for key measures or indicators of accomplishment of our organizational strategy and action plans?
229. What are our results for key measures or indicators of ethical behavior and of stakeholder trust in the senior leaders and governance of our organization?
230. What are our results for key measures or indicators of breaches of ethical behavior?
231. What are our key current findings and trends in key measures or indicators of fiscal accountability, both internal and external, as appropriate?
232. What are our results for key measures or indicators of regulatory and legal compliance?
233. What are our results for key measures or indicators of organizational citizenship in support of our key communities?
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About the Author: Tom Hinton is America's Expert on Business Excellence. He is the president of CRI Global, LLC, an international training and consulting firm based in San Diego, California. Mr. Hinton is the author of three books and a frequent speaker at business meetings and association conferences. He can be reached at 1-800-544-0414 or via email at tom@tomhinton.com. His website is: www.tomhinton.com
Jean Greer
Administrative Director
Customer Relations Institute, LLC
San Diego, CA
800-544-0414
First Url: Tom Hinton
Second Url: CRI Global, LLC
