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Deferring Audit Dates – Be Careful

2012-02-20T08:23:00.000+11:00

I have blogged before about why you should not postpone audits (see http://johnmasoncomau.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/change-certification-dates-good-idea.html) but it can also impact on your certification status as well. In particular around anniversaries of post certification audit plans and the biggy, the recertification audit itself.

JAS-ANZ mandates that an audit must be completed within 12 months of the last review. Within, not ‘around’. Should they review your certification service provider’s files and find that you are out of date, they will instruct your provider to suspend the certificate. If you miss the expiry date of your certificate because you defer an audit, it will be suspended or cancelled effective on the expiry date.
Missing an expiry date has many complications, not the least that your certificate won’t be accepted in tenders. But it also means additional costs because stage 1 reviews may need to conducted.

The main reason to keep audit dates and in particular the recertification ones is that there are lead times from the audit to the final report. Now this can be as short as a day, but due to the time of year (remember June and December are log jams), the complexity of the audit, the number of locations etc. etc it can be a number of weeks and if you are in this situation, make sure your provider is aware and that the process needs to be expedited.

However, as always, the easiest way to stop the above from happening is to be proactive with your provider, set timely dates and stick with them.

previous blogs;
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Productivity

2012-02-16T09:38:00.000+11:00

I am often asked ‘How do you fit it all in?’ The short answer is that I don’t. in fact, I probably only ‘fit in’ about 1% of what I want, must, need to do in any one day. Apart from prioritising and timing as the lynch pins it is the productivity of what I do that gets me the real results. So here are a few of my favourite productivity tips to maximise your bang for your buck;

Set time limits on meetings, have an agenda, publish action points with lead times.
Plan, plan and more planning of tasks within defined time frames. Don’t put too much on your plate for the day and always leave wriggle room. Give yourself an even split of want, must, need items.
Be on time for everything. Start when you are supposed to start. Pretty soon everyone will too.
Don’t be a slave to your inbox. But don’t let them pile up either. I check them every 30 minutes. Prioritise. Action. Touch them only once.
Manage your stress times. There are times in the day when it hits the fan. You know when they are. Plan for them, plan around them. Use your lower stress periods to do the more cranial of activities. Use the high stress times to do the menial.
Then there is that old chestnut of creating time. Yes you can. Get up 30 minutes earlier. Get to work earlier. Turn off the TV 30 minutes earlier and do stuff. What could you achieve with an extra two and half hours a work week? Start that email campaign?
Draft a schedule. Know your milestones and due dates. Visualising them will help with the planning process, which helps your productivity.

Hey did you notice no mention of tools? And you won’t either. Use one, use heaps, use hard copy, soft copy, smart devices, stupid devices. Just use what is best for the job on the day and change or review if it doesn’t work. Easy!

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Competence, awareness and training

2012-02-13T09:37:00.000+11:00

Back to the standard; 6.2.2 Competence, awareness and training. The company will; a) determine the necessary competence for personnel performing work affecting product quality, b) provide training or take other actions to satisfy these needs, c) evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken, d) ensure that its personnel are aware of the relevance and importance of their activities and how they contribute to the achievement of the quality objectives, and e) maintain appropriate records of education, training, skills and experience.

Notice the terminology? ‘The company will; a)…. It doesn’t say you need a documented procedure, but in mind it is advantageous especially when framing the process to achieve certification. So a simple procedure outlining the five bullet points and here are the first three; a) do you have competencies (skills, training, awareness, certified, licenced, etc) that are needed to be able to operate equipment, to satisfy regulatory needs or as the standard asks that impact on quality? If yes, list them and list the people who can. We will deal with how in the next blog. Now a list of competence can be attributes as well, just be careful. If such information is included in job descriptions or position specifications, then ‘listing’ them will enable an overview but this is purely voluntary.

Next, review any gaps between desired needed competencies and actual. You can do this by ‘deeming’, appraisals, interviews, etc. Nothing is mandated here other than that you identify them and then deliver the necessary actions so that personnel can be considered competent. Records of such reviews, delivery and results need to be kept. Either in the list, the persons employee file or some form of spreadsheet or database. Just make sure you are not duplicating records that are already controlled.

And then last for this blog; evaluate the actions. Easy. Can they now do the job to the level of expertise you want, need? Do they have a certificate or licence? Can you observe their performance and deem them competent. It always up to you, just make sure there are records.

previous blogs;
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Booking Audits

2012-02-06T06:38:00.000+11:00

Each certification body has a different process for booking an audit. Some are more difficult than others and you need to find out very early in the selection process what their process is so that you can compare the service delivery to your expectations.

Some guidelines to the various expectations include. If you have more than one site in more than one state, ask for a 'national coordinator'. Find out what are the lead times for making a request for an audit. Some certification bodies have very strict engagement rules and quite specific requirements for the records generated before a certification audits can take place.

What is the lead time for changing an audit date? The rule of thumb is that if you do this with 4 weeks notice, there should not be any implied penalty. Some have sliding scales based on lead times. Our advice is don't accept any penalty and that open communication should circumvent any lead time issues.

However, some certification bodies believe they are far more important than the client and will insist on trying to impose penalties. Others just have unwieldy large bureaucracies that cannot handle flexibility. Others will assign you a dedicated client manager who will work with you to ensure both parties can be accommodated. If the certification body requires written confirmation, find out what format will be acceptable and use it.

Some guidelines / prerequisites for planning you first certification audit include; all mandatory procedures are written and implemented. Records of these procedures have been generated and demonstrate effective implementation. One record is not effective implementation. Awareness training of all relevant staff has been conducted and recorded. At least 2 management reviews have taken place. At least 5 nonconformances and resulting corrective actions have been effectively implemented and closed. The majority of your internal quality audits have been conducted. Be careful, some certification bodies require all audits have been completed.

Ensure the relevant people will be available. Ensure practical, comfortable and 'secure' work spaces can be made available for the auditor. Provide them with lunch. It can't help but it can't hurt. Ask for an audit plan and expect one. Some certification bodies have quite exhaustive precertification visits, documentation and expectations. Get them defined and meet them.

previous blogs;
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Human Resources

2012-01-31T05:43:00.002+11:00

Here is the cut and paste from the standard;
6.2 Human resources
6.2.1 General
Personnel performing work affecting product quality are competent on the basis of appropriate education, training, skills and experience.
6.2.2 Competence, awareness and training
The company will; a) determine the necessary competence for personnel performing work affecting product quality, b) provide training or take other actions to satisfy these needs, c) evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken, d) ensure that its personnel are aware of the relevance and importance of their activities and how they contribute to the achievement of the quality objectives, and e) maintain appropriate records of education, training, skills and experience.

On reflection, this stuff is pretty self-evident, especially 6.2.1. No? Just break them down into their components and develop something to fit your company organisational and structural parameters. Don’t invent stuff here. If you training need identification is adhoc, then let it be. Don’t invent a performance appraisal system if there is no need or more importantly, no desire. So, over the next few blogs I will address 6.2.2 in more detail and provide some tips on creating evidence for you qms certifications.

previous blogs;
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Sampling

2012-01-23T10:36:00.000+11:00

There is much to write about sampling and they fall into two categories; site sampling, record sampling. The first is mathematical and defined by the certification body as required by JAS-ANZ. It can be quite a complex formula concerning site sampling, but if all sites are similar in complexity and operations, then the rule of thumb is head office plus the square root of the number of remaining sites.

Now with sampling of records, it is less defined and primarily left to the auditor to determine risk and subsequent need for objective evidence to be demonstrated. Just remember, all auditors are charged with the responsibility of finding conformance and doing so based on a level of confidence that is experienced when reviewing any particular aspect or clause. The more compliant, objective evidence found by or presented to an auditor that quickly gives a confidence of conformance will mean less records will be needed for review. But on the flip side, any, and I mean any discrepancy to process, procedure, intent as demonstrated by an incorrect record or even worse, the lack of a record, will have your friendly auditor wanting more records in order to make a determination.

Remember, all auditing is based on sampling and all sampling can either give good or bad representation of the system being audited. Once a lack of conformance is found it cannot, will not be ignored. The extra digging or increased sampling will help the auditor either mitigate the finding or escalate it. Simple.

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Problem Solving

2012-01-19T11:45:00.004+11:00

When confronted with problems (issues, annoyances, stuff ups, what evs, etc), either in business or your personal life, here are just a few tips to get you through them.

Back your colleagues. When others are bearing down on them, don’t jump on the band wagon, stand up for them.

Fix what's broken. Don't waste time placing blame. Don’t waste time on improving what ain’t broke. Take care of fixing the problem before dealing with any possible repercussions.

Manage and control your emotions. Don't let anger or frustration affect your problem resolution. If you are emotionally invested in a situation, cool down before discussing it or bring in an outside mediator. Never, ever take it personally.

Learn when to step in. Some problems might resolve themselves if you just let them be (see my blog on positive procrastination), but you need to be aware of times where you'll need to step in and take control of a situation.

Take the blame. If you've made a mistake, fess up. It'll give you more time to work on fixing the problem instead of talking your way out of taking the rap. Sometimes take the blame for a problem not yours. Be careful and frugal with this exception.

Get the facts first. Before you pass judgment on a situation, make sure you have the whole story. Listen and refrain from questioning anyone's integrity without first ensuring that you've gathered all the data.

Rise above the crisis. Learn to separate yourself from the problem and rise above the fray. You'll be able to think more clearly and make a better decision on how to rectify the issue.

Don't ignore problems. A small problem can easily snowball and become something much more difficult to fix. That elephant in the room, IS in the room. Deal with it.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Resources

2012-01-16T13:11:00.000+11:00

There is a whole clause within the standard for resources. So let’s start with the first sub clause;

6.1 Provision of resources. The organisation shall determine and provide the resources needed; a) to implement and maintain the quality management system and continually improve its effectiveness, and b) to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements.

I don’t know why this couldn’t be lumped under some general category of sub clause but it is not. Therefore you need to address it and audit it. But, if you have the intent of your quality management system correct, this being continual improvement and customer satisfaction, then the very fabric of your system can validate this sub clause. And if it does, simple reference within your quality management system cross reference to table will suffice with such examples as management review and quality policy, just to name a few. If not? Then back to the drawing board.
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Fixing findings

2011-12-19T11:51:00.000+11:00

And so, the audit is finished, the exit meeting conducted and the audit report has hit your desk. As discussed, there should be no surprises, there should be correctly categorised findings, there should be specific examples and now you have 3, 6, 9 or 12 months with which to fix them.

Now if you have findings that have to be addressed within 3 months, then you have got a nonconformity or a major corrective action (of course the names are different for every certification service provider) and if you have one of these, you normally have to provide details on what corrective actions you will take, what resources and a timeline to at least reduce the matter to an improvement request / minor corrective action if not closed all together. The rest of the categories of findings you will just need to address before the next audit or at least consider if they are an observation.

So it really doesn’t matter what the category is, my recommendation is that you treat each finding as an individual event and include them in your system’s own corrective action process. Make sure you cross reference them so that you can trace them when the auditor returns.

Once in the system, correct the situation as reported. If the finding is the audit report for internal audit of purchasing in October was not signed….get it signed. The matter can be closed. However, if you are using certification as an improvement process, you should look into why the report was not signed. At this point, I would close the original, then open a new corrective action and review the signing process but make sure you still make reference the originating circumstance. Now this not the only methodology, you could keep the original open and make the review as part of the effectiveness review of the matter.

Just remember, don’t go re-inventing the wheel based on the findings and examples of one audit. Be reflective and take only those actions that you need to do to address the findings tabled. Once you have that out of the road and your certification provider, you can then get on with your own continual improvement cycle through your management reviews, internal audits and corrective actions.
previous blogs;
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Management review

2011-12-12T16:12:00.000+11:00

Management review is one of the most simplest of requirements in a quality management system. The standard has its own clause. The standard defines the inputs and outputs. The standard then leaves it up to the organisation to define who, when, where and what format. Just be careful. Some certification service providers have some preconceived ideas. If you have already chosen one, ask them their expectations. Don’t ask what to do, just be aware.

Although the standard does not require a procedure, I always write on. It should no more than a page in length and should focus on; who attends, the minimum attendance, the frequency (no longer than annual is the expectation), define the use of a checklist, a standing agenda, the minutes, reports, attachments, and responsibilities. Try and externalise the data submissions / review before a meeting occurs so as to minimise the time needed. Try and combine with other meetings, so long as they are relevant / complimentary.

Generate the minutes on the same day if possible. Always include reference to and or actual tabled documents. Always have an action list / summary and ensure that they are assigned to people with deadlines.

The rest is purely good meeting / governance best practices and your reviews will ensure the effectiveness of your quality management system is constructive.

previous blogs;
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Meet Deadlines

2011-12-07T18:51:00.000+11:00

Do you meet deadlines? One of the two most successful strategies I have employed in my business life are; never quit, meet deadlines.

Why? Because it is a bit like common sense. It ain’t that common. People are forever making commitments, promising deadlines and not meeting them. And they don’t have to be big. Every appointment, every meeting, very $1.36m project, has a start, has a finish.

And here is my top 5 list of things to do to keep deadlines; be realistic, delegate tasks, define milestones, do it right the first time (or eliminate waste / rework), communicate.

Easy. Nothing will work against you more than over promising and under delivering. And it’s the smaller things like commitment to being on time that can really make a difference. One of the best compliments ever given to me was ‘He says, he delivers. You can depend on him.’ Isn’t that what we all want, especially in business. Go on, tell a colleague today that you will have it done by 4.00 and do it. Do it twice, they will take notice. Do it thrice and you are the ‘go to’ person from that moment. The doors that open as a result will truly amaze you.

previous blogs;
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exit meetings

2011-12-05T06:43:00.000+11:00

Every audit must finish with one. Make sure you manage the process. This doesn’t mean hijack it, just manage it. Find out what are the expectations from the auditor and certification provider. Ensure an agreed time, location, and duration. Negotiate to a mutually acceptable position and ensure it happens.

Once you have the logistics, communicate the requirements to the management review team and any interested stakeholders. Don’t force anyone to be there. If it the first certification audit exit meeting, it is suggested that at least the management representative and the managing director are present. All subsequent exit meetings should just be sensitive to the requirements of the management team and or the certification provider.

Now as the management representative, you should already know the result. If not, why not? Always ensure open and often communication between yourself and the lead auditor. We have dealt with findings in previous blogs, so just make sure you are aware.

The next step is to school the attendees as to their behaviour and what to expect during the meeting. The most important aspect being not to argue ‘the toss’. Get them to accept that you as the MR have accepted the findings, so should they. If they think that the finding is incorrect, then raise it with you after the meeting. No need to start the dialog during the meeting, it will just drag it out and open the door for more ‘discussion’ for the remainder of the findings. Just take the verbal report on face value and in the knowledge it is just a courtesy communication rather than an opportunity to joust.

As most certification providers will announce the result within the first few minutes of the meeting, accept the overall result (which should be positive), bask in the good news and keep a few notes to demonstrate the importance you place on the process.

Even if the lead auditor should spring a surprise result / finding during the meeting, accept it, then ensure you seek clarification before they leave the site. All forms of feedback, dispute can then be handled through due process with the certification provider as opposed to the individual.

previous blogs;
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Internal Communication

2011-11-28T10:13:00.000+11:00

The cut and paste is…. 5.5.3 Internal communication
Top management ensures that appropriate communication processes are established within the organisation and that communication takes place regarding the effectiveness of the quality management system.

Did you notice the lack of documentation needed. But you do need appropriate processes of communication. So what are these? Notice boards, emails, newsletters, tool box meetings, management review meetings, sales meetings, etc. Do you need to document that you do this stuff? No. Should you point to these processes in some fashion to make the auditors life a bit easier? Well you don’t but you should be aware. I like to include specific examples in the QMS road map (see previous blogs).

And there is the second half of this sentence which directly relates to communicating the effectiveness of the QMS. I like to include such a statement / minute in the minutes of management review. Once you do this the first half of the equation is met. Then you need to decide how appropriately this communicates to the relevant levels of the organisation. If the minutes are freely available via notice boards, emails, shared drives, then do no more. If these are secret documents for senior management only, then you need to identify how you are going to communicate this. Just decide on the mechanism and do it. Just be sure you include that mechanism in your road map!

previous blogs;
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Take a look at yourself

2011-11-23T14:19:00.000+11:00

My personal stylist only became my personal stylist only after she came to terms with herself. She realised she could not advise others of what to do or not do with their styling if she wasn’t comfortable with herself, both inward and outward. She has amazed me with her outlook and point of view because of the self confidence she exudes because of this.
So while I reflected on this truly amazing women, it got me thinking about how we as business people project ourselves. So here are a few tips from me;

Stand tall. Shoulders back and holding yourself up to your full height will give you an air of confidence.
Make eye contact. Always look directly into the eyes of the people you are speaking with.
Sit up straight. Slouching makes you look disinterested and can give off an unwanted air of laziness.
Face the person you're talking to. This shows you are interested and engaged in the conversation.
Shake hands firmly. Make sure yours is professional and confident. And if you don’t know how, ask, practice.
Always smile. Smiles are contagious and will make others feel positive when you're around.
Look your best. You don't have to be model perfect every day, but you should dress appropriately.
Walk confidently. Not a swagger, just purposeful and direct.

Love you Googie.

previous blogs;
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http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Certification Findings - Part 2

2011-11-21T07:07:00.000+11:00

As we discussed last fortnight, the classifications of findings is very important but it is not as important as to agreeing that a finding has been found. So the first thing you must do whenever a finding is brought to your attention is to see or have quoted what is the objective evidence that is being cited as the finding in the circumstance. If this cannot be explained or shown, then you seek further clarification.

This is the most part of any of the audit processes. You as the auditee must agree that a finding is evident. Once agreed, then accept. The only wriggle room after this is the classification which we covered last blog. And why am I droning on about this? Well, it is do with the professional relationship and trust you need to foster between yourself and your service provider. All parties need to be clear as to what is being found, what is being classified and what to expect in the exit meeting (next blog).

You as the management representative for your company have the right to ensure all things reported are factual/. Because at the end of the day, the final output is the audit report and in it are the ‘results’, so let’s make them right. More effort and resources are wasted than in all of the certification processes combined when reacting to inaccurate or even worse, incorrect findings. So ensure you are kept in the loop, ensure that they are agreed to and there will then be no surprises in the exit meeting.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com
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Responsibility and authority

2011-11-14T13:26:00.000+11:00

So much can so wrong with this requirement. The interpretations or should I say misinterpretations have caused so much grief for the uninitiated. So let’s cut through the bunk with this paste;
5.5.1 Responsibility and authority
Top management ensures that responsibilities and authorities are defined and communicated within the company.

And that is it. Nothing more. How can you do this? Before you go developing stuff, look at the complexity, expectations, risk exposures and communications of your company. Is there something you already do that meets this one little sentence? Does ‘definition’ mean ?documentation. The short answer is no, but the level of understanding once communicated may require ‘ensure-ance’ via something that is documented. Policies, responsibilities sections in procedures, published delegated authority lists, job descriptions, training records all could be used either singularly or in combination with each other.

And to what extent? Here is a real life situation from our very own certified QMS. We have an organisation chart, job descriptions, procedure sections and training. Whilst we only have 7 documented procedures, we do have 18 policies (normally only a paragraph, of which others might define as business rules) that map out exactly who is who in the wonderful zoo at quality.com.au.

previous blogs;
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Keep your cards to yourself

2011-11-10T18:53:00.000+11:00

Christmas cards? Birthday Cards? Playing Cards? Nope, nope, nope. Business Cards! Nothing devalues you more than to have someone or everyone watching you romp through a networking event flipping business cards at all and sundry. It actual tells others that you actually don’t value them. You can’t ‘like’ everyone in the room. You cannot have something of value for everyone in the room. So don’t try.

Strike up a conversation. Ask them what they do. Wait to be asked what before you tell them what you do. If they do ask, giving them a 30 second overview, no more and make sure you ask a question at the end of it like…’would that be of interest to you or your colleagues?’ Don’t worry if it isn’t. Then assess if you can contribute to the current mood of the conversation and if not, just excuse yourself and move on. If they ask for a card, excellent, give them one.

Just remember, giving out your card is tacit agreement to receiving phone calls, emails and newsletters. If you do want one of their cards, ask for one and tell them why you want their details. Perhaps it is to send them info on the conversation, perhaps to organise a time for a coffee and if it is to add them to your database, ask permission if that is OK. If not, mark the card accordingly and thoughtfully recycle or file.

previous blogs;
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http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Classification of findings

2011-11-07T11:11:00.000+11:00

Each certification service provider is required by JAS-ANZ to classify their findings. How and by what name is largely up to the provider. But before I get onto this, “What is a finding?” A finding (or issue, matter, discrepancy, etc) is any situation that requires consideration or remediation with regard the quality management system. For example, during an audit it was discovered that there is no documented procedure for internal quality audits. And we will refer to this during the remainder of the blog.

Make sure you know how a provider classifies a finding and what are the required remedial actions for each before you finalise your decision on a provider. Whilst most operate within similar constraints, some have some very quirky ‘rules’ and reporting requirements. And how do you do that? Ask for their published guidelines / criteria.

So the three broad categories of findings are; 1)nonconformance (or nonconformity, major corrective action, non compliance, etc); 2) corrective action (or improvement request, area of concern , minor corrective action, etc); 3) observation (consideration, opportunity for improvement, comment, etc).

What they represent; 1) nonconformance – lack of mandatory requirement (such as our example above) or an aggregation of findings within the one clause. 2) corrective action, something is in breach of the standard or your own procedures / processes. Fix them. 3) observation, you may get some benefit from considering an alternate means of managing a situation.

And here is the consequence of each; 1) nonconformance – you will not receive initial certification, you will need to show cause (planned corrective actions) and remedial actions within 3 months to retain certification. 2) corrective action, certification will be granted / continued but you will need to close any remedial action before the next visit (6~12 months). 3) observation, you will need to demonstrate that you have considered the finding and declared an outcome.

Easy. The best way to combat findings and their classifications is not to get any. Good luck with that one! But if your certification is part of a continuous improvement strategy, then rejoice in the findings found, so that you can make your quality management system better.

previous blogs;
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Management Commitment

2011-10-31T14:35:00.000+11:00

Let’s start with the cut and paste from the standard;
Top management provides evidence of its commitment to the development and implementation of the quality management system and continually improving its effectiveness by
a) communicating to all personnel the importance of meeting customer as well as statutory and regulatory requirements,
b) establishing the quality policy,
c) ensuring that quality objectives are established,
d) conducting management reviews, and
e) ensuring the availability of resources.

The standard is quite explicit about this and it concerns the development, implementation and improvement of the quality management system. And if you have a certified quality management system you will have the required evidence to demonstrate such commitment. In fact without that evidence you shouldn’t be certified. But don’t let our auditing fraternity make you develop specific processes or procedures around the bullet points above. Just make sure that in a cross reference document or quality management system road map, you have direct correlations between the standard and the evidence you will present as demonstrating conformance. Don’t get diluted or wishy washy (technical term) here folks, direct linkages need to be highlighted.

In a nutshell, develop a communication plan and submit it to management review or steering committee during the development and implementation of your qms. Refer to the quality policy, the goals and objectives toward quality. Reviewing each during management review and of course, make sure you have the right resources to achieve each. Notice anything special about this clause yet? That’s right, they are each mirrored / cross referenced in the body of the standard, so if you get this clause right or the other 5 right, you should self-determine the effectiveness. Just remember, don’t fall into the trap of cross referencing between each of these elements and then forget to do generate the required records. A rookie mistake so be aware.

previous blogs;
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Spinning plates

2011-10-27T11:21:00.000+11:00

Running a small business is a bit like a juggler spinning plates on sticks. You must keep them spinning otherwise, they will slow, eventually stop and then fall off the sticks and break. Perhaps I should now write, it is not ‘a bit like’, I should write it is exactly like. It is almost the perfect analogy. In small business, in fact, in all business, there are the must do plates; product / service, sales and finance. Sure there are a heap more, but they are generally just a sub category of these three. Price, quality, service, cash flow, governance (ooh, that’s a touchy one) and so on. In small business, you must do them all. In small business, you need to attend to each in just the right measure to ensure the plate keeps spinning until you can get back to it. Not enough and the plate breaks. Too much and the next plate you should have been attending will stop and break.

The biggest challenge in this scenario is just how many can you spin and spin right? Nothing is quite so distracting than a wobbly plate. It does not add value to you or your customer. Most determine the number of plates by trial and error. Just make sure, that when you get the magic number stick to it. Then, once you need another plate, you can add the need for additional resources into the plate spinning planning process and keep your plates in order.

How many plates are you spinning?

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Audit findings / issues / matters/ discrepancies

2011-10-24T08:05:00.000+11:00

There should no surprises in an exit meeting for the quality management representative concerning what findings were found during the course of an audit. Why? Because your lead auditor should have kept you informed throughout the audit process. Why? Because, once a finding is raised no matter what the classification, the auditor should at that point receive agreement from the auditee and / or the management representative, that they have accurately discovered the finding with the supporting objective evidence. The only time there might ever be a surprise is when the audit team collaborate their findings, they may find an adverse trend requiring the finding to be escalated. If this happens, the lead auditor should advise the management representative immediately so that the situation can be agreed to or mitigated by providing additional evidence.

And why would they want to do any of the above? Well it is their brief as third party auditors to find conformance and in my mind, to mitigate the severity of findings if they can. This does not mean you get to argue the point, every point, every interpretation, it just means that once brought to your attention, you can find mutual agreement on the finding, the evidence and the severity / classification.
And how would you know that? Your certification body should / must have published criteria around this so that you can react accordingly. But that is another blog.

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http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com
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legal stuff

2011-10-17T14:35:00.000+11:00

There is only one small paragraph within the standard that talks about legislation. In other standards, there are whole clauses dealing with this. But this is quality and here is the excerpt;
‘5.1 Management commitment
Top management provides evidence of its commitment to the development and implementation of the quality management system and continually improving its effectiveness by
a) communicating to all personnel the importance of meeting customer as well as statutory and regulatory requirements,’

So the standard just tells us we need to communicate legal stuff. It does not provide a framework or guidance (of course you can get this from ISO 9004, but that is another blog!). You will need to determine to what depth you investigate what your legal requirements are. For most companies, the minimum would include; tax law, fair trading law, OHS and if you pollute, some environmental laws. But we digress, as you should retain the services of a good corporate advisor for this this subject.
However, we do have responsibilities to communicate (and if you are clever, review first) the organisations regulatory and statutory requirements. We would normally do this as part of external documentation and management reviews. How you do it is up to you and the level of risk exposure. Not easy huh? Just do it.

Now as an aside, when going through the certification phase of your quality management system, your auditor will keep a whether eye as they are charged with the responsibility to not ignore legal obligations. This means whilst they will not seek legal compliance, they shut down an audit if they discover an illegal operation or environment. Just be warned.

previous blogs;
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Generalist Trap

2011-10-13T10:17:00.001+11:00

What is your core business? What type of business are you? Where does 80% of your revenue come from? The last question will probably answer the first two. Beware of the ‘generalist trap’ (my quote). In consulting, this is one of the easiest ways to lose focus on your core business. You offer a service and it is taken up. Then your client asks if you can do something else but different. You think customer service is all about saying yes and before you know it, you have promised to deliver something that eventually will keep your client happy, but it has drained your resources and most likely will be an unprofitable process.

Unless it is in your strategic plans to include such activities in the future and it was mutually agreed to let you ‘practice’ on your client, don’t do it. Sure the money will be nice but can you replicate it. Can you make money on it in the future. Did you like doing it? And so, and so on.

Far better to say ‘no, we don’t do that’ and then maybe help them select someone who can or if time allows, develop a relationship with alternate service providers so that fees can be shared, or similar.
Focus on your ‘knitting’ and your business will soar.

previous blogs;
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http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com

Entry Meeting

2011-10-10T15:48:00.000+11:00

Every audit should start with one. Why? So that the scene, the scope, the intents can be set.

Your auditor then explains process, confirms the scope, describes reporting, categorisations of findings, confidentiality, seeks clarification of reporting styles, lunch breaks, report generation periods. They might give an overview of their credentials or background. They will expect at the very least the management representative attends. However, there are some that also expect a ‘show of strength’ by having the managing director, the coo, the cfo and so on. Perhaps for the very initial certification audit this might happen, but don’t be bullied, just have those who wish to attend, attend, the rest can hear about the meeting through phone calls or emails.

Hopefully your certification provider has provided you with a booking / audit schedule for the areas that will be audited on the day. It will be during the entry meeting that you can discuss and negotiate times, personnel, resources, etc.

These meetings should only take the auditor 15 minutes to discuss what she needs to discuss, the rest of the time and agenda is governed by you the client. If you have nothing to contribute, don’t and get on with the audit.

previous blogs;
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Sell yourself

2011-09-29T08:39:00.000+10:00

If you are in small business, then you need to sell to survive. If you are selling services, then don’t sell the services, sell yourself. Every prospect expects that the service on offer is fair, equitable and to a level of expertise that they can buy from anyone. So when they make buying decisions concerning services, they will make the majority of the decision based on the person. Whether it is either the person doing the selling or the person who will be doing the doing, it will be the person who closes the sale. Now when you are selling yourself, don’t fall into the trap of making the conversation all about you. It is still a sales call, sales meeting, you still need to show what is in it for them and in this case, will the person fill their need.
So present yourself as you are. Don’t change your style to suit a perception of what you think they want. Be truthful, factual and give glimpses of you the person. Be punctual, dress correctly, make commitments, deliver and follow up. And once you have all that down, then there’s that little inconvenience of showing them the service and getting on with the sale. Good luck.

previous blogs;
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What do auditors audit – Part 1

2011-09-26T12:22:00.000+10:00

This is a brief overview of the 4 stages of certification and what the auditors will audit.

Documentation review; just the documentation you supply them. Normally a desk top review scenario. The auditors are looking for a policy, a quality manual (or similar), the six mandatory procedures, your own procedures, associated forms, records, an interrelationship document explaining the processes of the company.

Pre-certification review; assessing the implementation of the quality management system. They will focus on management review meetings / minutes, records of internal audits, corrective actions, nonconformance, document management, records management, training / competency records, the level of understanding by employees and the overall assessment of operational procedures and how they interrelate.

Certification review; they will audit everything. However, their sample plan is quite shallow and if they can find conformance quickly, they will tick the box and move on.

Surveillance reviews; every time they visit, they will audit the following. Previous findings from previous audit, management reviews, internal audits, corrective actions. Once they are happy with that then they carve up the rest of the standard into roughly thirds and audit. Easy. More details next post.

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Quality Objectives – part 3

2011-09-19T07:47:00.003+10:00

“Finally” I hear you think. Yes, I am finally going to tell you what are the minimum quality objectives needed for certification or at least to meet the requirements of the standard. We have explored quality objectives from the standard (8/8/11) and then the mechanics and the metrics (5/9/11), now we need to go to the requirements of the standard for ‘quality policy’ And these are;

5.3 Quality policy. Top management ensures the quality policy. a)is appropriate to the purpose of the Company Name, b)includes a commitment to comply with requirements and continually improve the effectiveness of the quality management system, c)provides a framework for establishing and reviewing quality objectives, d) is communicated and understood within Company Name, and e) is reviewed for continuing suitability.

So from this we have two quality objectives; 1) comply with the qms and 2) continually improve the qms. Both can be measured via internal quality audit results and the corrective / preventive action processes. You also use the certification process to measure compliance. Have you noticed there has not been any mention of the customer or even focus on the customer or satisfaction. Well there is none, but you try getting that passed any auditor and I will bid you good luck. There is an expectation that at least one quality objective structured around the customer, so have one and you then won’t have to debate it with our certification fraternity.

Now that you have your objectives you just need to word them correctly, set a target for each, measure them, report them, resource them and demonstrate that you can do all that and still react to any adverse trends within them. Happy objectifying.

previous blogs;
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The blame game

2011-09-15T11:38:00.002+10:00

In business (and in life), don’t put the blame on others. Keep to this principle and all will be well. As Mr Miyagi said in the ‘Karate Kid’, “There are no bad students, just bad teachers!”, meaning that if a colleague, client, supplier gets it wrong, was it in fact your fault for not communicating your needs more clearly. Was it not your fault that you left it too late. Was it not your fault….and so on and so on. Take each ‘fault’ (I prefer the word variation) and try to analyse what happened and try and get to the root cause of the situation (yes, I am a quality guy). It is far too easy just to blame someone else, and hey, they may have contributed to or escalated a variation, but at the end of the day was it not you that could have done something different to mitigate the variation. And if you keep that attitude, and you will still make mistakes, still cause variation but you take the steps to stop them recurring, then haven’t you taken the responsibility to make things better?

On the flip side do not take on all blame and responsibility, especially for those situations out of your control. Shit does happen and there are things that no matter what you do, could have done, will do, etc, the circumstance just won’t change. Don’t beat yourself up. Just don’t blame and get on with the next situation.

previous blogs;
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How long for certification audits

2011-09-12T11:08:00.000+10:00

Third party certification audits are planned at a frequency and duration to meet the requirements of JAS-ANZ. Notice, that statement did not mention your needs, when in fact if there is only one; certification, . then you must play by JAS-ANZ rules.

Now the overarching guideline for planning frequency and duration is whether the entire quality management system of your organisation (or more importantly, those sites and activities within the scope of your certification) can be audited over the course of 3 years.

The physicality of the above statement is based on geographic and demographic considerations and then just many auditor days or hours it will take. Now I have blogged before about demographics and the numbers game between FTEs, how many people are doing the same job, etc. But they all impact on the final number.

Once the gross number of days or hours are determined, then it is a matter of choice but mostly your certification body’s. The end result might be for a 12 auditor day certification, you might end up with this scenario; 3 days for certification audit (2 auditors for 1 day, 1 auditor for the 3rd), then 1 auditor for 1 day every 6 months (or 2 auditors for one day every 12 months) plus in the second year, the sample plan for your multi-site system, may need all branches to be audited at half a day per site, per year, totalling 5 auditor days that year and the balance made up of annual events, more branch events, etc, etc, etc. My heads hurts just typing this stuff, so imagine what it is like to convince the CB to meet your needs as they balance their JAS-ANZ requirements.

The best thing to do is to keep the dialog open, keep the planning process fluid and to keep your options open with other CBs ready to give you the customer service you deserve.

previous blogs; http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
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Quality Objectives – Part 2

2011-09-05T06:19:00.000+10:00

OK, so now we know what they are (or perhaps more importantly what they are not). The next is to link them from your quality policy, structure them and communicate them. You need all three to be compliant with the standard. And so having your quality objectives buried in your strategic or business plans is OK so long as they are linked from the policy, but can they be effectively communicated to all levels of the organisation? Are they relevant to the person / function they are being delivered to. So get over this point in a real hurry. They must be communicated and if they are in a commercially sensitive document than they won’t. You may need different tiers of documentation and or accessibility, just keep the reader in mind.

Noticed we haven’t spelt out what the objectives are yet. Well it won’t happen this blog (maybe next). Once you have your objectives, you need to structure them along these lines. Clearly state the objective. Develop a program or process to manage the objective. Assign a measurable target or set of targets. And last and by no means the least, assign resources to ensure that objectives can be met. It is no good having an objective that says 100% inspection of all 300,000 welds per year if you don’t have the means, the people, the know-how to do such a thing. But if you can keep these four things in focus (objective, program, target, resource) when developing quality objectives, you might just make things certifiable, perhaps even useful!

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When should you sell?

2011-09-01T08:33:00.000+10:00

Ask any stock market guru and they will tell you buy stock when the bottom is falling out of the market (in fact, I did recently with some resource shares and made a tidy paper profit when the market bounced last month. Sweet!).

I was at a chamber function recently and I was wearing a tie. Someone asked me ‘hey, what’s with the tie? didn’t you give up on ties a few years ago?’. Yes I did was my reply. But now that everyone is going casual and not wearing ties, I started wearing them again. In scenarios, I stand out because there is a difference.

And so why am I telling you this?? Yes, there is a point. When should you be selling? The answer is – when you are busy and don’t have much time for it. Most businesses only start to focus on sales when things are slow. When time allows because they don’t have customers or work. So they sit there and say, hey, no customers I should sell and they do, and do it well. Then they become busy and they stop selling and before long, they aren’t busy and then they decide to sell again. The sales cycle is insidious and the only way to stop it is to keep selling and / or sell when you are busy. You know if you do that, you will always be busy and if you can’t find the time because you too busy with customers or delivering service, then all you need to do is employ / subcontract that work or employ / subcontract the sales stuff and then you have a very busy, very sustainable business model. Go on, sell when you are busy.
previous blogs;
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They don’t, won’t, can’t consult

2011-08-29T11:48:00.000+10:00

Have you ever been subjected to a 3rd party auditor who won’t answer a direct question concerning a particular aspect of your business because she sees her answer as consulting? It is a fine line, but one worthy of adhering to. Why? Well mostly because within their charter as an auditor they are not allowed to provide advice or consult with you on a solution that they may have raised. But the real trap in seeking and getting advice is that there is no PDCA cycle for such advice or at least consideration of the right way to make changes and hence the advice is taken in isolation and could be very well wrong for organisation. It also sets a precedent that the auditor then knows more about your system and organisation than you do. Do ever, let this happen.

Now you can ask them questions concerning the standard, the certification process and perhaps to some extent interpretations of these aspects, just don’t be surprised if they give the no can consult answer if you haven’t framed it correctly. And when is the best time to ask them any question concerning a finding? Well, not at the exit meeting. The best time to ask is when the matter / finding identified / discovered and you are informed that it will be recorded in the report. Get clarification. Get the exact example they will cite, be comfortable about the result. Then, after you have considered it (and not necessarily at the time it was discovered) pose a possible solution and seek a determination whether your solution would have avoided or at least mitigated the original finding. If yes, well you can start down that track. If no, don’t badger them, rethink, reformulate and pose again.

However, if your certification provider is reporting findings correctly, you should be able to handle system changes as a result of audit reports without having to consult with them. Of course, you could always seek advice from a person who is paid to do so.previous blogs; http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/ http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

structure for certification

2011-08-22T07:13:00.000+10:00

During the design process for a quality management system, I like to know who the certification body is going to be, and if possible, who the proposed auditor will be. Why? Well, like it or not there are some CBs, and some auditors who have preconceived ideas about systems and structure. And during the design phase, there are some structural issues that really don’t matter what you do, so why not ask your CB or friendly auditor what their expectations are and design accordingly. Just remember, that they are not allowed to ‘consult’ and will be quite reticent to give you any structure or direction. Similarly, some of them have some peculiar outlooks on documentation, so temper their suggestions with a google search or two for best practice around any suggestion.

But if you are clever, keep such things to the time of the document review, then they will make judgements and by default give directions of their interpretation. At the end of the day, neither you, your organisation or customers really need a particular tact, and you can always change it later, but if it smooths the certification process why not take advantage.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

change certification dates – a good idea?

2011-08-15T07:36:00.000+10:00

Personally, to change a certification date, a precertification date or a post certification date is not best practice. In fact, to a certification body (CB) and or the friendly auditor, it hints at the priority your company is placing on either the certification process or the quality management system itself. Do it too often and the desired business relationship could be soured.

Most organisations change these dates for a number of reasons, the least being sound business judgment or external business factors (other than survival), and if it is the latter, then perhaps certification, could well be the expense that breaks the camel’s back.

Your quality management system should be able to operate no matter what the current business status is, assuming the organisation can continue to operate without key personnel for an hour, a day, a week? Second in commands, explicit instructions, pre-prepared records, audit trails, etc can all be put in place in order to meet an agreed deadline or event. Sure there will be times when calendars don’t sync, but once they do, commit and prepare. Don’t make it so low on your priorities that is the first date you think of changing when reviewing your time.

Remember, some CBs have quite heavy and intricate penalties for changing dates. Most CBs use subcontracted auditors who book such events 2, 3, 6, 12 months in advance, to chop and change them within a week, 2 weeks or more will cause lack of income that cannot be reorganised with shorter lead times. Then they may not be so accommodating with forward planning future audits or charge you more for fully flexible airfares just in case and so on.

The whole point being. Commit to your quality management system, commit to your certification. Give both priority and if you are only doing either for certification sake, be prepared to pay for this strategy and the baggage that comes with it.

previous blogs;
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Trust too much

2011-08-11T16:28:00.002+10:00

Do you? You should. It makes business very pleasurable. But of course I am using a single word for a variety that you should bring to the business table. Integrity, honesty, dedication, openness and, well you get the gist. And when applying such ‘words’, do them to a fault. The point? When in business, whether you are dealing with your clients, your suppliers, your staff, when you bring trust to the table, you will evoke trust from the other. Tell someone why you want those terms, why you can’t deliver in the proposed time frame, why you have doubled their wages (lol) and so on.

However, trust does not give you an excuse for poor business practices. It doesn’t mean you can just wait for money to arrive or you don’t have employment contracts or miss service delivery expectations. Trust implies openness, trust means good faith, trust means negotiating a situation to the benefit of both parties and then as best practice dictates, you enshrine such trust in contract.

Now I said trust to a fault. If it is underpinned with best practice, there isn’t much fault other than you might just discover a little about yourself. Ready for that? Go ahead, trust my day.

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Quality Objectives

2011-08-08T07:59:00.000+10:00

When isn’t one of my blogs controversial? Well, only for those with the title ‘learned colleague’ or with CB expectations / baggage. Two whole sentences, one small sub section and it can cause so much angst.

‘5.4.Planning. 5.4.1.Quality objectives. Top management ensures that quality objectives, including those needed to meet requirements for product (see 7.1.a) are established at relevant functions and levels within the organisation. The quality objectives are measurable and consistent with the quality policy.’

So as far as I am concerned, the above does not say you have to have objectives stated in your quality policy. It does not say you have to have metrics around product characteristics and it does not say a whole lot more. What it does require is; you have objectives (plural), ‘if needed’ at least one concerning product (or service) and that when they are established, but more importantly, communicated, they are relevant to the person / function receiving the information.

Perhaps the most important process is to ensure what is stated in your quality policy can be then ‘converted’ into measurable objectives for the organisation. That means all quality policy components should have a corresponding objective and that there should not be any objectives that are not included in the policy statement. Easy. Next time I will explain the mechanics.

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What not to do

2011-08-03T13:15:00.000+10:00

When ‘growing up’ in my professional life, I worked for a number of organisations and a number of people who taught me what not to do. I didn’t really have to decide whether what was happening was right or wrong, I just had to sit back, watch others decide and gauge their reactions. I certainly reacted, especially in my youth, but was it the right reaction? The other reactions, rants, opinions, etc would give me balance to my own. And the jewels, the pearls of these were the very things not to do.

I have a long list, a very long list of things I just don’t even contemplate doing in business because of this strategy. Here is just one of them. When a person breaks a code of conduct, professional, personal, perceived or otherwise, the last thing that is needed is an official policy, supported by procedure, followed by training, followed by an appellant process, and blah, blah, blah. In fact, if just one of the above is brought in, you lose, the company loses, the staff loses.

Why not invest the time with that person to discuss, to understand, to agree and get on with it. Leave everyone else out of it and don’t penalise them with the bureaucratic blur that would accompany the former outcome.

Is there something you could learn not to do?

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Triennial cycles

2011-08-01T14:51:00.000+10:00

Did you know your certification is based on a triennial cycle. That’s 3 years for us non certification types. Triennial cycles are a requirement of JAS-ANZ. So don’t try and ask your certification body (CB) to extend it or to ignore it. They can’t. So what does this mean? Not much other than an ‘every three’ gouge of your pocket.

The complete certification cycle is approximately the following sequence. As always it is unique to you circumstance, complexity, risk and CB. So take this as a guideline only.

Document review (1); precertification audit (1); certification audit (1); post certification audit; (1 every 6, 9 or 12 months) and recertification audit (triennial audit, once every 3 years.).

The terminology changes between CBs and the frequency of post audits is dependent on the maturity, risk and complexity. However, just remember, you negotiate a certification plan within the parameters of JAS-ANZ and your CB. But the recertification / triennial audit is not negotiable. Whilst the requirement of the first three years of certification is a sample of the system split over the three years, the triennial now requires the entire quality management system to be audited in full in one fell swoop. What value this ads to the process, especially since you are doing it the 6th time, beggars me. But it is part of the process. Just plan for it, experience it, deal with it.

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Financial fear

2011-07-27T15:16:00.001+10:00

In business and in life, if your are not afraid or at least uncomfortable, then you aren’t doing either justice. I very recently had to confront a number of business fears as I head towards another three years of guessing, I mean business planning. Am I using my time, resources, money to the best of their advantage? I am living my dream? Mostly I am and the future looks pretty good. But could it be great? Could it be fantastic? Yep, I believe it can and as from today, I know it will.

The one really big down side of this strategy, is that I am going to have to come to terms with some ugly parts of my business and some very ugly parts of me. A bit of tough love so to speak. Making decisions from a position of strength, a position of knowledge, a position of fact. Gulp. It is time to know when and where my money comes from and goes to and to stop relying on the stupid amounts of gross earnings to get me over the lack of financial foresight. Ladies and gentlemen, the tide has turned. Time for interstellar outcomes. Thanks Sue.

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Records management – part 2

2011-07-25T09:48:00.000+10:00

The standard…. “4.2.4 Records are established and maintained to provide evidence of conformity to requirements and of the effective operation of the quality management system. Records remain legible, readily identifiable and retrievable. A documented procedure has been established to define the controls needed for the identification, storage, protection, retrieval, retention time and disposition of records.”

So the first thing you must know for a quality management system is that you must have a documented procedure for this element. Full stop. If you don’t have one or at least have the above requirements addressed in a merged procedure’ then you are non compliant. So the procedure must address each of these; identification, storage, protection, retrieval, retention time and disposition of records. Notice there is no prescription behind these requirements. That is up to you. You can address the requirements in each process or procedure or you can develop a matrix or table and describe these controls. There is no right or wrong way in managing records.

The only real tricky component here is the statement concerning “Records remain legible, readily identifiable and retrievable.” This may require some training, some discipline, some practice. Just remember, that ‘I can’t find them’ is no defence in either quality management systems or tax audits. So a few dummy runs on retrieval and readability is a great course of action especially if you are relying n computer data. Now where does that 5¼” floppy disk get inserted into my server? Hmmmmm.

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Try stuff

2011-07-20T09:45:00.002+10:00

In business there are so many pros and cons with being an early adopter, a late adopter, a do nothing type of business. And so without extolling the virtues of each, just let me say… try stuff and try stuff well. There is an old and I say very wise business credo that says if you are not moving forward, then in fact you are going backwards. This is because the rest of the world and in particular your competition, is moving forward, doing it differently, keeping up with trends, protocols, best practice.

But change for change sake is a drain on resources, time and energy. So you will need to either be very astute and only pick the changes, the stuff that will benefit you ooorrrr, have a change model / protocol in place that will enable to try any or all things new things.

The key to this is a structured, multi phased go / no go set of scenarios linked closely to a resource pool so that thoughtful, meaningful progress can be made. Not the least being the very first set of questions. Is this stuff in line with your vision, mission, goals? Is it core business? Do we want it as core business? Answer no to any of these and then you hold the new stuff until you can answer yes to at least one of those three questions. Of course, this may mean reviewing your vision and core but that is just another change, with another review.

So try stuff or at least review stuff as much as you can and don’t do or don’t try stuff without a structured approach.

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Precertification Audit

2011-07-18T11:10:00.000+10:00

So what is a precertification review / audit? Didn’t I just do a document review? Perhaps you did. But as usual, the document review and precertification review are two different phases in the certification process. It is just that some certification bodies(CB) conduct them separately, some conduct them concurrently, some even ask the client what they would like to do. It makes no difference just as long as your know the rules and expectations of your chosen CB.

So a fortnight ago we touched on document reviews and once you have successfully met your CB’s document review requirements they then turn their attention to precertification. Dependent on what they found or what they were shown during the document review, and in particular records generated by the system, they will deem the timing of the precertification review.

The timing is based on two main factors; 1) enough evidence (records) to enable a judgement on effective implementation and 2) sufficient time between precertification and the proposed certification review / audit.
Some of the above factors include; at least 3 months of operational records in sales, purchasing, manufacturing, inventory management, at least two management reviews, a substantial if not all internal audits completed (very much CB dependent), at least 2 full cycle corrective action plans, competency / resourcing records and sufficient document, data and record control.

Should any nonconformances be raised during the document or precertification reviews, don’t expect to have your certification review / audit within 3 months. If any other classification of finding is raised, you will need to demonstrate the lead times needed to correct or modify them before a CB will allow the planning of the certification review / audit. Just remember, just because you have a time line within a project plan, doesn’t always mean you can keep it if it doesn’t match the CB requirements. And of course, please remember that some CBs won’t even allow any forward planning of certification dates without the first two reviews having even taken place.

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Split your time?

2011-07-13T10:19:00.000+10:00

Are you a small business? A service provider? Are you the visionary, the rainmaker, the doer? Most of us are. Some of the best advice I ever got when I started up my business over 19 years ago was ‘to succeed in business, especially as a consultancy, you have to spend a third of your time planning, a third of your time selling and a third of your time on doing’ (thanks Vic). If you don’t, you will go broke and your business will fail. Did you get that message. Let me repeat it. If you don’t, you will go broke and your business will fail.

So you can do this in a few ways and do it that best serves your time management and your business. My favoured way is to do each every day in small manageable bits. They don’t have to get equal time every time but on average over the course of a week, they should. Perhaps the planning phase could do with a little less face to face time, but my normal planning reviews and activities normally generate a raft of selling and doing activities which I attribute to planning thus giving you the balance. But don’t get too hung up on the splits, just make sure you do.

However, I have added a final dimension, the fourth quadrant / quotient of your time. Down time, fun time, me time. Call it what you want but get it and give it at least an equal proportion of your time split. If you get the other three right, you might be able to have those other three added up to equal the fourth. And isn’t that why we run our own businesses? Really? You bet it is. Only 3 plus months to my next holiday.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Records management – part 1

2011-07-11T15:51:00.000+10:00

Not so complex a subject but one that is critical to any organisation. In particular is the duration in years that you must retain records to demonstrate conformance to a set of criteria, standard, statute or law. There are some amazing time lines for some very different types of operations. Here is a sneak peak and some of the legal requirements for the retention of records. Quality management systems = 3 years, tax records = mostly 5 years, personnel records = term of employment plus 5~10 years, environmental and remediation records = 30 years, and some OHS requirements have no statute of limitations, therefore some records are to be kept indefinitely (and how long is that??, buggered if I know!).

So to get on the path of righteous and legally sound records management, the first thing we should start with is a quick definition. Here is mine. A record is a single source of or a collection of data that demonstrates conformance to, nonconformance to and or knowledge of a defined criteria. It is a start. And as for the difference between a form and a record, let’s just say a form is the defined criteria, whilst the data ‘written’ on to the form is the record.

Next blog we will look at the requirements of the standard.

previous blogs
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Client ratings

2011-07-06T16:02:00.000+10:00

In a recent blog I extolled the virtues of selling to the converted. Identification of the converted is simple. Your ‘converted’ clients (and this is the last time I will reference them as such) are your ‘a’ and ‘b’ clients. And how do you determine their ranking? Well you rate them.

Rating clients is a simple exercise of both objective and subjective pros and cons, weighted scores and inputs from all of my stakeholders. Put these criteria into a matrix crunch the numbers.

Do not over complicate the matrix. A simple list of clients on the left side and a list of desired attributes across the top. Then simply tick or cross against each and total the ticks. Simple. Then ask your employees and subcontractors to do the same.

Aggregate the scores and split into four quadrants based on the total spread assigning a rank of a, b, c or d. You may choose to weight certain attributes if desired.

Some of the attributes that get my vote include; great workplaces, great payers, proactive, geographically convenient, low risk, quality.com.au referrers, understand quality management systems, don’t miss deadlines, and so on.

But the act of rating does nothing for you unless you act on them. This means sacking your d’s, making c’s b’s or sack them, nurture your b’s and hopefully move them to a’s and celebrate with you’re a’s and give them unparallelled attention. They will notice and they will reward you even further.

Do this exercise once every two years (or more frequently if there is churn in your client list) and plan your marketing / loyalty programs around those who deserve the attention.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com

Certification document reviews

2011-07-04T13:55:00.003+10:00

This is normally the first stage of the certification process, well second if you count your application. It can be conducted on site or off site, you get to choose and very often it will be conducted simultaneously with a stage 1 or precertification audit to determine the readiness of a quality management system for the certification audit. Confused? Well of course you should, this is after all the dark art of certification. Sorry, no more cynical talk. The confusion comes with the lack of uniformity when describing the various stages of the certification process. But enough of this rant as well. I will explain the precertification audit in the next few blogs.

The document review is a very simple exercise since the publication of the 2008 standard. Do the six mandatory documented procedures exist? Do they meet the requirements of the standard? Is there a quality policy? Is there a quality manual or at least a description of the scope and content of the structural elements of the quality management system and last but not least, are there any supporting documentation, procedures, forms, instructions, etc that has been deemed appropriate by the organisation to demonstrate how the quality management system should function.

A document review is a very objective review of the requirements of the standard. Normally there is no resultant report other than to highlight if any documentation is missing or does not address the requirements of the standard. Just be aware that all certification / registration bodies conduct these reviews and audits differently, report differently and may or may not allow the review to be separated from the precertification. This is no big issue, just be aware. Some certifiers have proformas to complete, one even has a 20 page mandatory document review questionnaire without which they won’t even plan a precertification review. Once you can show / demonstrate the structure and content, the next step is the precertification review, but that is another blog.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com

Sell to the converted

2011-06-08T10:08:00.000+10:00

One of my most remarkable self realisations came to me once I had sat down and rated my client base. Yes, rated them. A simple matrix of pros and cons, weighted scores and inputs from all of my stakeholders. And when the numbers were crunched, it left my clients rated as a, b, c, d.

I sacked my d’s. Gave the chance to my c’s to become b’s (but if they drifted lower, well…). Nurtured by b’s with a view to becoming a’s. And rejoiced with my a’s (great work places, great payers, proactive, geographically convenient, low risk, quality.com.au referrers, understood what quality management systems were all about.

What I quickly realised that all of my b’s also understood quality. Both a and b had been converted to the ideology of quality management systems, either by me, by customers or by circumstance. There was no need to snake oil them about the pros and cons of a quality management system, they just needed a solution to a resource issue to keep the system improving and certified.

And so the profile of these wonderful a’s and b’s quickly gave me parameters to target potential clients with thoughtful, focused messages through web, through newsletters, through touch points. The sales process was streamlined and the conversions sky rocketed. Taking away the ‘conversion’ discussion in a sales call left little to distract from the potential solution to be discovered. Are you selling to the converted?

previous blogs; http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Be warned

2011-06-07T05:40:00.004+10:00

I have yet to ‘toss’ my first player or coach from a game. And as a rookie blue, my confidence levels rise and fall with the accuracy and interpretation of the laws of the game. As such, players and coaches can ‘smell’ fresh meat. And once there is blood in the water, they circle, one by one nibbling at your psyche, chirping at the close calls, barking at the calls you stuff up. Then the coaching visits, then the en masse review of your performance and parentage. Then there is the next game you encounter them. There is an expectation the blue has not improved, is still just a quivering little person hiding behind some padding and a mask. Not true. Only the truly weak do not learn and I have learned. So when the chorus begins over an interpretation of a rule, a simple call of ‘time’, a quiet, yet strong word with the coach giving a warning concerning number 87 and a let’s get on with it. Boom. The change in attitude, in gait, interaction was remarkable. Warn ‘em, toss ‘em. Gain their respect. Perhaps a toss or two will complete my apprenticeship. Thanks Bill.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Keep your auditor.

2011-06-06T14:31:00.001+10:00

Can you? Do you want too? What are the pros and cons? Let me say from the outset that keeping the same auditor will always be my preference. But it isn’t all ‘beer and skittles’ if you do. ‘Familiarity breeding contempt’ can cause issues, so will the ‘forest for the trees’.

But enough of the desk calendar quotes. Utilising the same auditor is a very personal decision and one which you must make yourself and or manage yourself. If your certification body (CB) won’t allow you to keep with the auditor of your choice, then it becomes a bigger picture decision on whether to keep the CB. Most will accommodate this request, but there might be logistical issues especially if they have a centralised booking function. As will the fact that you are not one of their top 20 to 50 clients. But I have blogged at nausea on this before. Having an auditor learn and grow with your quality management system, learn and grow with your company brings about economies of scale and a true empathy with goals and objectives. You won’t have to waste your time teaching a new person the nuances or history of the company or system and once you have a professional relationship with your auditor you can utilise their experience and knowledge in some truly value added auditing (an oxymoron for some I know). Just remember to work on the relationship and manage the relationship should it not meet your expectations. This is still a client / supplier relationship and it should be treated as such. So stick with the one that meets your needs most and change if they don’t.

Work hard, work best

2011-06-03T12:36:00.000+10:00

Just a quick rant for a Friday (sorry Jessica). If you are going to work for yourself, for a boss, for a community, go hard. Work hard. Give your very being to contributing to the success of the situation you have chosen to be a part of. But it is not just about working hard or just appearing to be working hard. You need to working best (some say smart, some say effectively. It is all of these). Always be on the lookout for a better way of doing what you do. Then do it better and if it doesn’t do what you’d hope it would quit and get back on track. If it works for the better, share it. Enjoy your weekend.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Turn a new leaf

2011-06-01T11:13:00.000+10:00

Have you been in a rut? Personally or professionally it really doesn’t matter. Here is a business spin to this question. By definition, you are in a rut if you are not moving forward or sinking deeper into whatever mire you might be in. One of my favourite readings also suggests that if you are not moving forwards, then you are actually going backwards as your competition move forward. Just a little bit of quantum physics needed for that mental picture (thank you Albert).
Have a look at what you are doing in your business. List out the top 10 things you do on a daily basis, weekly basis, quarterly basis, annual basis. Are there any items on this list that you could stop? If, yes. STOP. Are there any items that you could merge?. MERGE. Are there any items that suck and you get them outsourced? OUTSOURCE. Are there any clients that cause you most of your problems (ignoring the income they contribute)? SACK THEM. Getting the picture! Once you do that exercise, the next items to identify are the ones that make you happy, the ones that make you money, the ones you want to do. And when you have, do more of the same with each of them.
Aaannnd once that is all done, you will be amazed that you will still have capacity to either contribute back to the ones you love or you can take a sneaky little peak at the new leaf (ok, enough with the imagery – opportunity) over in the corner over there. Just lift a corner of it. Perhaps even a second look. Like what you see? Then turn it over and get the heck on with it. You will be rewarded.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Time heals all….

2011-05-31T15:18:00.000+10:00

What a difference a week makes. Get your zone right and getting it right most of the time brings about focused, measured calls and respect from the players. On the bases, clear calls, elevating volume as the calls get closer. Pre-empting discrepancy by telling, signalling why you made a call, all goes toward a very nice job on the job.
Butterflies I had a few. But the one true test was the quietness from the bleachers. Quietness from the coaches and when a player chirped, thoughtful eye contact, simple monosyllabic retorts and bang, respect.

Now all I have to do is repeat this, week in, week out and my development will continue.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Quality Objectives – part 3

2011-05-30T09:39:00.000+10:00

Just a quick recap. You need to have documented quality objectives. They need to be linked from your quality policy. They need to have targets. They need to have assigned resources. They need to be reviewed. They need to be communicated.

Oh so simple. Over the years I managed this process for many clients and used many tools that address each of the above. The methodology and tool is very dependent on the organisational culture of the client. I never prescribe what they ‘have to do’. Only via a process of discovery would we suggest a few models and then agree with the client the most suitable methodology. Of course, we have changed models if the original chosen wasn’t quite working out (and conversely, what our auditor ‘wants’ to see). Don’t forget the above recap is the absolute minimum and there is nothing wrong with adding to the requirements as needed.
So here are just a few ways to manage quality objectives. 1) include them in the strategic business plans; 2) include them as separate standing agenda items in company meetings and or management review meetings; 3) draft and maintain a quality objectives plan which is reviewed at company meetings and or management reviews.

Just remember, each of the recaps are needed for the certification process. Never go with less than two (and always add a third) and that the start up objectives must be; customer satisfaction, continual improvement (and my add-on, achieve certification). Good luck.

previous blogs;
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com/
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/

Do you dance?

2011-05-26T12:28:00.000+10:00

I was asked very recently, ‘How do you ask someone to dance?’ My response….
"Hi. My name is John. Would you like to dance?"

Yes, simple. Keep it that way. Match it with eye contact and you will dance 9/10 times. Just remember, the answer will be yes, no, later. accept it. However, I rarely ask anyone in the 'wild' to dance. I only ask in the right environment such as a ball, a wedding, a social dance, etc. Why? It's a bit like not blurring the line between work life, private life, sporting life. When you see me at my studio (the best ever being Arthur Murray Castle Hill) I am there to dance, not work. If you are at the pub to drink, drink. If you are there to meet new people, meet new people. Dance is just one of many ways to do this. Using dance as an ice breaker is (perhaps was) a conventional way to meet new people. But in the modern era of selfish endeavours and ‘what’s in it for me?’ a simple question to dance might just be seen as a hidden agenda. The best thing about being part of a studio is that an agenda and an expectation is set so that you get to dance and meet new people as part of the deal. So, pick your time, your situation and enjoy the dance.

Make appointments

2011-05-25T14:07:00.000+10:00

Sounds simple enough. But do you? Do you commit? Do you prepare? You had better. Be early. Allow enough time between appointments. Never make an excuse, especially to leave an appointment early to get to the next one. Allow enough time for the appointment from start to finish. Start an appointment by setting the expectation and probable duration. The more the preparation before and at the start, the more you will keep an appointee happy. Cherish appointments. They are the window of opportunity for your business.

And on the flip side, respect the person making the appointment. Turn up on time, turn up prepared, turn up ready to get the desired outcome. If not, give plenty of warning and reschedule. If possible, never reschedule more than once.

And how do we go about making appointments? My first rule is to try and set a date by verbal communication first, when the other person has their diary at hand. This will enable firsthand look, review, agree and confirm. You can run through this cycle as long as you need to until a mutual arrangement can be found. The second best way is via e-mail but only if you follow these guidelines. Offer choice and ask for an alternative. For example; ‘Hey Joe, can we catch up for coffee on the proposal you asked for? How about either in the morning of next Monday or Wednesday? Say 10 or 11.30 on either day? And if your first preference can’t me organised, what is another time or day you could do from the above. Formal? Yes. Efficient? Probably and you will be able to approach a number of people simultaneously and get the desired results. Just remember, once you have an agreement in principal, set the appointment in stone via confirmation emails, phone calls or meeting requests.

Be diligent. Be effective and if you are time poor like most of us, make an appointment with yourself and take 30 minutes out of your day to take a breath. You will appreciate the effort and the preparation.

Baseball - enjoy it or else

2011-05-24T16:32:00.000+10:00

Boy I had a shocker on the weekend. In the first game I could not please either side with my strike zone. This means I was consistently bad. The trouble with that, was when I got it right, they still barked at me in order to influence my next call. I felt bad. Then I find out that the main protagonists do this as a matter of course and that the only way to rectify the situation is through warnings and eventually ‘toss them’ from the game. They expect it and try it on us rookies just because they can. Hey, I was still calling a shocker but this revelation post game made me feel like a chump.

Then comes first grade. A man mountain on roids is the coach on one side. He makes it his personal vendetta to ridicule me for every call on the bases, and I mean every call with just the right amount of niggle so as not to get ejected. With my self esteem low, this tirade put the boot in. No wonder so many of my brothers blue, just get sick of these twits and toss them, or just get sick of the game itself.

A remarkable insight into a person who takes great delight in belittling another just because they smell ‘blood in the water’. I mean, if this is your idea of having Sunday arvo fun at sport, pul-lease (my spelling) give me a break or get a life. So my advice to those who crank it. The rookie will learn. The rookie will toss. And if you can’t enjoy it, I will.

Employee / Subcontractor auditors

2011-05-23T10:45:00.001+10:00

There are many pros and cons about our certification auditors not the least being whether they are an employee or a subcontractor of the certification body. Here are a few thoughts. In the first instance, make sure you know whether they are an employee or not. Why? It is just good to know, especially with regard any conflict of interest process. If you don’t know, then ask. Ask if there are any potential conflicts of interest. There is nothing quite so wrong that your auditor is also a consultant for the auditees biggest competitor. A little checking via LinkedIn and Facebook would also help. Employee auditors very rarely have control of their forward planning. This means that you cannot plan an audit 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 months in advance. For project management focused people like me, this is very important. If they cannot do it, you best find out who in the back office is the keeper of the calendar and try and book that way. But of course, if you are one of the smaller players in the certification town, don’t be surprised that you get bumped as time approached. Just keep the communication up to the operations people and cross your fingers. Sub contractor auditors can at times drift into consulting more than our employed ones. Why? They just do. Does this help or hinder. It is very situational. Just be aware and temper ‘advice’. The employee auditor tend to have a little less customer service. This is because their billing machine back office does not like idle days. This means they do not have planned customer relations time which results in no coffee chats, update phone calls, etc. They turn up on the assigned day. Sub contractor auditors normally have more flexibility with their time and as a consequence have a little more flexibility when it comes to rescheduling and at no extra cost. Employee auditors are normally blissfully unaware to schedule changes and any forward planning. But if you want the specific date, that normally means a new auditor. Consequently if you hold out for the desired auditor, that normally means a change in date to suit them, not you. Subcontractor auditors also get a break from auditing. If you audit full time, you can become a little stale and a little cynical. If you are exposed to the rigors of designing, implementing, consulting in quality management system, it will keep you keen, keep you flexible in the auditing phase.

I wouldn’t pick a certification body based on the employee status of your auditor, but you should take it into consideration as part of the overall process.

I am lucky

2011-05-20T05:18:00.001+10:00

I am lucky. A life partner who loves me dearly and unconditionally. Great kids. Great ‘job’. Great lifestyle. And whilst from the outside this may appear lucky, I am here to tell you there is no such thing as luck. Good or bad, there is none. There is just opportunity and I truly believe that every opportunity you create for yourself.

Now on the face of it, not every opportunity is good, meaning that if it is not good, then by definition, it is bad. Wrong. Every opportunity is good. Every opportunity is created by you and it is what we do with the opportunity that makes the face value appear good or bad.

Hey, I have seriously blown opportunities in both my personal and business lives. But my definition doesn’t mean a blown opportunity is a piece of bad luck. It just means that, at that moment of time I didn’t make the most of that opportunity either through lack of preparedness or lack of identification of the opportunity. And deep down, lack of identification is a result of lack of preparedness.

I know this is way too deep for this time of morning but the beautiful Bendigo has made me reflective (which is so often the case when I am away). So if you are feeling unlucky, and feeling like the ‘luck fairy’ has forgotten about you, just remember that it is up to you to redefine the opportunity and to find the lack of preparation. Then all you need to do is dust yourself off, take a deep breath and get on with bridging the preparation gap. Hey is that a fifty under the couch in my hotel room? Booyar.

Business attire

2011-05-18T10:26:00.000+10:00

I am lucky enough to have a personal stylist (luv you googie) and you may think you know when I haven’t consulted her when we next meet in the street, the office, the networking event, etc. But as with all aspects of business (and in your personal life) judging a book by its cover will cost you. In my line of work, appropriate business attire changes every half day. Why, because I normally visit a different client every half day. I will always try to find a middle ground between the expectations of the two, but normally it is a matter of meeting the requirements of one and then either dressing up or down for the next.

If I need to have specific work attire for one, like my two day visit to an iron foundry this week – jeans, long sleeves, boots, etc, then it is a little tough to dress up for the next client. Thankfully I don’t have to but if I did, just a change of shoes and a sport jacket will normally raise the tone for an office visit.

So one rule of thumb I have for going to a client the first time is to dress up to what your expectations might be and modify accordingly. This means you can dump a jacket, remove a tie, roll up sleeves as needed. Of course sales meetings and first time sales meetings should command the full corporate front but I have found today, that a jacket only is becoming the norm and does not impinge on the sale.

And then of course there is casual Fridays or even casual always clients. If you are unsure, go with my rule above. There is nothing quite so alarming when you turn up in jeans and a tee to only find out that they do it once a month, not once a week. My tip here. Phone the day before and find out.

So, for my last bit on attire, here is just a little protocol I use when attending conferences, workshops, presentations that last more than one day. On all but the last day, dress down, dress very casual ensuring you are still clean and well presented. Then on the last day power up and get as corporate and as in-your-face with business style as you can get. If anyone asks (and they normally do), tell them you are off to a big and important meeting. Their last impression of you is the suit, the importance and the ‘I should do business with him’ thinking as you head off into the sunset. And you know, once you have taken the time to dress for it, you may as well set up that very important meeting and go and close that great big deal.

Check swings

2011-05-17T13:39:00.000+10:00

As always, there are some big misconceptions concerning the rules around check swings. So here is my take. The first thing you need to know is that there is no rule concerning check swings. The rule is ‘did the batter strike at the ball?’ Was it a strike, no strike situation. If yes, the plate umpire calls a strike. If no, the plate umpire calls a ball. If the plate umpire is unsure or unsighted if the pitch was swung on or not, he or she will ask the appropriate base umpire if the batter went or not. The base umpire will adjudge and make the appropriate call which is then repeated by the plate umpire. If sure, the plate umpire will make the strike / ball call adjudging a pitch. If the plate umpire is sure that the batter swung, he or she will point at the batter / plate and call that is a strike. A check swing is not an appeal play (rule 7.10) but an appeal can be made by the catcher or the manager to the umpire (rule 9.02.c) and only on a call of ball. The plate umpire does not need to refer to the base umpire. So those are the legalities, here is the interpretation of the swing or no swing at a pitch. The batter has to have an intent to swing. If the batter ‘locks’ his wrists and / or his elbows toward a pitch then he has swung. The bat does or does not, not have to pass the plane of the plate. When bunting, should the batter raise or lower or put his bat forward, then he has swung. Man, this umpiring stuff is just too easy.

Quality Objectives – part 2

2011-05-16T10:19:00.001+10:00

The very first question that should be asked is; do you want to include quality objectives in the general objectives of the organisation. There are no rules around this. Just choose one or the other and change it if it doesn’t work. There are some quite specific requirements from the standard and if you don’t want to include such requirements around companywide objectives, then perhaps best to leave it at this stage so as not to jeopardise your certification program. I personally keep them separate in the initial stages of a project so that the machinations have some focus. Once people are used to the objectives process, adopting others become less stressful. For those companies who have fully blown strategic and business plans that have already identified quality objectives, perhaps a simple overlay to ensure corrective structure and reporting is the best strategy. For my company, quality is a single objective within the strategic plan, which are then split into key attributes and managed operationally on an ongoing basis. Simple? Perhaps but we shall explore the machinations next blog for your own determination.

Lippy – what would you do?

2011-05-12T21:33:00.000+10:00

And so in the cold, cold heart of the nation’s capital I sit, enjoying a quiet drink with dinner, when about half-way through a strongbow, you notice that the schooner is rimmed with lipstick. Option 1; ignore and go for a blood test tomorrow. Option 2; rant and kick up merry hell? Option 3; call over the waiter and explain what you have found and assess. When assessing, do you have an outcome in mind? Do you want to drop into the rant mode? Do you want something for nothing, or double or more? Or do you wait for the reaction, the response. Hey, dependent on lipstick volume and reaction from said waiter, the wait is worth it. If the message is delivered with aplomb, with respect, you will be rewarded. I got a free port because that is what stage of dinner I was at. No expectation, just a genuine – ‘Sorry. May I offer you a complimentary stronbgbow or perhaps another port?’. Brilliant. If just an apology, then that is all that is really warranted. I have never had this happen to me, but….’Hmmmm. that’s not much and you have nearly finished. I will just take that away….’ No matter, you brought it to their attention. They will either learn from it or not. Their problem. You gave, you most often will receive in turn but if not, move on, you don’t have to eat there again

Be adaptable

2011-05-11T13:06:00.000+10:00

There are many definitions on survival, on evolution, on success. One of my favourites; if you are not moving forward, then you are actually going backwards. I suppose you then need to define ‘moving forward’ and that is just a whole lot more blogs. Do you want to survive, exist? Then you need to be fit (yes, another blog). Do you want to evolve and in particular, evolve successfully? Then my defining attribute for this is not fitness, is not strength, is not intellect but adaptability. Much the same as nature.

In nature, you don’t learn from failure, especially in evolution. If you ain’t right or at the very least not matched to the environment and the environment has changed, then you die. Strong words I know, but that is reality. To evolve successfully, you need to change and meet the needs of the new environment. You need to adapt. Hey, this is starting to smell like a business rant. Even if you are the best, the strongest, the smartest, the whatever’d, if you cannot adapt then you will end up on the wrong side of the statistic of how ever many companies that fail in their first 1, 3, 5, 10 plus years. Don’t be that statistic. Adapt and thrive.