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Feature Article:
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Operational Governance
-- By Greg Baker, President and CEO, Advance Consulting
Is your business experiencing any of the following problems?
- Groups working toward common goals are in conflict.
- Projects and initiatives bog down around decision making and control.
- Organizational factions are fighting, openly or subversively.
- Conflict is taking focus away from your customers, mission, and vision.
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If any of this looks familiar, your business and its people would probably benefit significantly from a dose of operational governance. What is that?
Operational governance is collectively agreeing on how decisions will be made, and by whom, before the decisions are made.
In the absence of defined operational governance there tends to be significant conflict, and the working environment becomes quite political – even Machiavellian. Negative influence prevails, the loudest voice wins, meetings result in arguments, secret factions vie for control, and back stabbing is common.
So what is everyone arguing about? Typical sources of conflict include:
- Disagreement over operational direction
- Fragmented control over money, resources, and priorities
- Battles over what to fund – and what not to fund
- Confusion around acceptance of deliverables and work products
 Whether the problem is at the highest level of the company (e.g., operational direction and major funding decisions) or within the lowest levels of a business process (e.g., work product review and acceptance authority), defining the rules around decision making in advance can dramatically improve operational performance and avoid wasteful conflict.
Transforming Wasted Enterprise Energy: Think of governance in terms of managing the energy of the enterprise. Any company or government agency has a finite amount of energy (mostly in the form of people and money) to accomplish its work. When there is conflict – opposing forces – a tremendous amount of energy is utilized by the conflicted parties to obtain their desired outcomes (e.g., emails and phone calls to build alliances, secret information gathering, meetings and conversations to organize and influence, etc.).
When it is clear in advance how decisions will be made, and by whom, there is a level of congruence that brings efficiency – and even peace – to the decision making. All of the energy that would have been wasted in conflict can now be used to accomplish the work of the enterprise. Add that up across all of the decision points in the enterprise and you’ve unleashed a tremendous amount of positive and productive energy!
 There is a gold mine in your business waiting to be tapped. For some useful tips on how to improve operational governance in your business, please see our Skills Corner.
It is helpful, especially in highly emotional areas of conflict, to employ the use of an experienced outside consultant to facilitate discussions and agreement on how decisions will be made, and by whom. Please contact us if you would like to find out more about how we can help you improve operational governance in your business. You can contact us at (831) 372-9444 or email us at info@advanceconsulting.com.
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Skills Corner - Improving Operational Governance
There are many types of operational decisions, and the mechanisms for each should be designed individually to ensure an optimum outcome. However, here are some general tips for improving your operational governance:
- Identify Areas for Improvement: Target areas of conflict. Where there is conflict, there are probably governance issues.
- Analyze Responsibilities: People who are responsible for a work element, small or large, should have commensurate control over it, including decision-making control.
- Empower and Align: Decide on group vs. individual decision making. Empower individual decision making for people who have commensurate responsibility, but also know where representation and group decision making are essential.
- Allow Input: For group decisions, agree on who should be involved and how each representative will have a voice.
- Employ Criteria: For any decision, identify the decision making criteria. This will remove subjectivity and personal bias, and provide appropriate parameters for decision making.
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What’s New at Advance Consulting?
Consultant Development Program
Advance Consulting is now offering a comprehensive approach for transforming professionals across industries and job types into skilled consultants capable of effectively partnering with their clients, stakeholders, and teammates. Our approach includes all aspects of preparation, skill development, reinforcement, systemic change, and measurement to ensure performance improvement and an overall shift in culture – the ultimate measure of success.
The Consultant Development Program is based on a modular approach. We assist clients in selecting the types and level of support they need. Whether it is individual skill training or a comprehensive top down business initiative, Advance Consulting can help you accomplish your goals.
We have a proven method for organizational change and training. Our senior consultants and facilitators are world-class and accessible regionally throughout the United States and internationally. Finally, our broad range of business experience gives us the perspective to deliver relevant, targeted services with high impact.
For more information, please contact us at info@advanceconsulting.com or call us at (831) 372-9444.
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About Us
Advance Consulting Inc., a premier management consulting and professional development firm, serves corporate and government clients in the U.S. and abroad. Established in 1990, Advance Consulting specializes in the transformation of people, teams, and organizations as they aspire to create their “Enterprises of the Future” with the ability to adapt and thrive in the turbulent and challenging global business environment. We work with our clients to build aligned consultative cultures by addressing the organizational, operational, and individual issues that are integral to an organization’s success in achieving desired business results.
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We’d appreciate hearing your thoughts and suggestions on how we can shape our newsletter to better meet your needs. Let us know what topics you’d like to see covered. Please contact us at info@advanceconsulting.com, or call us at (831) 372-9444.
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