The Rapid Response Institute

Category: Critical Mass

  • A New Relationship

    A New Relationship

    This time of year, many make the so-called New Year’s Resolutions and make a personal if not short-term commitment to modify behaviors deemed as needing change.  Typical personal commitments include, losing weight, getting more exercise, becoming a better spouse/partner, etc.

    Unfortunately, most of these behavioral changes go by the wayside in short order.  Many reasons and excuses are offered and then the cycle starts all over again on January 1st of the next year.

    For example, weight loss vendors are heavily advertising at this time of year.  Most of the ads look fairly similar to the those from last year and even the year before.  Our ability to fail at resolutions seems endemic.

    The Relationships, Behaviors and Conditions (RBC) framework discussed herein and in other publications by the author is the proverbial three-legged stool.  In this model behaviors in a set of conditions determine the relationships among parties.

    When our focus on a New Year’s Resolution is only behavioral change, failure is likely.  In the example of weight loss, conditions may not change, i.e., we eat out for lunch at work every day.  A new relationship with food may not emerge in such an environment.

    Likewise, as part of our diet plan our doctor tells us to exercise but we still hate it, failure is likely.  So, what is the point?  Most resolutions are doomed!

    Not so fast.  Achieving new behavioral critical mass will sustain our resolutions and lead to sustained change.  A new relationship with the ole bogyman will cast this issue into the pit of the past.

    By definition, new behavioral critical mass is self-sustaining.  Hating the diet plan and associated exercise does not meet that criterion.

    In other words, a set of behaviors must be changed.  For example, “all things in moderation” as our mothers taught us coupled with social engagement with like minded individuals (social media and in person as well) may achieve the critical mass for sustained change.

    Note that implicit in the last statement is a change in the conditions one is surrounded by.  This does not mean that one must quit his/her job because everyone goes to lunch together every day.  However, bringing one’s lunch several days a week does change the lunch time conditions.

    None of the transformational process described herein are easy and two steps forward and one step back is often the norm.  The key incentive is the new relationship one seeks.

    Once that “stake” is set, appropriate new behaviors coupled with changes in existing conditions can ensure.  Personal transformation is difficult; however, the RBC model offers new insight into how all of us can move forward.

    There is evidence that diets do not work.  Once the target weight is reached, the old behaviors often emerge.

    In this case, the new relationship may better be defined as Better Health which may be a better incentive to change than simply dieting.  Those who make the sustained, permanent transformation may not realize they are implementing a personal RBC but in fact they are.

    Happy New Year and best of luck to all of us with our resolutions!

  • Excellent Behaviors: Assessing Relationships in the Operational Excellence Ecosystem

    Excellent Behaviors: Assessing Relationships in the Operational Excellence Ecosystem

    One of the hot business buzzwords of 2017 is “Operational Excellence.” It has been the subject for many pundits, including this one.
    In October and November we published a two part series, Assuring Operational Excellence from Contractors and Their Subcontractors through BTOES Insights. Each part included a link to additional information.

    The October edition featured an excerpt of our Implementing a Culture of Safety book. In the November edition we released our new best practice solution, Attaining & Sustaining Operational Excellence: A Best Practice Implementation Model. We are proud to make it available herein and in general.

    One of the basic tenets of the RBC Framework is the general construct that Relationships cannot be determined a priori. The well-used example is a man and a woman sitting on a bench at a bus stop. Are they married, siblings, coworkers, friends or simply two people waiting to catch the same/different bus?

    Their relationship cannot be known directly. However, their Behaviors will provide insight into how they relate to each other. Romantic behavior may indicate marriage, dating, an affair etc. They may still be coworkers but most likely are not strangers.

    The third dimension, Conditions (environment) can be considered the stage upon which behaviors play. So, what does this have to do with Operational Excellence?

    Another component of our digital environment is Human Systems Integration (HSI). In our forthcoming book, we have defined HSI as, “Human Systems Integration (HSI) considers the following seven domains: Manpower, Personnel, Training, Human Factors Engineering, Personnel Survivability, Habitability, and Environment, Safety and Occupational Health (ESOH). In simple terms, HSI focuses on human beings and their interaction with hardware, software, and the environment.”

    This suggest that our ecosystem is getting more complex and not less. While not usually thought of in these terms, machines have a behavior as well. IBM’s chess playing Watson is a simple example of this phenomena.

    With all of these behavioral dynamics, how can an organization attain and sustain Operational Excellence? If one takes the position that with complex highly interconnected systems things will fail (Perrow’s Normal Accident Theory) then OE is a mythical destination.

    However, with a High Reliability Management (HRM) business model OE cannot only be attained, there is no reason why it cannot be sustained indefinitely. As the name indicates, HRM has a strong focus on reliability or that ability to recover quickly when an event occurs.

    One example is the 2015 Ebola virus incident in Dallas, Texas. One may recall that the virus was brought to the US by a traveler from Africa. Concerns quickly mounted that an epidemic might quickly ensue.

    While a few health care workers were infected, the public health care systems, medical community and others rapidly responded and contained the problem. The system was resilient! Were there problems and lessons learned, absolutely but the system worked. For most of us, life soon returned to normal.

    Conditions may change, but behaviors need to continue to rise to levels of excellence. This is the key to developing strong relationships throughout the ecosystem.

  • Precedent Matters: Physical and Cyber Security Materiality

    Precedent Matters: Physical and Cyber Security Materiality

    Cyber-attacks continue, seemingly unabated. Major industrial incidents seem to remain regardless of efforts to curtail them as well.

    In many cases significant shareholder value is destroyed and perhaps never to be regained. Lives are lost and business models compromised.

    In isolated incidents, senior executives “retire.” Usually, it is business as usual until the next time with the promise not to do it again. However, there is precedent for punishing organizational maleficence.

    Regarding cyber security, the digitalization process underway places the process of managing information technologies into the arena of “core competency.” There are several definitions of the term. Digitalization is the process of using digital technologies as a way of doing everyday business. In other words, this process is material to the well being of the firm.

    While not an attorney nor offering advice, one can observe that in the late 1990s another software issue was so concerning that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance for public companies and others regarding the risk and materiality of exposure to the so-called Y2K date rollover. Most affected firms had significant efforts underway to assure business was not disrupted and/or risk mitigation strategies were put in place.

    Shortly thereafter, the activities of Enron, MCI and others resulted in the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of that act requires firms put in place “management systems” to assure adequate and effective internal controls and transparency regarding financial reporting.

    According to one source approximately $2.5 trillion in value can be unlocked by digitalization for the oil industry ecosystem. However, if cyber security is weak and SCADA and process controls systems are exposed lives may be lost and facilities may be irreparably damaged.

    One view is that today’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) organization has greater exposure than any Year 2000 problem may have caused. Shouldn’t society and investors have protections in place equal to Y2K and SOX?

    There is precedent for holding organizational leadership accountable. Digitalization is a Board of Directors agenda item!